Convocation 2025
From left, professors Georgia Winters, Brian Knorr, FDU President Michael Avaltroni, professors Avimanyou Vatsa and Matthieu Boyd. (Photo: Bill Blanchard)
September 18, 2025 — The Fairleigh Dickinson University community celebrated Academic Convocation on September 17, 2025, marking the start of a new year, welcoming new faculty and honoring faculty and staff achievements.
University President Michael Avaltroni presided over the event, celebrating recent University successes and calling attention to the new partnerships and opportunities ahead.
“It is great to be here gathered to celebrate the renewed energy of new beginnings and to recognize the importance of what we do, the transformational impact that FDU has on generations of students and families, and to acknowledge that now more than ever, we are an important and vital part of the future of our students, communities and the world.”
This year, he said, FDU will “continue to build on our strengths in health, health-adjacent and professionally focused areas that provide opportunities for our students to see an impact on their futures and on the communities in which they live, work and engage.”
During the event, Avaltroni presented a Presidential Citation to members of the Middle States Steering Committee including co-chairs Karen Denning, professor of finance and chair of the department of finance, decision sciences, economics, and international business and Patricia Keefe Durso, associate provost for academic affairs, and accreditation liaison officer Sam Michalowski, provost for institutional research and assessment. The citation honored their work over the long process to achieve academic reaccreditation.
“With tremendous expertise and devoted tenacity, three faculty and administrative leaders navigated a complex maze of institutional accreditation standards and guidelines and helped demonstrate to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education that we are not only in compliance of all standards, but that in many key areas FDU indeed displays a commitment to excellence that is transforming the lives of our students,” reads part of the citation.
Faculty Awards
Each year the University honors four faculty members in the areas of service, teaching, research and scholarship, and student success and belonging.
Georgia Winters, associate professor of forensic psychology and director of the Criminal Forensic Psychology MA, received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Service.
Brian Knorr, associate professor of physics, accepted the Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching.
From left, Kristine Undertajlo, Michael Avaltroni and June Ann Giardina. (Photo: Bill Blanchard)
Matthieu Boyd, professor of literature and chair of the Department of the Humanities, received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Research and Scholarship.
Avimanyou Vatsa, associate professor of computer science and engineering, accepted the Distinguished Faculty Award for Student Success and Belonging.
Staff Awards
This year’s Pillar Award recipients are June Ann Giardina, director of transfer student services at the Metropolitan Campus; and Kristine Undertajlo, associate director of enrollment services at the Florham Campus.