USF World News

2017 USF World Global Achievement Award Recipients Announced

Representing every campus of the University of South Florida System, USF World is proud to announce the recipients of the third annual Global Achievement Awards. Globalizing the USF System is a priority and accomplishing this paradigm shift takes the efforts of many individuals and groups across the USF System institutions. "Global" is in everything that USF does—from graduating globally competent citizens, to supporting innovation and discovery that will help solve society's most pressing problems, to investing in partnerships that will pave the way for international mobility for faculty and students.

The Global Achievement Awards spotlight the best in high-impact research and activities that advance student success and the university's global reputation. These awards are also for staff and administrators who are setting high-standards for excellence and innovation in global initiatives and programming.

"USF World does not work in a vacuum and calls on various groups around the system for support and expertise," said Dr. Roger Brindley, USF System Vice President for USF World. "From faculty leading our students on international academic experiences to groundbreaking researchers and all of the staff and administrators in between, together we are raising the global reputation of the university. Together we are nurturing the next generation of global citizens."

To be nominated for a Global Achievement Award by supervisors and peers is an achievement in itself. It speaks volumes, to the global commitment of the university System that these awards are so highly competitive.

From a neuroscientist to medical heroes fighting the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone to a multinational consortium dedicated to understanding and responding to oil spills, USF is home to a community of remarkable administrators, staff and faculty. The 2017 USF World Global Achievement Awards go to:

Administrator Category

Honorable Mention: Dr. Martin Tadlock is the Regional Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, USF St. Petersburg. Dr. Tadlock was nominated due to the significant in-roads he has made in globalizing USFSP, from partnerships with international universities to recruiting top international students.

Award for Outstanding Global Engagement: Dr. Moez Limayem, Dean of the Muma College of Business. Because of the leadership of Dean Limayem, the college has reached new heights in terms of globalization: study abroad numbers have set a record, international student enrollment is up, and the increased number of international partnerships with the college is unprecedented. Letters of recommendation echo these sentiments and state that Dean Limayem is the personification of a global citizen. He has been instrumental in student recruitment by selflessly devoting time to personally meet students in China, India, Russia, and Colombia.

Staff Category

Award for Outstanding Global Engagement, USF St. Petersburg: Wendy Baker, Office of Academic Affairs. Nominated for her exemplary and unceasing contributions to global education at USFSP, Baker works both behind the scenes and leading out front. Her passion is to create richly rewarding, affordable, high-impact global experiences for the students both on campus and abroad.

Award for Outstanding Global Engagement, USF Sarasota-Manatee: Amela Malkic, Director, Global Engagement Office. Malkic leads USFSM's strategic efforts to increase academic opportunities abroad, facilitate international academic exchange and provides support to international students and exchange scholars. Additionally, she gives freely of her time to Fulbright, Global Risk Committee, Global Studies Committee and other worthwhile organizations.

Award for Outstanding Global Engagement, USF Tampa: Cristienn Joudaane, Director USF Health International and Panama Initiatives, USF Health. USF Health students, medical residents and faculty are safer and have experienced more enriching global experiences because of Joudaane's unwavering commitment and timely support for international efforts. This year, USF Health sent a record 353 students out to 40 different countries to participate in educational, research and clinical programs. Under her direction, the Panama Initiatives have expanded, and every international arena employee has been touched by her work and her professionalism.

Group Category

Honorable Mention: Global Citizens Project. Now led by Dr. Jennifer Jones Lister, the Global Citizens Project consists of a devoted group of professionals that strive to bring the world to our campus through innovation and change aimed at enhancing undergraduate students' global competencies through the development of new and improved curricular and co-curricular experiences.

Award for Outstanding Global Engagement: Center for Integrated Analysis of Gulf Ecosystems (C-IMAGE). Headquartered in the USF College of Marine Sciences, this lab is a multinational consortium dedicated to understanding and responding to oil spills. Working with researchers from Mexico, Cuba, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and Australia, C-IMAGE has confronted problems from the Deepwater Horizon and other large spills in the Gulf and around the world. Expeditions have provided opportunities for graduate students and faculty to solve problems with cutting-edge technologies having an impact on the future ecology of the coastal waters.

Award for Global Support: Transfer Articulation Team, USF Registrar's Office. In the 2016-17 academic year, the Transfer Articulation Team processed nearly 1,500 transcripts related to the School of Record programs at Florence University of the Arts (FUA) and Sea|Mester—both programs that provide a significant income to the USF Education Abroad Office. Additionally, this supportive group manages the FUA course catalog of 850 courses, with 115 of these being added in the past year alone. This exceptional team provides support to USF students and hundreds of students around the world with high productivity, efficiency, flexibility, unlimited patience toward their demanding and time-sensitive work. Without the dedication of the Transfer Articulation Team the Education Abroad Office could neither sustain the important relationships nor contemplate their expansion and future growth.

Faculty Category

Award for Outstanding Global Engagement are: Dr. Asa Oxner and Dr. Andrew Myers, Assistant Professors of Medicine, College of Medicine. Nominated for their continued work after they were involved in fighting the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone, these two medical heroes opened the door to West Africa for USF and are two of the only three Ebola experienced doctors in Florida. Since the outbreak, they started HIV and Ebola survivor care clinics and implemented an intensive year-long curriculum for community health officers. Drs. Oxner and Myers brought two trainees to USF in 2017 and are returning to West Africa with a USF group, enriching the narrative of our world involvement.

Award for Outstanding Global Student Success: Deidre Orriola, Undergraduate Studies, College of Public Health. Orriola has been an incredible advocate for international programs, and her aspiration to help educate and motivate students to work in global health has continued to raise the bar among her colleagues. Orriola's involvement in global committees, curriculum and research has had a positive impact on students campus-wide. She works tirelessly to encourage and motivate students and ignites their passion for global public health.

