Congratulations to the recipient of the 2022 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching
The Office of Faculty Engagement is proud to congratulate Dr. Randall Croom, Associate Professor of Management and Assistant Director of the Honors Program, on receiving the 2026 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stetson University’s most prestigious recognition for teaching excellence.
Established in 1974, the McEniry Award honors faculty members who exemplify exceptional classroom teaching, intellectual growth, professional achievement, and meaningful service to students and the university community. (Stetson University)
Dr. Croom is widely recognized for his commitment to student mentorship, experiential learning, and helping students connect theory to practice. Through his work in the School of Business Administration and the Honors Program, he has made a lasting impact on countless students across the Stetson community.
Please join us in celebrating Dr. Croom on this well-deserved honor and thanking him for his continued dedication to teaching, scholarship, and student success.
Dr. Randall Croom
Associate Professor of Management and Assistant Director of the Honors Program
Congratulations to the recipient of the 2025 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching
The Office of Faculty Engagement is proud to congratulate Dr. John Riggs, Professor of Practice in Marketing and Director of the Centurion Sales Excellence Program, on receiving the 2025 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Established in 1974, the McEniry Award honors faculty members who exemplify the highest standards of teaching excellence, intellectual growth, professional accomplishment, and service to students and the university community. (Stetson University)
Dr. Riggs is widely respected for his dynamic teaching style, mentorship of students pursuing careers in business and professional sales, and commitment to experiential learning. Through his leadership of the Centurion Sales Excellence Program, he has helped prepare students for success through hands-on learning, industry engagement, and professional development opportunities.
His dedication to student achievement and innovative business education has made a lasting impact within the School of Business Administration and across the broader Stetson community. (Stetson University)
Please join us in celebrating Dr. Riggs on this well-deserved honor and thanking him for his continued dedication to teaching, mentorship, and student success.
Dr. John Riggs Professor of Practice in Marketing and Director of the Centurion Sales Excellence Program
Congratulations to the recipient of the 2023 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching
The Office of Faculty Engagement is proud to congratulate Dr. Cynthia Bennington, Professor of Biology, on receiving the 2023 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching, Stetson University’s highest honor for teaching excellence.
Established in 1974, the McEniry Award recognizes faculty members who embody exceptional classroom teaching, intellectual growth, professional achievement, and meaningful service to students and the university community. (Stetson University)
Dr. Bennington is widely admired for her dedication to student mentorship, innovative teaching, and commitment to scientific inquiry. Through her work in the Department of Biology, she has inspired generations of students to pursue research, critical thinking, and academic excellence.
Her impact extends far beyond the classroom through collaborative scholarship, undergraduate research mentorship, and a deep commitment to fostering student success across the Stetson community. (Stetson University)
Please join us in celebrating Dr. Bennington on this well-deserved recognition and thanking her for her continued dedication to teaching, scholarship, and the Stetson community.
Congratulations to the recipient of the 2024 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching
The Office of Faculty Engagement is proud to congratulate Dr. Katya Kudryavtseva, Associate Professor of Art History and Curator of the Vera Bluemner Kouba Collection, on receiving the 2024 William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching.
As Stetson University’s most prestigious teaching honor, the McEniry Award recognizes faculty members who demonstrate exceptional classroom instruction, intellectual leadership, professional achievement, and meaningful service to students and the university community. (Stetson University)
Dr. Kudryavtseva is recognized for her engaging and interdisciplinary approach to teaching, her dedication to mentoring students, and her ability to connect art history with broader cultural and historical conversations. Through her work in the Department of Art, Art History, and Design, she has helped cultivate curiosity, creativity, and global understanding among her students.
Her contributions to scholarship, curation, and experiential learning continue to enrich the Stetson academic experience and reflect the university’s teacher-scholar tradition. (Stetson University)
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Kudryavtseva on this outstanding achievement and thanking her for her continued commitment to excellence in teaching and mentorship.
Dr. Katya Kudryavtseva Associate Professor of Art History
Since 1988, the Hand Awards for Distinguished Faculty Achievement are made possible through the continued generosity of trustee emeritus and alumna, the late Dolly Hand and her late husband, Homer Hand. Through their support of excellence in higher education, Stetson University is honored this year to recognize the professional achievements of two outstanding faculty members in two primary areas: in Research, Creative, and Professional Activity, and in Community Impact.
Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity
This first Hand Award celebrates outstanding achievement in Research, Creative, and Professional Activity.
Prior to accepting an invitation to join the faculty at Stetson University in 2015, this faculty member served as a National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research post-doctoral Fellow at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Health Services and Outcomes Research. Since May 2024, this faculty member has served as faculty director of Advanced Analytics, and prior, as faculty director of Research Design and Analytics with the Stetson Center for Public Opinion Research.
This scholar is a quantitative psychologist and epidemiologist whose research exemplifies the spirit of the Hand Award through the exceptional quality, impact, and scope. Their recent research focuses on water conservation and coastal resilience, officer-involved shootings, pain perceptions in pancreatitis, cognitive impairment, and innovations in the field of prosthetics. In the last five years alone, this faculty member has amassed an impressive body of research to the tune of approximately 30 publication which have been published in the top journals in the field. In addition to other scholarly contributions, their work has been cited nearly 2,000 times, with over 4, 100 citations over the course of this scholar’s career.
Their intellectual contributions have significantly enhanced the disciplinary field as well as the intellectual landscape of Stetson University.This teacher-scholar is heavily involved in psychometrics research, a field of study in psychology concerned with the theory and technique of measurement. These specialized studies are deeply informative for this scholar’s teaching and have been also useful for several of their service functions at the university.
One nominator wrote, “[This colleague] has an incredible H-index of 29, demonstrating a solid research performance and clear influence and impact within their field. It is worth noting that [their] research expertise has been invaluable to the university directly. [This colleague] has served as the faculty director of Advanced Analytics with [ Stetson’s] Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, providing invaluable data on issues such as the effectiveness of Student Evaluations of Teaching. [Their] expertise with statistical analysis has been essential in guiding the university toward sound policy.”
Their record of scholarship reflects the very best of Stetson University’s teacher-scholar ideal. Through sustained research excellence, generous mentorship, and a deep commitment to interdisciplinary collaboration, this scholar has amplified the reach and reputation of Stetson’s academic mission.
Therefore, in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the field, and passionate dedication to students and the Stetson community, it gives me great pleasure on behalf of the faculty, staff, and students at Stetson University to present the 2026 Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity to Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Robert Askew.
Dr. Robert Askew.
Hand Award for Community Impact
This second Hand Award celebrates outstanding achievement in Community Impact. The award recipient joined Stetson’s faculty corps 30 years ago in 1996, and was recognized in 2023 with Stetson’s highest honor, the William Hugh McEniry Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2025, this community warrior was named Faculty Partner of the Year, an award that recognizes outstanding collaboration and partnership with the broader community.
This faculty member embodies the spirit of the Hand Award for Community Impact through dedicated, hands-on service that elevates the critical importance of the outdoor classroom. For example, this scientist makes science accessible and fun for the public by organizing Science Saturdays. These family-friendly events invite children and adults to explore science and the environment through engaging activities that leave participants with a life-long love for nature. As such, throughout their longstanding Stetson career, this consummate teacher-scholar not only practices the art of science through prolific field research with students and publication of findings but expertly translates this and other work to strengthen environmental education and sustainability efforts.
An advocate for promoting citizen-science, this faculty member’s tireless work on the construction, leadership, and care for the flourishing Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem is widely recognized by faculty and community members. Individuals of all ages have been actively engaged in this community environmental endeavor. Personal testimonies attest to their impact on the project. This space has become an valued outdoor classroom and enriching community resource, even earning recognition from the Florida Native Plant Society for its educational and environmental importance. One nominator wrote “ Over [their] whole career at Stetson [this individual] has gone above and beyond to enhance and support environmental education and sustainability in our community through[their] work, building and maintaining the Volusia Sandhill Ecosystem as a wonderful interactive and beautiful teaching landscape. “
Therefore, in recognition of her exceptional contributions to bringing learning about the environment to life for University students and the broader community, her tireless dedication to students, and her collaborative spirit that has enriched the Stetson and broader communities, it gives me great pleasure on behalf of the faculty, staff, and students at Stetson University to present the prestigious 2026 Hand Award for Community Impact to Professor of Biology Dr. Cynthia Bennington.
Dr. Cynthia Bennington.
Presented by Dr. Katty Webb, Dean of the Library and Learning Technologieson May 8, 2026 at the 2026 Academic Awards and Recognition Ceremony
It is my great honor to announce the recipient of this year’s Hand Award for Distinguished Faculty Achievement. This prestigious award recognizes excellence in research, creative, and professional activity, highlighting the significant contributions faculty members make to their professional fields and to the intellectual vibrancy of our campus.
