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English hosts annual honors and awards ceremony
[07.06.2016]

TAMPA, Fla. – Donors, faculty, staff, students, and loved ones filled Traditions Hall at the Gibbons Alumni Center on April 15, 2016 to celebrate the awards presented to graduate and undergraduate students from the USF Department of English.

Department Chairman Hunt Hawkins opened the ceremony by welcoming attendees and highlighting the numerous accomplishments of the English department faculty. In addition, Associate Chair and Chair-Elect Laura Runge celebrated Hawkins’s service as the outgoing department chair, humorously linking Hawkins’s arrival to USF with the launch of Twitter in 2006. Runge asked the audience to consider, “If Hunt Hawkins had a hashtag, what would it be?”

During the past decade, Hawkins hired 25 permanent faculty, directed or co-directed eight dissertations, and completed lifetime total 1,000 Modern Language Association (MLA) interviews. He served on numerous USF committees, including the Academic Affairs Budget Planning Workgroup, Provost’s Budget Taskforce, Humanities Institute Advisory Committee, Sustainable Healthy Communities Search Committee, CAS Council of Chairs, CAS Chairs Steering Committee, CAS Promotion and Tenure Committee, USF World Taskforce, CAS Governance Document Committee, Phi Beta Kappa Steering Committee, Quality Enhancement Plan Advisory Committee, SHUM Chairs Committee, ACE workgroup for the Board of Trustees, and General Education Council.

Hawkins also served as President for the South Atlantic MLA and delivered their keynote address in 2010 on “Human Rights and the Humanities,” which was subsequently published. Hawkins, as Runge’s address conveyed, worked tirelessly to “protect the interests of the English department” during his tenure as department chair from 2006 to 2016.

This annual ceremony affirms the dedication and commitment of the English students and showcases their contributions to the academic community at USF and beyond. Congratulations to all of the honorees and winners!

Faculty Authors
  Sara Munson Deats and Conrad Gordon Deats. “Cats I Have Loved.” Strategic Book Publishing, 2015. Jarod Roselló. “The Well-Dressed Bear Will (Never) Be Found.” Publishing Genius Press, 2015.

UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS
  English Honors
  Crystal Bonano
  Isabelle Cavazos
  Courtney Clute
  Maria Dones
  Janna Doyac
  Sarah Escue
  Crystina Falero
  Laura Flores
  Connor Harris
  Amanda Ingram
  Hannah Lay
  Nicholas Machuca
  Melanie Rosler
  Jiesha Stephens
  Keanu Wall

Research Colloquium Excellence in Research Recognition
  Katarina Bojkovic
  Natalie Bohin
  Alexandra Erraei
  Sarah Harder
  Hannah Lay
  Elizabeth Maderas
  Frank Nunez
  Sam Risak
  Jorge Luis Rojas

James Parrish Award for Outstanding English Honors Student: Crystal Bonano
  Charles F. Brooks Award for Technical Writing: Michaella Radich
  STC Technical & Professional Writing Scholarship: Ashley Acevedo
  Dean Edwin & Mary Martin Undergraduate English Award: Sam Risak and Courtney Clute

thread
  Isabella Cavazos, Managing Editor
  Sandy Bolis, Co-Managing Editor
  Crystal Bonano
  Michelle Calicchio
  Maria Dones
  Hannah Lay
  Mariana Samuda
  Donna Walker

Mentorship Program Awards
  Engaging the Humanities Undergraduate Mentee: Courtney Clute and Sam Risak
  Outstanding Mentor Nominated by a Mentee: Stephanie Derisi
  Special Recognition for Program Organization: Meg Mandell and Micah Chapman

GRADUATE AWARDS
  Teaching Awards
  Joseph Bentley Teaching Fellowship: Johanna Hillen
  Estelle J. Zbar Award for Teaching & Academic Excellence in English: Jessica Thompson