Six University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions employees have been named UF Superior Accomplishment award winners in the Health Science Center division. They will be honored at a luncheon March 20 at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center.
The award program recognizes employees who contribute outstanding service, efficiency and/or economy to the university, or play a role in the quality of life provided to students and employees. Health Science Center division winners are submitted as nominees to compete for the university-level Superior Accomplishment Awards.
Lior Flum, is an instructional designer II in the dean’s office who provides ongoing support to faculty and teaching assistants, and collaborates with faculty and staff on the development of course materials and the implementation and evaluation of educational technologies for learning. Among Flum’s many recent accomplishments is the creation of a new Canvas course template that integrated innovative coding to facilitate a more intuitive content management process. As a result, faculty members save time as they update and manage their courses throughout the semester, a nominator wrote.
“Lior is smart, innovative, creative, polite, reliable and honest,” a nominator wrote. “He has a great professional demeanor as I have seen in his interactions with students, supervisors, faculty and staff, and he demonstrates high integrity in his work. He has executed all responsibilities given to him in a remarkable manner and in all ways is an exceptional employee and individual. He is truly a pleasure to work with!”
Anna Galloway, O.T.D., OTR/L, a clinical assistant professor in the department of occupational therapy, is the recipient of the Division 5 HSC Superior Accomplishment Award for Community Service, which is given to one winner annually. As the lead faculty adviser for the student-run Occupational Therapy Equal Access Clinic, Galloway helped institute several changes that led to experience improvements for both students and clients. These include development of protocols for operations, new documentation guidelines, creation of strategic short-term and long-term goals, better community engagement, and a new location at the UF Smart House that allows students to provide services in a naturalistic home environment.
“Dr. Galloway’s critical thinking, clinical reasoning, care for students and concern for clients have triggered a process of systems thinking,” a nominator wrote. “By aligning needs to services and managing services in a sustainable, high-quality and targeted way, her leadership is directly responsible for ensuring quality OT services are available for those who are underinsured or uninsured.”
Lisa King, Psy.D., ABPP, is a clinical associate professor in the department of clinical and health psychology whose dialectical therapy program teaches life-saving skills to adults and adolescents with severe mental illness. In November 2021, King accepted the position of director of UF Health Psychology Specialties. In this role, King’s exceptional management and organizational skills have facilitated over $4 million in collections, a nominator wrote. She has also instituted a treatment model that has enabled the practice to make significant headway on its waiting list, and is working with UF Health and State of Florida administrators to optimize the practice’s participation within changing Medicare and Medicaid programs, allowing the department to continue to care for underserved populations.
“This position is known to be extremely intense and demanding,” a colleague wrote. “She has approached it with confidence and maturity, clarifying the status and role of our clinic within the UF Health Science Center enterprise. Her leadership has already had a profound effect on the quality and efficiency of the services we provide.”
Gaylynn Quinn, administrative support assistant II in the dean’s office, is the first point of contact many visitors have with the college and her warmth and personality make her perfectly suited for the role, colleagues said. In the past year, Quinn has pitched in many times when help is needed and has also asked for additional duties, including taking a role in event management. Her contributions have allowed the dean’s office to “to shift priorities and focus efforts to enhance the office experience for our faculty, staff, students and visitors,” a nominator wrote.
“She makes the day-to-day happenings of the dean’s office look completely effortless,” a co-worker wrote. “She keeps office transitions and calendars running smoothly, but the way that she builds morale and brings us together as a community is above and beyond any of the position descriptions that you will find at the University of Florida.”
Amy Rankin, an accounting specialist in the dean’s office, stepped up to add extra duties to her already full plate during a time of staff transition. During this period, Rankin managed research procurement for two of the largest departments in the college. Along the way, she streamlined processes and took care of requests that had fallen through the cracks. Her colleagues noted that despite the heavy work load and long hours, Rankin displayed grace, professionalism, a positive attitude, keen interest to learn and a willingness to answer colleagues’ questions, no matter how busy she was.
“Without Amy’s dedication and willingness to go the extra mile during this time our research faculty would have struggled to keep things moving and there would have been a significant burden placed upon the already lean departmental staff. Over the years Amy has consistently shown her dedication to PHHP,” a nominator wrote.
Jenna Saxton, the assistant director of administrative services in the department of physical therapy, has made transformative changes to the department since she joined in July 2021, colleagues say. These include improving administrative processes, increasing teamwork and collaboration, developing on-boarding protocols and tools for new staff, creating new systems for workflow, and organizing department social events for faculty, staff and students.
“Since the day she started, she has embodied the philosophy of servant leadership, meaning that she places a primary emphasis on the well-being of those being served,” a nominator wrote. “She prioritizes the needs of the department above all else and has been diligent about addressing pain points in order to improve processes for the benefit of administrators, faculty, staff and students. She is inclusive in her approach and really aims to understand issues, thinking of them from all angles to find sustainable solutions to problems.”