Two Selected for EFSC Foundation
ENDOWED FACULTY CHAIR AWARD
AT EASTERN FLORIDA State College , students are our primary concern . Academic excellence is often based on the quality of instruction . Faculty Chairs provide special recognition of excellence in education and attract and support outstanding faculty members based on institutional goals .
The EFSC Foundation is proud to announce that Dr . Jennifer McCann and Dr . Ashley Spring have been selected as recipients of the 2022 EFSC Foundation Endowed Faculty Chair Award .
Dr . Jennifer McCann , Dr . Wayne Stein
The Endowed Faculty Chair Program recognizes full-time faculty members with a cash award for a three-year period of time for a proposed project . Faculty are chosen for this honor by a committee of their peers who review a proposal describing the project in detail . The awards are then approved by college leadership .
The recipients receive an award from the Foundation of $ 7,500 ($ 5,000 for a cash award and $ 2,500 for professional / program development ) each year .
Dr . Jennifer McCann is an Associate Professor in the Dental Hygiene program . Her proposal includes building an ongoing service-learning project that would partner our dental hygiene students with Brevard County public schools in lower socioeconomic areas . Services provided would include , but are not limited to , screenings , oral exams , fluoride varnish , sealants and oral health education . With proper funding and planning , this program would help identify oral disease and provide oral preventive care to children who may otherwise not receive any type of preventive oral health care .
Dr . Ashley Spring is a Professor in the Science Department . Her proposal is titled “ Stepped Undergraduate Research for Under-represented Groups .” This describes a multi-step education and research experience in which students begin original undergrad research during their Associate ’ s degree at EFSC , then “ step ” directly into a lab at a university to continue their research and complete their Bachelor ’ s degree . It is designed for all students in all disciplines with a focus on increasing transfer and degreecompletion rates for under-represented students .
The Foundation supports the Endowed Faculty Chair Awards through six endowments covering several different areas of study . Calls for applications are made for faculty proposals each spring .
Dr . Randy Fletcher , Dr . Ashley Spring
18 | EFSConnections Summer 2022