Award for Outstanding Global Student Success: Dr. Christian Wells, Anthropology Department, College of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Wells, as a part of USF's largest international sustainability grant, has worked with students and faculty from USF, Belize and other countries to study environmental contamination from wastewater. His remarkable achievements have encouraged faculty and students from anthropology, environmental engineering and marine sciences to work together. Additionally, Dr. Wells spearheaded the effort to bring two Peace Corps programs to USF, giving the university a unique position to be able to train returning volunteers in anthropological approaches to human and environmental health. His work places USF on the global map for international research with an emphasis on student success.

Award for Outstanding Global Research: Dr. Jody McBrien, Professor of Education, Liberal Arts & Sciences, USF Sarasota-Manatee. Numerous local, national and international achievements have made Dr. Jody McBrien internationally known in the study of refugee and human rights. She is a role model to many for the passion she puts into her research and work on globally marginalized populations. McBrien is the true embodiment of a global scholar and one that strives to make a difference.

Award for Outstanding Global Research: Dr. Cesario Borlongan, Distinguished Professor, Director of the Center for Excellence for aging and Brain Repair. In 2017, Dr. Borlongan received the International Everfront Award, one of the most highly regarded awards in the world for extraordinary achievements in neuroscience research. The impact his work at USF has had on faculty and students is unprecedented. He is an internationally distinguished researcher who frequently collaborates across borders and across disciplines. Borlongan's innovative and significant achievements have accelerated USF's reputation as a world leader in health research.

Award Global Visionary Award: Dr. Yogi Goswami. Dr. Goswami, of the Clean Energy Research Center, College of Engineering. This past year, Dr. Yogi Goswami achieved numerous global distinctions in the field of solar energy, including the 2016 Karl Boer Energy Medal of Merit—the highest global award in solar energy—for his pioneering work in solar thermal power and photo-electrochemical disinfection technology. His prolific outreach, research, patents, publications, and involvement in global organizations around the world inspires his students and fellow faculty members and has focused a spotlight on our university.

Special Awards

Award for Outstanding System Leadership: Dr. Darlene DeMarie, Associate Professor Educational and Psychological Studies, College of Education and Fulbright Faculty Advisor, USF World. DeMarie's teaching and scholarship focus on child development in a global context, and while on sabbatical during fall 2016, she returned to the child development center she co-created in South Africa during a previous Fulbright experience. DeMarie's reach goes well beyond the children and students she has taught; her expertise and knowledge of the Fulbright application process has built the USF program into one of national fame. Through her mentorship, USF had an outstanding 12 faculty members named as Fulbright scholars.

Award for Lifetime Achievement: Dr. John Sinnott, Professor & Chair, College of Medicine Internal Medicine; Chairman, Department of Internal. Dr. John Sinnott is well-known for encouraging and inspiring faculty, residents, and medical students to engage in international medical research and programmatic activity. He is a world-class practitioner, mentor, teacher, and community servant—in Tampa Bay and within the international community. He is truly a global ambassador for USF. As the founding Dean of USF Medicine International, Dr. Sinnott has grown the program to include more than 30 collaborations in 18 countries; 156 USF medical students have studied in 22 countries; and 136 international scholars have traveled to Tampa to learn from the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Sinnott has successfully recruited highly skilled physicians from Colombia, India, the Dominican Republic, Lebanon, the Philippines, South Korea, Peru, and Thailand for residency and fellowship programs at USF.

Recognized around the world as the architect of highly successful training programs for healthcare workers and administrators, Dr. Sinnott has made a lasting impact in India, China, and Thailand where the program he created – in collaboration with Tampa General Hospital and USF Health faculty—has trained more than 200 senior administrators, physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. The Leadership Enhancement and Development Program has been particularly instrumental in improving healthcare in Gansu Province in rural, northwestern China. In recognition of the impact of Dr. Sinnott's contribution to Gansu Province, its Vice Governor recently bestowed him with the 2017 Dunhuang Award; he is the only American to receive the award in 2017.

Dr. Sinnott is also a great humanitarian. He consistently seeks to improve healthcare delivery in rural areas and among underserved populations. In her nomination letter, Dr. Lynette Menezes remembers her first interaction with Dr. Sinnott at an HIV/AIDS training session dedicated to improving the capacity of physicians in India and the passion he demonstrated for quality care among those with the greatest need.

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USF leads the nation as the Top Producer of Fulbright Faculty Scholars. With an outstanding 12 faculty members named as scholars, USF doubled its number from last year surpassing other top research institutions, including the Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University and more. As a Fulbright Scholar, USF faculty pursue global research and teaching opportunities.
Faculty who have recently completed a Fulbright experience were presented a medal from President Judy Genshaft:

• Laura Anderson, Chemistry Department, CAS, Fulbright location: Colombia
• Diane Morrison-Beedy, College of Nursing, Fulbright Location: UK/Scotland
• Terry-Rene Brown, Integrative Biology, CAS, Fulbright Location: European Union
• Jerry Koehler, Information Systems and Decision Sciences, Muma COB, Fulbright Location: Belarus
• Roger Peters, Mental Health, Law and Policy, BCS, Fulbright Location: Paraguay
• James Stock, Department of Marketing /Business, Muma COB, Fulbright Location: Finland

Additionally, current visiting Fulbright students and scholars from around the world received medals for their research and partnership with USF.

• Maria Baldeon Calisto, Ecuador
• Andrew Frey, United Kingdom
• Ammara Mehd Ghani, Pakistan
• Bawana Niyem Mawenbe, Togo
• Yanti Leosari, Indonesia
• Ferry Muhammadsyah Siregar, Indonesia

Visit the USF World Facebook page for a photo album of the event ceremony.