Wind tunnel

The overall goal of the Academic and Faculty Excellence SIT is to achieve academic excellence with exceptional programs and outstanding faculty:

  1. Ensure the relevancy of academic programs: Update the curriculum regularly to provide students with the latest industry-relevant knowledge and experiences.
  2. Ensure continuous improvement of instruction: Provide opportunities for faculty to continuously improve their instructional skills.
  3. Expand faculty role in student retention initiatives: Involve faculty in designing and evaluating measures to improve retention rates through collaboration with academic support units.
  4. Recruit and support outstanding faculty: Enhance best practices for faculty recruitment and retention.

View the Academic and Faculty Excellence components of the Strategic Plan.

SIT Members

Chair

  • Kelly Austin, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost — University Administration

Executive Committee

  • Eduardo Divo, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs – UA  
  • Riccardo Bevilacqua, Interim Vice Provost for Academic Affairs – UA
  • Jim Gregory, Dean and Professor, College of Engineering – Daytona Beach 
  • Alan Stolzer, Dean and Professor, College of Aviation – Daytona Beach 
  • Tom Drape, Dean and Professor, College of Business, Security and Intelligence – Prescott 
  • Maneesh Sharma, Dean and Professor, College of Business – Worldwide 
  • Bettina Mrusek, Dean and Associate Professor, College of Aviation – Worldwide 
  • Cheily Diaz, Director of Recruiting and Compensation – UA
  • Julie Ferguson, University Registrar – UA
  • Will Miller, Associate Vice President for Continuous Improvement & Institutional Performance – UA
  • Mary Frances Causey, Chief Business Officer – Prescott 

Steering Committee

  • Eduardo Divo, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs – UA
  • Keith Wilson, Assistant Dean of Curriculum & Accreditation and Assistant Professor, College of Aviation – Worldwide 
  • Farshid Azadian, Chair and Professor, Department of Supply Chain Management & Air Cargo and Operations – Daytona Beach 
  • Stacey McIntire, Chair and Assistant Professor of Aeronautical Science, Interim Assistant Dean, College of Aviation – Prescott  
  • Hadi Ali, Assistant Professor of Aerospace Engineering – Prescott 
  • Joshua Caulkins, Director of CTLE – Prescott 
  • Deborah Prosser, University Librarian, Hunt Library – Daytona Beach
  • Angela Atwell, Executive Director, RCTLE – Worldwide 
  • Adam Raab, Associate Director of Rankings Research and Outreach, Institutional Research – UA
  • Dean Goon, Dean of Academic Innovation – Worldwide 
  • Ghazal Barari, Associate Professor of the Practice, School of Engineering – Worldwide 
  • Claudia Cornejo Happel, Director of CTLE – Daytona Beach
  • Esmaeil Zarei, Associate Professor, Department of Safety Sciences – Prescott
  • Erin Goldesberry, Project Manager, IT Administration – Daytona Beach
  • Alyssa DeNaro, Senior Generative AI Solution Specialist and Faculty Fellow for AI – UA
  • Aroh Barjatya, Associate Dean for Research, and Professor, College of Arts and Sciences – Daytona Beach
  • Lin Zhao, Senior Associate Dean and Professor, O’Maley College of Business – Daytona Beach

Strategy Sub-Groups: 

  1. Relevancy of Academic Programs – Lin Zhao (lead) 
  1. Continuous Improvement of Instruction – Dean Goon (lead) 
  1. Faculty Role on Student Retention – Joshua Caulkins (lead) 
  1. Recruit and Support Outstanding Faculty  – Eduardo Divo (lead)