FIU recognizes that academic excellence is driven by dedicated faculty who instruct, research, create, mentor and serve. Each year, select individuals are recognized for their significant achievements at the annual Faculty Convocation Award Ceremony and Dinner. This year, three of CARTA’s faculty members received awards of distinction:
- Faculty Award for Adjunct Teaching: FIU Art + Art History’s Peggy Nolan
- Faculty Award for Adjunct Teaching: FIU Theatre’s Pioneer Winter
- Distinguished University Professor: FIU Department of Architecture’s John Stuart
Professor John Stuart answered a few questions regarding his time at FIU and the significance of this honor:
How many years have you dedicated to working at FIU?
I started at FIU in 1994, so I’ve been here for 25 years—wow, time flies when you’re having fun!
What does receiving this award from FIU and President Rosenberg mean to you personally?
This promotion is personally a humbling, but very much appreciated endorsement of the work I have been doing in collaboration with a number of colleagues from a variety of disciplines for many years now. Just about every five years (or so it seems) FIU feels to me like an exciting new institution. These past five years, for example, have been spent building CARTA engagement at MBUS (Miami Beach Urban Studios), an interdisciplinary “collider” for people and ideas in arts, design, sciences and technology. But I’ve always been interested in using creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication (and now with completion and compassion!) can provide the foundation for the FIU of the future.
What was the nomination process like?
The nomination process for this particular promotion required a letter from a nominator, in this case my brilliant friend and mentor Dean John F. Stack, Jr., and letters of support from a range of visionary leaders, friends and colleagues including CARTA Dean Brian Schriner, Architecture Chair Jason Chandler, Provost Emeritus Dr. Douglas Wartzok, artist Dr. Jacek Kolasinski, environmental scientist Dr. Tiffany Troxler, and tech entrepreneur extraordinaire Walter Gonzalez.
What drives you to strive for excellence here at FIU?
I am driven by FIU’s commitment to student access and success—a message led and reinforced by FIU’s inspirational leadership. As a member of the faculty, I believe I have an obligation to seek innovative solutions for some of the most urgent challenges facing our communities. This, of course, inspires my drive for new heights of excellence.
Congratulations, again, to our faculty for this commendation and thank you for making CARTA shine. You are all truly Worlds Ahead!