The recipient of this year’s award is one of Stetson University’s most prolific scholars, whose work has had a profound national and global impact. With more than 300 publications, over 30,000 citations, and an h-index of 77—an exceptionally rare and esteemed score—his scholarship stands as a model of rigor, innovation, and collaboration. One nominator wrote: “He has collaborated on published projects with almost every faculty member within the psychology department, and with several other faculty across the university.” His research, particularly in the area of media psychology, has reshaped the field by challenging established views and offering a more nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between media and human behavior. His vital work been published in the most distinguished academic journals in his discipline and has also earned him numerous invitations to present his research at prestigious institutions around the world.
Transcending academic boundaries, today’s award recipient is also a well-respected public intellectual, whose expert insights are regularly featured in major media outlets such as MSNBC, NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The LA Times. His ability to translate complex research on violence in media has made him a trusted voice on critical social issues.
As a teacher-scholar, this individual has been deeply committed to mentorship. One colleague wrote: “Every semester as he runs multiple studies in his lab, he has a team of undergraduate student research assistants working with him. His students get excellent training in the research process, and he often publishes with those students too.” In short, he embodies Stetson’s relationship-rich learning.
In recognition of his exceptional contributions to the field, his tireless dedication to his students, and his collaborative spirit that has enriched the Stetson community, I am proud to announce that the recipient of this year’s Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity is Professor of Psychology, Dr. Christopher Ferguson.
Dr Christopher Ferguson
Presented by Dr. Katty Webb, Dean of the Library and Learning Technologieson May 9, 2025 at the 2025 Academic Awards and Recognition Ceremony
We congratulate our winners of the 2024 Willa Dean Lowery Fund to Support Research in the Natural Sciences
Kristine Dye, Assistant Professor of Health Sciences and Biology
Identification of a Non-Canonical Nuclear Localization Signal in the Merkel Cell Polyomavirus Small Tumor Antigen Necessary for the Development of Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Merkel Cell Polyomavirus (MCPyV) is the most recently discovered human oncogenic virus, and the etiologic agent of Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC), a skin cancer three times more deadly than melanoma. Previous work at Stetson found the small tumor antigen (ST) of MCPyV to be responsible for the development of MCC. Using an innovative dissimilarity approach, it was found that MCPyV ST is uniquely oncogenic when compared to the ST antigens of other human polyomaviruses. Furthermore, it was found that MCPyV ST uniquely localizes to the nucleus despite the absence of a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) and that this localization is necessary for oncogenesis. Future studies aim to identify the novel NLS of MCPyV ST, and determine whether this non-canonical NLS is responsible for the unique oncogenic abilities of MCPyV, necessary for the development of MCC. Consequently, these findings may support the development of novel MCPyV targeted therapeutics necessary for the treatment of MCC.
Lynn Kee, Associate Professor of Biology
Investigating TOR ell Signaling and the Effects of Rapamycin on Painted Lady Caterpillar and Butterfly Development
TOR signaling has been studied extensively in other organisms, and collectively, studies show that TOR regulates cell growth, aging, and survival in many organisms. In mice, treatment with rapamycin, a chemical that inhibits TOR signaling results in mice that lived 28% to 38% longer than the control group, which is about 6 to 9 years in human years. Studies in other organisms have shown similar effects of rapamycin on aging, a phenomenon conserved from yeast to worms to flies to mice. Our initial studies have shown that rapamycin treatment with Vanessa Cardui caterpillars lead to longer lived caterpillars with 30% increase in lifespan. The caterpillars form a chrysalis but we observed a failure of butterflies to hatch out of the chrysalises. Whether the butterflies cannot escape due to impaired or delayed wing development is not known. Here, we aim to investigate rapamycin’s effect on caterpillar and butterfly development, and TOR signaling. We propose to test different concentrations of rapamycin on caterpillar and butterfly development. In addition, we aim to measure the effect of rapamycin treatment on TOR signaling components through biochemical protein assays. Collectively, these studies will be the first study to investigate how TOR inhibition with rapamycin affects the development and lifespan of caterpillars and butterflies.
