The Committee for Excellence in Online Learning is comprised of faculty and staff who are experienced online educators, well-versed in best practices for online education, and active participants in the online course review process at UF. The committee advises the Center for Teaching Excellence, conducts peer reviews of online courses, and evaluates the UF + Quality Matters rubric to ensure it is in sync with current standards. During their 2-year terms, members also serve as ambassadors for the online course review process and participate in the annual Exemplary Online Awards (EOA) selection process.
Alyson Adams, Ph.D.
Alyson Adams is Clinical Associate Professor and Associate Director for Teaching & Teacher Education in the School of Teaching and Learning in the University of Florida’s College of Education. She works with several online graduate programs for full-time working professionals focused on social-justice and advocacy in education.
Dr. Adams has expertise in teacher education, supervision and coaching, online course design and development, and adult learning. Current work includes a focus on the Education Doctorate and support for educators moving to remote/online instruction.
Brian Marchman, Ph.D.
Dr. Brian K. Marchman serves as UF Assistant Provost and Director of the Office of Distance Learning (ODL). As the director of ODL, a unit in the Office for Teaching & Technology, Dr. Marchman is responsible for the centrally-supported Distance Learning unit, distance student support services, UF Flexible Learning, UF Dual Enrollment, and online academic integrity.
Dr. Marchman is a proud four-time UF graduate earning his undergraduate degree in Political Science, M.Ed. in Social Science Education, Ed.S., and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership. He also holds a UF graduate certificate in Managing Distance Education Environments. In addition, Dr. Marchman completed post-doctoral work in a certificate program at Harvard University’s Graduate School.
Dr. Marchman’s career as an educational leader has included distinguished service as a teacher, principal, district administrator, and adjunct professor, including teaching and leading online. As a senior leader at the Florida Virtual School, Dr. Marchman founded the first-of-its-kind-anywhere, award-winning virtual teaching internship program in collaboration with UF and other Florida universities. Additionally, Dr. Marchman founded and led the Florida Virtual School Developing Leader Program and is a certified Corporate Coach. A Graduate Faculty Scholar at the University of Central Florida, he has also taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels at UF and University of South Florida.
During a twenty-seven year career as a student advocate and servant-leader, including teaching and administrative roles at the University of Florida’s P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, Dr. Marchman has been named Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year. Dr. Marchman serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Distance Learning Association, Florida ASCD, and the Florida Sterling Council and is a member of the United States Distance Learning Association. In 2020, Dr. Marchman was named FLDA’s Distance Learning Visionary Distinguished Educator of the Year.
Harrison Hove
Harrison Hove is a Lecturer in Journalism at the University of Florida. He was named the 2020 Teacher of the Year for the College of Journalism and Communications and teaches courses focused on television news. Harrison also produces special projects with student journalists for WUFT-TV.
Before arriving at UF, Hove spent more than a decade in local news serving in roles as news anchor, reporter, and meteorologist. Hove has earned 7 regional Emmys and 21 nominations for his work.
Jason Byrd, Ph.D.
Dr. Byrd is an Associate Professor and Associate Director of the William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine. He is a Board-Certified Forensic Entomologist and Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Entomology.
Dr. Byrd is the educational program administrator for UF’s Veterinary Forensic Sciences, Wildlife Forensic Sciences, Shelter Medicine, and Forensic Medicine educational programs. He has served as President of the American Board of Forensic Entomology, the North American Forensic Entomology Association, and the International Veterinary Forensic Science Association. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Dr. Byrd has been consulting on forensic casework for over 25 years in the area of postmortem interval estimation and point of origin determination.
Dr. Byrd serves as a Medicolegal Death Investigator within the National Disaster Medical System, Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, Region IV, and serves as Commander for the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System. He is a subject editor for the Journal of Medical Entomology and Insects and has published numerous scientific articles and book contributions on the use and application of entomological evidence in legal investigations. He has combined his formal academic training in Entomology and Forensic Science to serve as a consultant and educator in both criminal and civil legal investigations throughout the United States and Internationally.
He specializes in the education of law enforcement officials, medical examiners, coroners, attorneys, and other death investigators on the use and applicability of arthropods in legal investigations. His research efforts have focused on the development and behavior of insects that have forensic importance.
Joleen Cannon
Joleen Cannon is the Director of the Center for Online Innovation and Production (COIP) where she directs a team of 20 instructional designers and multimedia specialist in online course production. Joleen served for 13 years as the IT Manager of Enterprise systems for Broward Health Systems where she focused on system administration and training.
After obtaining her Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Florida, Joleen served as the Associate Director of Innovative Education at the University of South Florida. Joleen’s professional focus is on integrating technology, pedagogy, and design to support online instruction and provide an engaging student experience.
Karen Aul, Ph.D.
Karen Aul is a Clinical Assistant Professor at University of Florida’s College of Nursing, where she teaches undergraduate nursing students, and serves as a co-coordinator of the simulation lab. Karen’s background includes undergraduate, graduate, and online course instruction in nursing academia.
She received her PhD in Instructional Management and Leadership and Master’s in Nursing Education from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, PA. She is a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) through the National League for Nursing and a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) through the Society for Simulation in Healthcare.
Kimberly (Kim) Moore, Ph.D.
Kimberly Moore is a professor of Environmental Horticulture and the Associate Center Director for the University of Florida, IFAS, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education center. Her research focus is on nutritional management strategies for greenhouse crops to reduce fertilizer run-off and improve fertilization management.
