“Accolades” features the achievements of ’s faculty and staff, highlighting the honors and awards they have received and displaying their dedication, expertise and contributions in their respective fields. You can find theon the University Communications web page.
Ron Carlee, a clinical assistant professor in the School of Public Service, received the Distinguished Service Award from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) at its annual conference in September. The award recognizes retired local government managers whose contributions to their communities are exceptional and who have made significant achievements beyond local government. Carlee joined after a career as a local government executive. He was city manager in Charlotte, North Carolina, county manager in Arlington and chief operating officer at ICMA. He previously taught at George Washington University and is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration. He teaches DEI from a public administration perspective, local government, budgeting and human resources.
Rafael Diaz, a professor in the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering, the School of Cybersecurity and the School of Supply Chain, Logistics and Maritime Operations (SSCLMO), received a National Science Foundation Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Initiatives Game Changer Academies Fellowship. He is the graduate program director for the School of Cybersecurity, the director of the Supply Chain Cybersecurity Research Cluster and the interim graduate program director for the SSCLMO. Previously, he was the director of the Advanced Analytics Lab and co-director of the Digital Maritime and Shipbuilding Lab at the Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center. Diaz, who received his doctorate and master’s degrees from , is a Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Fellow and an Artificial Intelligence Teaching Fellow. His research has appeared in more than 100 publications on topics including digital supply chains and operations management, artificial intelligence, prescriptive analytics, homeland security and cybersecurity.
Alicia DeFonzo, a senior lecturer in the College of Arts and Sciences, won Best Pilot TV Series at the 2024 Cannes World Film Festival for the adaption of her WWII book “The Time Left Between Us.” She received an MFA in creative writing and instructs courses for the English Department and Honors College in WWII storytelling, post-apocalyptic literature and banned books. DeFonzo currently leads study abroad programs in travel writing to Key West, London and Rome. She is also a frequent literary guest on local and national NPR programs.
Karen Gillikin, a certified registered nurse anesthetist and assistant program director in the Nurse Anesthesia Program at Macon & Joan Virginia Health Sciences Ellmer School of Nursing at , was inducted into the American Academy of Nurse Anesthesiology in August in recognition of her commitment to excellence in the profession. With her induction, 100% of the anesthesia faculty at the Ellmer School of Nursing are recognized nationally as fellows for being outstanding practitioners, educators, researchers and advocates. Gillikin received a Master of Science in nurse anesthesia at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. of nursing practice at .
David Robledo, a lecturer in the College of Arts and Letters, was named an Elizabeth River Project Resilience Fellow for his dedication to advancing research in climate science and coastal resilience. A Fulbright STEM-H research specialist and faculty affiliate with the Institute for Coastal Adaptation & Resilience at , Robledo takes an interdisciplinary approach in bringing together experts in coastal biology, community development and science communication to address complex environmental challenges.
Ricardo Ungo, a clinical assistant professor in the School of Supply Chain, Logistics and Maritime Operations and director of the Maritime, Ports and Logistics Management Institute at , was elected president of the Transportation Research Forum (TRF) for 2024-2025. Since its establishment in 1958, the organization’s mission has been to provide an impartial meeting ground for carriers, shippers, government officials, consultants, researchers, suppliers and informed citizens seeking an exchange of information and ideas related to passenger and freight transportation. Ungo has more than 24 years of experience in the manufacturing and maritime industry. He worked for more than a decade in Panama, participating in the Panama Canal Expansion project studies and leading the development of studies for maritime-related projects as business development manager. Prior, he worked with Melo Industrial Group managing industrial capacity expansion projects.
Kent Wascom, an assistant professor and director of ’s Creative Writing Program, received critical success for his latest novel, “The Great State of Florida.” It has been praised in the New York Journal of Books, Parade and Publishers Weekly, among other outlets. The novel, published by Grove Atlantic, has been described as “a startling and unconventional neon-pink Western of vengeance, family and first love.”Wascom is also the author of“The New Inheritors,”“Secessia” and“The Blood of Heaven.” His work has appeared inGuernica, Literary Hub and The Believer.
Lynn Wiles, associate professor and chair of the Department of Undergraduate Nursing Education, was inducted as a fellow to the Academy of Nursing Education along with 26 of her peers in September at the National League for Nursing Education Summit. She joins a fellowship of leaders in nursing education who teach in a range of programs in higher education and are affiliated with top-ranked teaching hospitals, academic institutions and other organizations committed to advancing the quality of healthcare in the United States and globally. Wiles teaches adult health, pharmacology, informatics and role transition preceptorship courses in the Bachelor of Science in nursing program and mentors Master of Science in nursing and a Ph.D. of nursing practice students. Her scholarship focuses on clinical judgment and decision making, improved clinical outcomes and nursing education modalities. She maintains her clinical practice and specialty certification by working as a staff nurse in a local emergency department.
Jian Wu, an assistant professor of computer science, in collaboration with Sawood Alam at the Internet Archive, Edward Fox at Virginia Tech, and Bill Ingram at Virginia Tech Libraries, received a $564,000 “Preserving Open Access Datasets and Software for Sustained Computational Reproducibility" award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Wu joined in 2018. His research interests include natural language processing, scholarly big data, information retrieval, digital libraries and the science of science. He was awarded the Alumni Association New Faculty Award in 2022. Before joining , Wu was an assistant teaching professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University.
