President’s Sabbatical Awardees Announced

I am delighted to begin the new year by sharing that the Personnel Services Committee has recommended two outstanding faculty members for the President’s Sabbatical Award. The committee’s recommendations have been accepted by my office.

Congratulations to the following exceptional NOVA faculty:

• Associate Professor Richard (Tim) Eichers (IET), who will use his sabbatical to research the capabilities of AI related to the IET Division with a goal of creating guidelines, authentic assessment materials and recommended tools for IET faculty and students to help them harness the power of AI.
• Assistant Professor Sophia Sexton (English), who will interview educators about the transformational impact of student connection with a goal of writing an article and future book on trust-driven learning environments to provide strategies that foster trust and improve student engagement and retention.

The PSC reviewed ten outstanding applications from eligible faculty, and I join them in expressing appreciation to all applicants for the strong and thoughtful work that went into these submissions. I also thank the PSC Chair, Associate Dean Donna Minnich, and the PSC committee members for their diligence and care in the review and recommendation process.

Again, congratulations to Associate Professor Eichers and Assistant Professor Sexton on being awarded the President’s Sabbatical! Their projects will add much to NOVA and to the success of our students.

All the best,

Anne