Dr. Moore’s research focus is on the use of alternative growing substrates like compost as well as the use of reclaimed wastewater. She also investigates the effects of salt water on plant growth and methods to improve water management in the landscape and greenhouse. In addition to research, she teaches Elementary Organic and Biological Chemistry as well as Nutritional Management. Dr. Moore received her PhD and MS in horticulture from Iowa State University and her BS in Environmental Science and Botany with a minor in chemistry from Eastern Illinois University.
Marina Klimenko, Ph.D.
Marina Klimenko is a senior lecturer in the Psychology Department, at the University of Florida. She holds a Master of Public Administration and Doctor of Philosophy in Developmental Psychology. She regularly teaches large online psychology courses, such as Developmental Psychology and Research Methods Lab.
In addition, Dr. Klimenko serves as International Scholars Program (ISP) faculty and teaches Developmental psychology course which is part of the curriculum of the International Scholars Program. Dr. Klimenko regularly mentors undergraduate students’ research related to morality, social media and pop culture. In 2018, Dr. Klimenko received a Faculty Mentor of the Year Award.
Melanie Veige
Melanie Veige is a Senior Lecturer, Undergraduate Coordinator, and the Director of General Chemistry in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Florida. She holds a Master’s Degree in Chemistry from University of British Columbia, and her BSc from McGill University. She oversees the General Chemistry program at UF, both lecture and lab.
She developed the online introductory and general chemistry course sequences and an innovative bootcamp-format laboratory experience for UF Online students to experience General Chemistry lab.
Oliver Grundmann, Ph.D.
Over the past 14 years my primary engagement with academic students was in an online format. First as a teaching assistant, then gradually as an instructor, academic advisor, and over the past seven years as the program director of two graduate online programs in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Clinical Toxicology with a per semester enrollment of more than 400 graduate students located all over the US and in more than 50 international locations.
As such, the breadth of professional exchanges with learners has provided me with insights into a variety of cultures and different approaches to structured learning and teaching. Along the way, I was able to establish collaborations with partner institutions in Australia (University of Canberra), the Netherlands (Hoogeschool in Arnhem in Nijmegen), and India (Chitkara University). Our team of faculty, instructional designers, and support personnel is entirely dedicated to the mission of student success and have been awarded with the University of Florida Career Influencer Award, a UF+QM Exemplary Online Award, a number of Outstanding Teaching Team Awards, and the ADEC Janet K. Poley Award for Innovation and Leadership in Distance Education. My educational background has contributed to these many successes over the years, starting with a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Münster in Germany, a M.S. in Forensic Toxicology, a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Florida.
Sonia San Juan
Sonia San Juan earned B.A.s in both International Studies and Spanish Languages, Literatures and Cultures from the University of North Florida. She graduated with a M.A. in Spanish from the University of Florida and teaches in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese Studies.
Her goal is to support every student to excel in Spanish and to develop passion for the Spanish language and cultures. One of the courses she teaches, SPN1131 Beginning Spanish II, won an Exemplary Online Award in 2019.
Stacey Fox-Alvarez
Stacey Fox-Alvarez is a veterinary medical oncologist and clinical assistant professor in the UF College of Veterinary Medicine. She holds a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and a Master of Public Health, both from UF. Prior to joining UF as faculty, she completed internships in in Emergency and Critical Care and Medical Oncology as well as a Medical Oncology residency.
Currently, she teaches oncology to veterinary students in both classroom and clinical settings. Her research interests include peer evaluation of teaching, adult education, online teaching, and residents-as-teachers training for veterinary interns and residents.
Stefanie Gazda, Ph.D.
Stefanie Gazda is a Lecturer and the Biology Department Online Coordinator. Originally from New Hampshire, she earned her PhD from the University of Massachusetts Boston. She teaches courses in Introductory Biology, General Ecology, Animal Behavior, and Marine Mammal Biology.
She is interested in teaching methodologies that advance the education of students with student-centered pedagogy and promote a culture of inclusion and diversity within classes. Aside from teaching, her work also focuses on bottlenose dolphin foraging ecology and social relationships. She is interested in how they interact with each other, their environment, and their prey.
Sujata Krishna, Ph.D.
Sujata Krishna is a lecturer in the Department of Physics. She has been teaching face-to-face and online courses for over 5 years now. She has taught large courses with over 500 students and medium courses with 100 students and small course with 10 students. This is her second year serving on the Committee for Excellence in Online Learning.
She is passionate about student engagement in both modes and runs the Physics Learning Assistant’s program to increase student engagement and to impact student learning gains. She is a member of the Leadership Council at the Learning Assistants Alliance. She is an active member of the Physics DEI committee and is a member of the NSF Aspire 2020 cohort. She runs workshops to connect STEM faculty with ideas for more inclusive teaching. In 2020 Sujata and her colleagues received the Exemplary Online Teaching award for Instructional Strategy. She is a member of the Faculty Senate and the University and CLAS Curriculum Committees.
Thomas Hawkins
Thomas Hawkins is a lecturer in the University of Florida’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning and is program director of the department’s online master’s degree program. Prior to joining the university faculty, Thomas provided legislative, legal, and planning analysis for 1000 Friends of Florida.
Thomas has served as a Gainesville city commissioner, has a law degree from the Emory University School of Law, has a Master of Science in Real Estate from the Hough Graduate School of Business, is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and is a member of the Florida Bar.