The title emeritus is awarded to retired faculty and staff members who have achieved eminence during their time at UCF through teaching, research and service.
Five retiring UCF College of Arts and Humanities faculty members received emeritus status in 2019. The title emeritus is awarded to retired faculty and staff members who have achieved eminence during their time at UCF. They must have an established record of distinguished performance in teaching, research and service to UCF and the UCF community. Emeritus professors receive special privileges, such as use of the John C. Hitt Library, a departmental office space, status as a non-voting ex-officio member of their department and parking on campus.
“These faculty members have helped lead to UCF’s growing excellence and success,” said interim UCF President Thad Seymour, Jr.
Read on to learn about this year’s emeritus professors and some of their great accomplishments.
Paul Dombrowski (English)
A former English professor who has published several research papers and books, Dr. Paul Dombrowski received the excellence award for retired and retiring faculty at last year’s Founders’ Day Honors Convocation.
José B. Fernández (History, Modern Languages and Literatures)
Dr. José B. Fernández was UCF’s first Hispanic dean and served as dean of the College of Arts and Humanities until 2016. He began his career at UCF as a professor of history and foreign languages. In 2001, he was named a Pegasus Professor, UCF’s highest faculty honor. He gained national recognition for his work in Latin American history and culture when former President George W. Bush appointed him to serve on a 23-member commission to explore the potential of creating a national museum dedicated to American Latinos.
Paolo Giordano (Modern Languages)
Dr. Paolo Giordano was the Neil Euliano Distinguished Professor of Italian and Italian American Studies at UCF. He has served as president of the American Association of Teachers of Italian and was honored by the Italian government with the title of “Cavaliere, Stella della Solidarietà Italiana.”
Daniel Jones (English)
Dr. Daniel Jones was a two-time winner of the College Award for Educational Excellence during his tenure at UCF. He also received numerous awards for his service to the field of technical communication, such as the Society for Technical Communication’s lifetime achievement award. He has worked as a consultant for major tech companies like AT&T, IBM and Lockheed Martin.
Donald Stap (English)
Dr. Donald Stap is a writer of poetry and nonfiction. One of his nonfiction works, “A Parrot Without a Name,” was widely reviewed, including a positive front page review by the New York Review of Books. Stap has received a Creative Writing Fellowship from National Endowment for the Arts and two Individual Artist Fellowships from the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs.