Faculty

On the value of mentored undergraduate research experience:

“I look at microRNA's in normal, small breed canine plasma versus small breed canines with congestive heart failure, secondary to Mitral Valve Degeneration. I did all of the research on and co-authored a publication, Genome-Wide Sequencing and Quantification of Circulating MicroRNAs for Dogs with Congestive Heart Failure Secondary to Myxomatous Mitral Valve Degeneration. I have continued the research since moving back to Florida and teaching at the collegiate level.  
 
I have a passion for helping students get involved in UGR, as I have seen, firsthand, how it helps them reach their next career goals. I have mentored students for multiple years, and have helped them prepare abstracts to present at conferences. I currently have students working with me on my research in canine congestive heart failure, but I also have these students who have their own goals and ideas, whom I mentor.”

On the value of mentored undergraduate research experience:

"To me, a mentored undergraduate research experience can give students the chance to learn what research is all about by doing it. Having a mentor helps them find their way in terms of the how: finding sources, creating methods, carrying out the work, and sharing it. They can seek out existing projects that interest them or imagine their own experience based on the things that engage their curiosity and spirit of persistence. They get the chance to develop their own work, to get up close and personal with the process of discovery, and to see whether they’d like to carry forward with research as part of their own careers. Even if they don’t, they learn a variety of skills that contribute to their development as whole people. For example, I mentored Judy Genshaft Honors College Student Neha Dantuluri for an independent class research project that she presented at the Undergraduate Research Conference titled, “Strengthening the Health Care System—Addressing Violence Against Women.” Then, Neha applied for and won a Genshaft-Greenbaum Global Explorer Award titled, “Hyderabad Women’s Health Empowerment & Education Program,” to work with a non-governmental organization in Hyderabad, India. She not only learned about the group’s work, but also designed and delivered a workshop on menstrual hygiene and reproductive health. After graduation, Neha plans to pursue training in medicine."

On the value of global education:

"A Global education is essential for students to understand their role as members of a worldwide community. We are not simply isolated individuals, but rather we are all interconnected, and a global education helps us to see the links that bind us together. Students learn to value different perspectives, realizing that assumptions are often misleading and that there may be many complicated factors for distinguishing why something is the case. Students learn to value nuances in perspectives and from this, their critical skills are improved—a benefit to themselves and others."

On the value of global citizenship:

"When students see themselves as Global Citizens, they realize that they can work together and work through difficulties of communication caused by differences of language and culture. When they see themselves as members of an international community, they will become better at fostering positive relationships with others from different backgrounds, languages, and cultures, and hopefully work to make the world a better place in the future."

On the benefits of the Global Citizens Assignment:

"In my courses, students engage in both individual and collaborative work that requires them to think from a global perspective. Academically, students improve their research and writing skills while further developing their critical acumen. They engage with the material (ancient Greek and Roman literature) and must think about it from many different perspectives. On a professional level, their critical skills will certainly be valued in the 21st century job market. Additionally, the ability to work in a collaborative setting is also essential to any occupation as we must work with others and address the needs of people from all walks of life."

On the value of mentored undergraduate research experience:

"Mentored undergraduate research offers students an opportunity to acquire 21st Century skills that supplement their coursework such as oral and written communication, discussion and disagreeing, perspective taking, and critical thinking. Students benefit from the close and regular contact with an established researcher while putting book knowledge into action, which crystalizes their learning. It is also a mechanism for learning how to work on an interprofessional collaborative team, engage in supportive dialogue with other students, graduate students, and faculty, and practice emerging leadership skills. In my lab, students also provide a service to the children, families, and communities our research reaches.

There is a deep evidence base indicating that adults learn best by observing and doing, with regular opportunities to discuss new content, apply the new content, and receive feedback. I believe students who engage in undergraduate research learn an incredibly amount and they retain it. They learn how to work together as a team and contribute to the greater good. Moreover, they become outstanding candidates for graduate school, scholarships, and jobs. They are simply better prepared for future opportunities and choices than students who do not engage in undergraduate research are."

On the value of global education:

"In a world where nationalism, racism, xenophobia and outright fascism rear once more its ugly head, the significance of a global education cannot be overstated. USF’s Global Citizens Project not only allows student to see and understand the much larger world beyond the US, but also to realize that diversity is indeed the foundation of our common human experience."

