USF COPH faculty awarded for excellence and dedication
The USF College of Public Health’s (COPH) faculty has been recognized for their dedication in two recent USF award ceremonies.
Dr. Dinorah Martinez Tyson, associate professor, was named the recipient of the 2022 Outstanding Graduate Faculty Mentor Award and honored at the Scholars of Excellence luncheon, held Nov. 9.
The competitive selection process focused on candidates from across the university.
“You stood out among the best, and the committee was very impressed with your mentoring style and the number of graduate students whom you have mentored as well as their professional success,” Dr. Ruth Huntly Bahr, associate dean and professor for the USF Office of Graduate Studies, said in a message to Martinez Tyson.
Martinez Tyson specializes in health disparities and community-engaged research, working on projects covering cancer survivorships, chronic disease management and Latino health. She’s also an active member of the COPH’s Salud Latina USF initiative, which aims to address important public health issues among Spanish-speaking communities in the U.S. and abroad through outreach, education and research.
“It means the world to me to be recognized in this way. I am the product of great mentorship, I can never pay it back, I can only pay it forward. This award, in some way, honors the faculty, advisors, counselors, teachers and colleagues who have been instrumental in my academic journey. It is a privilege to work with outstanding students across concentrations, from diverse backgrounds and with varied interests and goals,” she said.
She said that teaching and mentoring are the best parts of her job.
“Teaching and mentoring is what I find to be the most meaningful and fulfilling aspect of what I do as a college professor. In the COPH, we have a saying: “Our practice is our passion,” and I am fortunate to be able to practice my passion, which is teaching and mentoring students. I enjoy getting to know students, listening and building relationships that may last well past graduation,” she said.
The 2022 USF Faculty Honors and Award Reception, hosted Nov. 16 by the USF Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President, proved to be a successful night for COPH faculty.
Elizabeth Dunn, instructor I, was awarded the Outstanding Community-Engaged Teaching Award.
Dunn joined the USF COPH in 2012 working in the Global Disaster Management, Humanitarian Relief and Homeland Security (GHH) program as the assistant to the director and began teaching courses as an adjunct instructor.
She specializes in global disaster management, humanitarian relief and homeland security.
“Being recognized with the Community Engaged Teaching Award has been a rewarding experience, especially knowing colleagues from across the university reviewed my work and believed I was worthy of such an award. However, I cannot take all the credit, as I work with several remarkable community leaders and alumni who dedicate their time to mentoring and providing students with activities that engage them within the community,” she said.
“I really enjoy working with students as they learn about something new within the classroom setting and then being able to work with them on a community-engaged project. Hearing from students about how these experiences have been life-changing or knowing that the work we are doing is helping to build a more resilient Tampa Bay,” she said.
Adam Clum, academic advisor for the bachelor of science in health sciences program, was awarded the Outstanding Undergraduate Advising Award.
“In the College of Public Health, our motto is ‘Our Practice is our Passion.’ Academic advising is my passion and I love that I get to advise students every day. The best part of my job is being able to assist students during their academic journeys at USF and working with them to achieve their goals. I feel an immense honor in being a recipient of the Outstanding Academic Advisor Award because it recognizes excellence in the advising field here at the university,” Clum said.
Other COPH awardees recognized included:
- Drs. Dinorah Martinez Tyson, Jason Salemi, Monica Uddin and Thomas Unnasch
“What I enjoy most about what I do is having the opportunity to investigate how lived experience impacts individuals on a biological level, in ways that can sometimes enhance—or reduce—risk for disease,” Uddin said.
- Dr. Karen Perrin and Dr. Max Salfinger
- Retirement
“Anyone at some point is retiring. I consider retirement an HR term, which describes that you are legally no longer employed. However, your activities continue at your choosing. For example, retirement gave me the opportunity to explore, with Rocky, Antarctica and South Georgia Islands and being off the internet during the mid-term elections,” Salfinger said.
View the full list of awardees.
Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health