Category: Faculty Awards

Congratulations to the following recipients of the 2018 Hand Awards for Distinguished Faculty Achievement.

The Hand Award for Community Impact celebrates the achievements of faculty serving the needs of the Stetson community and the community beyond the campus.

Terrence Farrell, Ph.D., Professor of Biology
Hand Award for Research, Creative and Professional Activity

Pamela Cappas-Toro, Ph.D., Associate Professor of World Languages and Cultures (Spanish)
Hand Award for Community Impact

Faculty service to our neighbors not only links the University with the broader community, but serves as an example to inspire our students who, we hope, become inspired to make the world better. It therefore gives me great pleasure to acknowledge the extraordinary work of DR. PAMELA CAPPAS-TORO, assistant professor of World Languages and Cultures.  Upon joining the faculty in 2013, she immediately set out to answer the question “Who is my neighbor?” more generously than most of us ever dream. Her scholarship and service are dedicated to those marginalized by race, class, nation, and legal status.  

In 2013, Pamela founded La Casita Cultural Latina, a cultural center for our community, dedicated to providing “education and leadership development opportunities” to our under-served Hispanic neighbors. The very next year, Dr. Cappas-Toro founded the Community Engagement Project, offering classes to incarcerated populations in the high-security Tomoka Correctional Facility. She collaborates with Stetson colleagues in both endeavors, building a broad community for education, and demonstrating Stetson’s mission beyond our campuses. One nominator wrote “Her impact on the campus and local community is undeniable, and her national influence through the Community Engagement Project is now an established fact.” Professor Cappas-Toro embodies the essence and spirit of the purpose of higher education by recognizing and nurturing the cultural wealth of forgotten and minortized communities. This year, we are honored to present Professor Pamela Cappas-Toro with the Hand Award for Community Impact. 

Presented by Provost Noel Painter on May 11, 2018 at the 132rd annual Undergraduate Commencement

Congratulations to the following recipients of the 2017 Hand Awards for Distinguished Faculty Achievement.

Mary Pollock, Ph.D., Professor of English
Hand Award for Research, Creative and Professional Activity

Bonnie Holloway, MB.A, Visiting Lecturer in Accounting
Hand Award for Community Impact

Through the generosity of Homer and Dolly Hand of Belle Glade, Florida, the University has established honorary monetary awards to recognize outstanding faculty work. This year, we recognize the professional achievements of two outstanding members in two categories.

The Hand Award for Community Impact celebrates the achievements of faculty serving the needs of the community, both the Stetson community and the community beyond the campus. It, therefore, gives me great pleasure to present this award to one individual for distinctive faculty leadership and achievement.


BONNIE HOLLOWAY is a double hatter, earning both her Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Master of Business Administration in Accounting from Stetson University. She is a certified public accountant in Florida, practicing part-time to allow her to pursue her passion for teaching and community engagement. Her academic career includes teaching accounting as an adjunct professor for over 30 years, serving as department chair, federal grant writer, and Title III project director. At Stetson, Holloway currently oversees the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, or VITA, Program, which provides tax assistance to low-income individuals free of charge and trains students as Certified Advanced Preparers.


Under her leadership, the Stetson VITA program has completed nearly 1,300 tax returns that have resulted in refunds totaling well over 1.3 million dollars. A quotation from her nomination reads, “Bonnie is responsible for recruiting student volunteers, organizing and conducting their formal training, scheduling tax preparation sessions, identifying and selecting site coordinators and quality reviewers, handling administrative matter with partners and clients, and overseeing the actual tax prepationg sessions….Bonnie has a great attitude, a tremendous work ethic, and is devoted to the students and to those in the community whom VITA serves. She is very deserving of this award.”


For her professional commitment and deep impact on the Stetson and DeLand communities, Ms. Bonnie Holloway receives the 2017 Hand Award for Community Impact.

The Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity celebrates faculty achievement, accomplishment, leadership, and contribution to the intellectual vibrancy and vitality of our campus. This Hand Award recognizes that excellence is to be found in innovative as well as traditional forms of scholarship that demonstrate substantive disciplinary or interdisciplinary knowledge. It, therefore, gives me great pleasure to present this award to one individual for distinctive achievement and leadership.

Mary Sanders Pollock joined the Department of English in 1985, teaching British literature, green studies, and gender studies. In addition to peer-reviewed articles and book reviews, she is the author of two books,
Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning: A Creative Partnership and Storytelling Apes: Primatology Narrative Past and Future. Her most recent project aligns with her continuing interest in English literature, environmental issues, and nature writing. She also co-edited the anthology Figuring Animals, and the anthology Victorial Literature and Fil Adaptation. Dr. Pollock is a leading voice in Victorian literature, making impressive contributions to the field. A quotation from her nomination reads, “I want to nominate Mary Pollock…not only because of the quality and the scope of her current projects, but also for the relevance of past scholarly projects that got confirmed this past year.”

For her professional commitment and in recognition and celebration of her substantial scholarly contributions, Dr. Mary Sanders Pollock receives the 2017 Hand Award for Research, Creative, and Professional Activity.

Presented by Provost Noel Painter on May 11, 2017 at the 131rd annual Undergraduate Commencement