On the value of global education:

"The COVID19 pandemic has emphasized the significant impact of global public health issues as the virus spread amongst individuals across the world.  It is important for students to understand that matters related to communicable diseases and emerging pathogens are not isolated to a specific country or even to specific continents.  This understanding positions students, and future public health and infection control professionals, to more effectively prevent and respond to individual cases, localized outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics."  

On the value of global citizenship:

"Regional and cultural differences can have a substantial influence on the effectiveness of public health interventions.  Global Citizenship prepares students to anticipate and respect these factors, ultimately improving the health of the populations they are working with."

On the value of global education:

"Through global education, students develop a greater self-awareness of how they interact with the world around them and a greater empathy towards others. In addition to gaining knowledge about some of the world’s most pressing global problems, they also develop the analytical and critical thinking skills and the creativity needed to address those issues. Global education prepares students to be more critically engaged, responsible, compassionate, and thoughtful global citizens."

On the value of global education:

"The need to produce Globally Competent Educators is imperative to our future. As our world shrinks due to Globalization, Teacher Preparation Programs must actively support the development of culturally responsive educators who possess the knowledge, skills and attitudes to effectively meet the needs of all learners while expanding their students' world view, developing a clear sense of our interconnectedness within their students while celebrating our unique differences."

On the value of global citizenship:

"To thrive in the future and to ensure our world is safe and just for all; our students must collaboratively, problem solve interrelated issues with an urgency in understanding the interconnectedness and interdependence of people and economies. Global issues must become local issues as our students expand their respect for cultural diversity but understand the need for social justice and to protect our planet."

On the benefits of the Global Citizens Assignment:

"Our Global Citizens Assignments require students to demonstrate effective communication, real-world problem-solving, and deep reflection as they complete service-learning projects while working with the intended community. Students learn to "work with" others, as they check their own biases, language, and values in approaching issues, integrating the perspectives' of various stakeholders. These skills are crucial in solving our present and future problems with meaningful, sustainable outcomes beneficial to all."

On the value of global education:

"I think that global education is a prerequisite for an engaged citizenry, and an engaged citizenry is a prerequisite for any future humanity is going to have. The problems we will be facing over the next fifty years are immense and pressing, and our only hope to transcend them is through collaboration. For example, it’s difficult to think our way out of the climatological crisis, without a reference to global humanity and to our individual roles as global citizens. Therefore, to me global education must be a pedagogical priority to foster this sense of global citizenship."

On the value of global citizenship:

"Adding the component to their content learning the global perspective, i.e., to be open to different perspectives, thoughts, habits, and to develop an emphasis on sharing their content matter and behavior with others are invaluable in our undergraduate education.

Our students come to the university expecting to learn disciplinary knowledge and develop skills (e.g., music performance). University is much more than that. During university life, students learn about the world and people, and develop insights into where they stand in the global world and what they may become to make the world a better place. A sense of global citizenship will help them develop purpose in life and motivate them to do their academic work with vigor and passion." 

On the value of global citizenship:

"Advancing global citizenship is necessary. The courses I have certified through the Global Citizens Project encourage students to explore the way people understand and frame their world. To better prepare students to work with people of different religious, cultural, geographic, and racial identities they must learn to recognize and respect the worldview of people different from them. That recognition in turn helps the student understand why people make the choices they do in everything from their professional to personal lives.

Forwarding a focus on global citizenship teaches students to recognize the disparity in resources available to different peoples throughout the world. I regularly base GCP assignments on the intersection of the local community and the global community through the exploration of one or more UN Sustainable Development Goals. That approach engages the student with issues facing humans on a macro and micro scale which encourages students to work for change in the larger world and in their local community."

On the benefits of the Global Citizens Assignment:

"The goal of the GCP assignments I create is for students to synthesize a lot of information into a presentation that is understandable to someone with little to no experience on the topic. Doing this teaches a student to successfully translate the knowledge they receive in the university in multiple ways, the ability to share information to others (explain to employers why religion matters to their company) to using it to strengthen professional skills (communication both written and verbal, research, analysis, leadership, social intelligence).

The scope of skills they are learning will help them in everything from being part of an international business through to making impactful changes in their local community and the larger global world."