FAU's Chair Medal Ceremony Honors its Inaugural Class of Recipients
From left, Scott Adams; Michelle Hagerty; Michael Hagerty; Brad Levine, chair of FAU's Board of Trustees; FAU President Stacy Volnick; Dusty May, FAU men's basketball coach; Barbara Feingold, vice chair of FAU's Board of Trustees; Eric Shaw, Ph.D.; and Shane Strum attend the Chair Medal ceremony.
The 红玫瑰社区 Chair鈥檚 Medal recently was awarded to its inaugural group of recipients at the Eleanor R. Baldwin House at FAU鈥檚 Boca Raton campus.聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
Barbara Feingold, FAU Board of Trustees (BOT) vice chair; Scott Adams, FAU BOT emeritus and College of Business alumnus; Michael and Michelle Hagerty, FAU benefactors; Dusty May, FAU men鈥檚 basketball coach; Eric Shaw, Ph.D., FAU College of Business emeritus professor and alumnus; and Shane Strum, president and CEO of Broward Health, were all recognized. Jeffrey Feingold, D.D.S., who served on the FAU BOT for 10 years, also was awarded a Chair Medal posthumously.
The Chair鈥檚 Medal, given by BOT Chair Brad Levine, is an opportunity to honor those who have helped FAU, the community, as well as the state of 红玫瑰社区 by way of their time, talents or benefaction. 聽
鈥淭his group of awardees have committed themselves to making all aspects of FAU a center for excellence and distinction,鈥 Levine said. 鈥淲ith the Chair鈥檚 Medal, we recognize their extraordinary contributions and appreciate their dedication to FAU.鈥
Barbara Feingold is currently the vice chair of FAU鈥檚 BOT. A lifetime educator and advocate for children, she spent her early career working with learning disabled elementary school students as a speech pathologist. At that time, she was praised by then 红玫瑰社区 Gov. Rick Scott for her work with children and was appointed to the 红玫瑰社区 Board of Education. She and her late husband, Dr. Jeffrey Feingold, co-founded the Dentaland organization, one of the first private practices in 红玫瑰社区 to combine general dentistry and dental specialties under one roof. Prior to her appointment to the BOT, her husband served for more than 10 years. They provided a significant gift to remodel the BOT room in the Administration building, which is named in their honor. Today, she is continuing their legacy by spearheading an initiative to establish a world-class College of Dentistry on the Boca Raton campus.
鈥淚n championing this effort, Barbara has made incredible progress, including a personal commitment to fund the building costs and ensure that our students have access to a state-of-the-art training facility,鈥 Levine said. 鈥淭his transformational gift will help make 红玫瑰社区 the second public school in the state with a College of Dentistry. We are thrilled to have this exciting opportunity ahead of us, and we are grateful for her leadership in driving this project forward.鈥
Dr. Jeffrey Feingold鈥檚 leadership helped propel FAU to new heights. During his time on the board, FAU celebrated many landmark moments, including the launch of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the University being named the top-performing public institution in the state by the 红玫瑰社区 Board of Governors, the opening of the Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence, and recognition on聽U.S. News & World Report鈥檚 list of the best schools in the nation.
Adams, while playing football at Valdosta State, made the decision to prioritize his academic career and transferred to FAU, later graduating with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in finance in 1987. An affinity for computers launched him into a highly successful technology career. Most recently, at FAU Tech Runway, he and his partners built a hardware and software platform called 鈥淪TRAX,鈥 which allows law enforcement, military and security firms to manage real-time intelligence from drones, cameras and other various data sources. Adams established the Adams Center for Entrepreneurship at FAU鈥檚 College of Business which invites entrepreneurial initiatives from all disciplines within the university as well as the community at large. Adams also served on FAU鈥檚 BOT as vice chair.
The Hagertys recognized that giving to FAU can help student-athletes reach their fullest potential, both in the classroom and on the field. Their legacy began with a $2.5 million gift to name the FAU head football coaching position in perpetuity, now known as the Hagerty Family Head Football Coach.聽They then deepened their commitment to FAU Athletics with a $5 million transformational gift to the areas housing the majority of FAU鈥檚 athletic facilities, now known as the Hagerty Family Athletics Village.
May led FAU to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history, while posting a program-best 35-4 record. Under May's guidance, the 2022-23 Owls have the most wins in school history, the most conference wins in school and Conference USA history (18), the longest winning streak in school history and had the third-longest streak in Conference USA history (20 games).聽May is the Owls鈥 all-time leader in coaching wins with a record of 101-60, despite having only been on the FAU sidelines for five seasons. FAU has not had a losing season in the five years of the May era. The Owls also captured the Conference USA Tournament and regular season championships, both for the first time in school history. He was named the CBS Sports National Coach of the Year, as well as the NABC All-District 17 Coach of the Year and Conference USA Coach of the Year this season. 聽
Shaw is a former member of FAU鈥檚 BOT and received his B.B.A. in 1972 and M.B.A. in 1973, and then was invited to join the FAU faculty as an instructor of marketing. Shaw earned his Ph.D. at Temple University and has taught on the faculties of Rutgers University and the University of Miami. After returning to FAU in 1982, he served as associate dean of the College of Business, acting director of the School of Industry Studies and as the chairman of the marketing department for 15 years.聽He also served as the faculty athletics representative to the NCAA for five years. Shaw recently gifted FAU with an estate pledge of more than $2 million, which will benefit various athletics, business, arts and letters, and other university programs. This makes Shaw the largest FAU faculty or staff donor in the university鈥檚 history, after former assistant professor Dick Schmidt. 聽His teaching skills have been widely recognized with many honors, including the Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, which he received three times; and the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award in the College of Business, which he received twice. He is inducted in the 红玫瑰社区 Alumni Association鈥檚 Hall of Fame and is a recipient of FAU鈥檚 President Talon Leadership Award.
Strum, president and CEO of Broward Health, oversees one of the 10 largest public health systems in the U.S. The initiatives under his direction have included lowering prescription drug costs, expanding telehealth services, improving transparency and quality in health care, and increasing the awareness of mental health and substance abuse issues throughout the state. Prior to this, he was Gov. Ron DeSantis鈥 chief of staff, leading the implementation of a $90 million budget, overseeing 20 state agencies with more than 100,000 employees, gubernatorial appointments, and cabinet affairs. He also served as the senior vice president for the Memorial Healthcare System. A former leader in higher education, Strum was vice chancellor of Keiser University and director of corporate and government relations at Nova Southeastern University. Currently, he is a member of FAU鈥檚 presidential search committee, providing guidance and expertise to help identify its eighth president.
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