COS Associate Dean Named Pegasus Professor

University of Central Florida College of Sciences Associate Dean Jana Jasinski, Ph.D., is one of five professors who joined a distinguished group of faculty members at the university this year: Pegasus Professor Award recipients.

Jasinski and the other awardees were honored at the 2017 Founders’ Day celebration on April 5 in the Student Union’s Pegasus Ballroom.

The Pegasus Professor Award is the highest academic honor an educator can receive at UCF. Honorees must be nominated, have worked at the university at least five years and have conducted research or developed programs that have made national and international impact. Each recipient receives a $5,000 stipend and $5,000 in research grants.

Jasinski, a professor of sociology, is known worldwide for her research on violence against women and intimate-partner violence. Her co-authored book published in 2010, for example, “Hard Lives, Mean Streets: The Experience of Violence in the Lives of Homeless Women,” helped shine a light on an existing social issue and filled a gap that existed in research.

“Dr. Jasinski is one of the world’s leading experts on violence against women and she has produced some of the most important scholarly publications in her field,” said Walter DeKeserdy, Ph.D., director of the Research Center on Violence and professor at West Virginia University. DeKeserdy and Jasinski worked together on the Feminist Criminology’s editorial board when Jasinski was editor-in-chief from 2010-2014.

Jasinski’s contributions to UCF range from developing academic programs to mentoring and graduating Ph.D., master’s and bachelor’s degree students. She headed up the creation of UCF’s sociology doctorate program by drafting its proposal, becoming its first program director and creating its departmental culture. Since, she’s personally supervised nine Ph.D. students who have gone on to careers in academia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

“All of her work supports her dedication to equity and justice, and in all areas, her contributions elevate the people and institutions with whom she works,” wrote College of Sciences Dean Michael Johnson, Ph.D.

Jasinski has been at UCF since 1999.