We congratulate our winner of the 2023 Willa Dean Lowery Fund to Support Research in the Natural Sciences
Holley Lynch, Associate Professor of Physics
Establishing Vanessa Cardui as a System for Embryo Research
Painted lady butterflies, Vanessa Cardui, are ideal for research with undergraduate students because butterflies are invertebrates with a relatively fast life cycle that lay eggs every day for several weeks at a time. Currently, Dr. Lynn Kee’s lab observations of the effect of genetic changes were all done at the caterpillar stage and beyond. Last year, we successfully collected the first images of embryo development in this species. This project will build on that success by making V. Cardui embryos a flexible system for student and faculty researchers by establishing temperature-based staging charts and developing a protocol to access tissues and cells in a living embryo. Achieving the first aim will allow researchers to schedule experiments to take advantage of peak egg-laying times regardless of the interest stage. Completing the second aim will allow the use of biophysical techniques from
imaging to mechanical manipulation on these embryos. This project has the potential to have a huge impact on the field by taking live images of cell movements at the embryo stage for any butterfly species.
Stetson University proudly announces the winners of the 2024 Hand Awards for Distinguished Faculty Achievement. These annual awards recognize outstanding faculty for their contributions in community impact, research, and professional activities. Congratulations to this year’s honorees:
Hand Award for Community Impact
Wendy Anderson, Professor of Environmental Science and Studies
The 2024 Hand Award for Community Impact recognizes a faculty member who came to Stetson University in 2014 as a department chair. In her almost 10 years at Stetson, she has achieved a distinguished record of community service, becoming a vital public figure and environmental champion in the broader West Volusia community. She chairs the Volusia Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, contributes a regular column to The West Volusia Beacon about locally relevant environmental issues, and serves on two advisory panels tasked with land management. She has also served on the Volusia County Environmental and Natural Resource Advisory Committee. Her ability to bridge political divides and navigate complex bureaucracies in the name of safeguarding the region’s shared natural and water resources is truly commendable. In so doing, she has enhanced Stetson’s profile, further advancing the university’s mission and values. This environmental scientist is described as a consummate community-engaged teacher-scholar, leveraging both her community connections and environmental expertise to enrich her students’ educational experiences. At Stetson, she reimagined the structure of the Department of Environmental Science and Studies and was instrumental in the creation of the Sustainable Food Systems Program. In her nomination packet, boasting numerous letters of support from faculty, staff, students, and DeLand community collaborators, multiple nominators refer to this faculty member as a “force of nature,” with one supporter noting that her level of community engagement is “nothing short of extraordinary.” Her primary nominator summarized her vast qualifications as follows: “I am honored and proud to work with her in the same department, where she effectively
showcases science in action. She embodies a conscientious scientist who takes her knowledge to streets, communities, city hall meetings, and her classrooms with the ultimate goal of passionately serving humanity. She has taught her students, in action, how to engage with individuals in positions of power and policymakers, compelling them to listen and take action to safeguard our shared environment.
For her professional commitment and her exceptional contributions to the university and broader communities, it gives me great pleasure on behalf of the faculty, staff, and students at Stetson University to present the 2024 Hand Award for Community Impact to Professor and Chair of Environmental Science and Studies and Director of the Sustainable Food Systems Program, Dr. Wendy Anderson.
Dr. Wendy Anderson.
Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity
Dr. Carol Azab, Associate Professor of Marketing
The first 2024 Hand Award for Research, Creative and Professional Activity recognizes an outstanding faculty member who – in her short time at Stetson University – has established herself as one of the most productive scholars in the School of Business Administration. This faculty member’s scholarly inquiry focuses on services marketing, global marketing, and the influence of the marketing function within the firm and the discipline. A hallmark of scholarly pursuits is peer review – the sharing and public testing of scholarly inquiry. The exceptional quality of this researcher’s scholarship is evidenced by the successful acceptance of 10 peer-reviewed journal articles in just eight years. Seven of her 10 papers have appeared in the most prestigious top-tier journals in the field, including the Journal of Business Research, the Journal of Consumer Behaviour, the Journal of Business Ethics, and the Journal of Behavioral Finance. These journals enjoy some of the highest impact factors, which are proxy measures of the importance, deep rigor, international reach, and appeal of the published research. One of her articles – on new rules of social media shopping – garnered the distinction of the most cited paper in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour in 2022, for which she won an award. By pursuing research projects with current and former colleagues, and supervising at least eight student research groups annually, herstudents have benefited significantly from her expertise in a broad set of analytical techniques. More specifically, her work in services marketing has helped redefine disciplinary knowledge and as a teacher-scholar, she has brought her findings to the classroom and transformed her marketing courses. In sum, her work has influenced the direction and evolution of her discipline. One faculty nominator wrote, “[This scholar] is passionate about justice in service recovery, establishing equity when companies fail customers’ expectations and [are] trying to win them back. Her research is significant because it deals with stereotypes of minority customers and the use of primary and secondary language in service encounters.”
