Posted: March 28, 2024
Each academic year, the Graduate School at the University of Florida confers the Graduate Education Champion Award (GECA) on faculty and staff admired for building bridges over barriers to elevate the graduate student experience and shape the trajectory of graduate education at UF.
Current UF graduate students nominate full-time UF faculty or staff members for this award.
Winners are chosen on the basis of their commitment to excellence, promotion of positive interactions, dedication to cross-cultural understanding, and efforts to foster harmony amid differences. Particularly important is how nominees cultivate and expand a hospitable environment in which every Grad Gator finds opportunity for optimal performance, input, and impact.
Our hearty applause goes out to the GECA winners for 2023-2024:
Dr. Kent Crippen
Associate Professor of STEM Education
UF School of Teaching and Learning
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Dr. Crippen’s nomination noted his passion for the research of others as well as his own, his enthusiasm for collaboration in academic endeavors, the effort that he puts into getting to know people around him, his gentle nudge to encourage students to bring out their best, and his willingness to share time and attention with others no matter how rigorous his schedule. As one of his students said, “Simply put, he makes you feel seen.”
Dr. Gabriela Hamerlinck
Assistant Instructional Professor
UF Department of Geography
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Dr. Hamerlinck’s nomination highlighted her development of a Teaching Assistant Orientation program for her department’s incoming Grad Gators and her leadership on its Student Services Committee. In addition, it stressed her open-door style of mentoring — on both the academic growth and professional development fronts — as impactful evidence of her personal interest and investment in graduate student success at UF.
Dr. Corinne Huggins-Manley
Associate Professor of Research and Evaluation Methodology
UF School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education
Profile
Dr. Huggins-Manley’s nomination praised her track record of moving beyond traditional boundaries and building bridges between students in different fields. It also spotlighted her intuitive understanding of the nuances of international students’ experiences and how her sense of empathy helps them to navigate higher education in a new, unfamiliar cultural setting and through the challenges that come with it.
Thank you, Drs. Crippen, Hamerlinck, and Huggins-Manley, for so exceptionally championing both graduate students and graduate education at UF!
To learn more about the Graduate Education Champion Award, click here — GECA — or email our Office of Graduate Student Support and Engagement (OGSSE) at grad-support@ufl.edu.
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