The University of South Florida has named faculty member Michelle Arnold and staff member Bart Stucker, both of the Sarasota-Manatee campus, as winners of the 2019 USF Faculty Research and Outstanding Staff awards, respectively.
Arnold and Stucker were recognized during a virtual ceremony last week to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of faculty and staff at USF’s three campuses. Usually held in April, near the end of the academic year, the ceremony was delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to receiving the Outstanding Staff Award, which was presented to staff members from each USF campus, Stucker was named Employee of the Year, one of two such winners. Also winning the award was Ashley Ros, undergraduate admissions advisor in the College of Nursing.
“This is just a tremendous honor, and to be named Employee of the Year is especially significant to me because it’s a university-wide award. It was a complete surprise to me,” said Stucker, coordinator of orientation, recreation and wellness programs on the campus. “I’m so appreciative to have the opportunity to work at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, and I congratulate all the winners and the nominees.”
Arnold, an assistant professor of communication sciences and disorders, was honored based on her 2019 research, which included two grant applications – one approved by the National Institutes of Health for $450,000 – and a 2019 article about hearing aid usage among older Latinos published in “JAMA Otolaryngology,” the leading journal in her research area. In addition, Arnold is an investigator in the Auditory Rehabilitation and Clinical Trials Laboratory on the Tampa campus.
“I am honored to be able to carry out work that is important to me and the patients I serve at an institution that values my research contributions, and I look forward to growing the research profile on the Sarasota-Manatee campus,” Arnold said.
In addition to Stucker, other Outstanding Staff nominees from the Sarasota-Manatee campus included:
- Ben Hyland
- Briana Byers
- Darren Gambrell
- Francis Bryant
- John Dudley
- Krista Lee
- Lana Rusch
- Lynn Nixon
- Peggy Ragan
- Sandy Justice
- Victoria Ramirez
Nominated for the Outstanding Team Award were:
- Bart Stucker and Ben Hyland: Reverse Career Fair
- Briana Byers, Wilma Velasquez and David DeColfmacker: Advising Team
- Toni Ripo and Ben Hyland: Career Services