Through her stellar scholarship and impressive service to her field, this faculty member contributes impressively to Stetson University’s scholarly and intellectual vibrancy. In 2023, she received the School of Business Administration’s Outstanding Researcher of the Year Award. It gives me great pleasure on behalf of the faculty and staff at Stetson University to present the 2024 Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity to Associate Professor Dr. Carol Azab for her professional commitment and her exceptional scholarly contributions.
Dr. Carol Azab
Hand Award for Research, Creative and Professional Activity
Jean Smith, Assistant Professor of Biology
The second 2024 Hand Award for Research, Creative and Professional Activity honors a faculty member who has rapidly established herself as a leading scientific researcher and whose quality of research has had a transformative impact on the field of molecular biology. Since arriving at Stetson University in 2019, this scientist has acquired an impressive publication record by repeatedly publishing her research outcomes in top-tier, high impact scientific journals, including Science, Genetics, and The Journal of Cell Biology. Within the past five years her body of research has been cited in the published works of other scientists approximately 500 times. Furthermore, she has garnered major grant support including a recent multi-year award from the National Science Foundation for more than half a million dollars. As a Stetson University teacher-scholar, this faculty member has demonstrated the unique integration of the teacher’s facilitation of students’ learning with her own continuous scholarly development in two ways. First, her involvement of students as researchers in her own professional development has led to ground-breaking research in molecular biology, and the team’s work has led to novel findings in the molecular mechanisms of cell fusion—a process essential for sexual reproduction in all organisms. Seven of her mentored research students have won best student presentation awards at scientific conferences. Second, her scholarly work infuses her courses with research-rich experiential learning opportunities for students. This is particularly noteworthy in her Genetics and Microbiology offerings—two courses that now form a vital core of Stetson’s extremely successful health professions curriculum. Several of her students have been recruited into the nation’s top graduate programs. One faculty nominator wrote: “She is an exemplar of the way in which an excellent, rigorous scientist can mentor and excite students, introducing them to concepts they may have never considered, and making the previously inconceivable understandable and attainable”.
It gives me great pleasure on behalf of the faculty and staff at Stetson University to present the 2024 Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity to Assistant Professor Dr. Jean Smith for her professional commitment and her exceptional scholarly contributions.
Dr. Jean Smith
Presented by Dr. Rosalie Richards, Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Professor of Chemistry and Education on May 10, 2024 at the 2024 Academic Awards and Recognition Ceremony
Congratulations to the following recipients of the 2023 Hand Awards for Distinguished Faculty Achievement.
Since 1988, the Hand Awards for Distinguished Faculty Achievement are made possible through the continued generosity of trustee emeritus and alumna Dolly Hand and her late husband, Homer Hand. Through their support of excellence in higher education, Stetson University is honored this year to recognize one outstanding facultymember for the Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity.
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This teacher-scholar was invited to join the faculty corps at Stetson University six years ago and has engaged in an expansive scope of high-quality research and professional activity with penetrable national and international implications. As a recognized expert in development economics, their work has easily transcended academic boundaries by making practical global impact, particularly on women in agriculture in rural regions and in developing countries.This expertise is sought after by global organizations such as the World Bank, the UN Development Programme, and USAID. This work significantly contributes to Stetson’s vibrancy and vitality, especially on students in upper-level economics courses.
This faculty member has acquired a prolific record in their short time here. One nominator wrote, this faculty member “has developed an impressive scholarly record during their time at Stetson. Their expertise in development economics has been recognized and sought after on campus, nationally, and internationally, and they have published their work in high-impact venues.”
Therefore, it gives me great pleasure on behalf of the faculty and staff at Stetson University to present the 2023 Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity to Associate ProfessorDr. Khushbu Mishra for her stellar, established, and sustained record of scholarly achievement.
Presented by Dr. Rosalie Richards, Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Professor of Chemistry and Education on May 10, 2023 at the 2023 Academic Awards and Recognition Ceremony
