Category Archives: Faculty & Staff News

At the 2025 Florida Nursing Students Association convention, UCF’s Student Nurses’ Association received the Diamond Chapter Award for the fifth year in a row while students earned scholarships and gained valuable insights.  “Being active in the Student Nurses’ Association truly elevates the student experience at UCF by giving nursing students opportunities they wouldn’t get anywhere else,” says senior Allyson Crighton. “Beyond professional […]

Funded by NASA, the research leveraged immersive technologies and insights across disciplines to examine trust dynamics between humans and machines, ensuring safety and success for future space exploration. Born from the challenge of the Space Race, UCF was created to transform imagination into innovation and prepare people to launch humanity beyond its limits. Today, we […]

The honor recognizes some of UCF’s brightest stars who reflect the best of the university’s research and impact efforts. UCF honored seven faculty members as shining examples of excellence, dedication and inspiration during the 2025 Luminary Awards. Established in 2017, the annual awards recognize faculty whose achievements reflect the university’s highest standards in advancing knowledge, […]

Associate Professor Rebecca Koszalinski was recognized by the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence for her commitment to gerontological nursing education and the care of older adults. Rebecca Koszalinski, associate professor at UCF’s College of Nursing, is among the experts recently honored as a Distinguished Educator in Gerontological Nursing. The award from the National […]

The collaborative interdisciplinary study is investigating how harmful blooms of blue-green algae and red tide in Florida are influencing human health. Harmful algal blooms do more than disappoint beachgoers with a do not swim advisory. Excessive growths of blue-green algae, known as cyanobacteria, and Karenia brevis, which creates red tide, release toxins into the surrounding air […]

The College of Nursing welcomes new faculty experts to meet increased demand as UCF expands access to its high-quality nursing programs with the opening of the Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion next week.  At the start of Fall 2025 next week, UCF’s College of Nursing will welcome more than its newest cohort of 244 future Knight […]

Newly appointed Dean Sharon Tucker sits down to share her journey to Central Florida and her vision to lead UCF’s College of Nursing into the future. On August 1, 2025, Sharon Tucker officially begins her appointment as dean of UCF’s College of Nursing and takes the helm at a time of growth and opportunity both […]

Endowed Professor Ladda Thiamwong is among 47 experts honored for their outstanding contributions and selected as 2025 fellows of the Gerontological Society of America. Florida Blue Endowed Professor for Healthy Communities Ladda Thiamwong has been selected as a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization focused on aging. […]

By Julie Harper ’01 Rebecca Koszalinski and Joy Parchment ’15PhD are among the exceptional nurse leaders to be inducted in 2025 and honored for significant contributions to advance public health.  UCF nursing faculty members Rebecca Koszalinski and Joy Parchment ’15PhD have been selected to become fellows of the American Academy of Nursing, the most prestigious […]

By Julie Harper ’01 Tucker, who currently serves as department chair, brings to the role 22 years of leadership experience and a passion for empowering nurses.   After conducting a national search, the University of Central Florida has named Sharon Tucker as the next dean of the College of Nursing. Tucker will begin her new role […]