The Grove | Valencia College

Meet Our New Tenure-track Faculty

Sep

6

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Left to right: Adam Johnson, Jose Aenlle, Joanne Kiriazes and Richard Thomas
Not pictured: Dhrgam AL Kafaf

A Message from Wendy Givoglu, Interim President, East and Winter Park Campuses

Please welcome our new tenure-track faculty on East and Winter Park Campuses:

Jose Aenlle, Professor, Music Production Technology, East Campus
After earning his associate degree at Valencia College, Jose received a bachelor’s degree from Stetson University and a master’s degree from the University of Central Florida (UCF) with a focus in orchestral conducting and orchestral arranging. After completing his education, Jose followed his passion for music technology and spent most of his career as a producer, arranger and audio engineer. He produced a number of albums for local artists and arranged orchestral scores for jazz and pop artists. Jose has been teaching music and sound technology courses at Valencia since 2012.

Dhrgam AL Kafaf, Professor, Computer Programming and Analysis, East Campus
Dhrgam joined the Valencia family in August 2019 as a professor of computer programming and analysis. He received a doctor of philosophy degree in computer science from Oakland University, a master’s degree in computer science from Lawrence Technological University and a bachelor’s degree in computer and software engineering from the University of Technology Baghdad. Dhrgam served as a software engineer prior to joining Valencia, developing autonomous vehicles and features of advanced driver assistance systems.

Joanne Kiriazes, Professor, Mathematics, East Campus
The path to becoming a tenure-track faculty member at Valencia has been a winding one for Joanne. She graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1988. After becoming a professional engineer in Florida, she chose to stay home to raise her five children. Joanne rejoined the workforce by completing her master’s degree in secondary mathematics education at UCF through the Lockheed Martin Transition to Math and Science Teaching Program. She began teaching math at Valencia as an adjunct professor in fall 2010. Joanne recently joined a cohort of Valencia math instructors in which the 20-person cohort collectively completed graduate-level math classes to further their own development.

Richard Thomas, Professor, English, East Campus
Richard’s career at Valencia College began in 2016 as an annually appointed English faculty member. He received his bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley. After finishing his master’s degree in English from the University of Colorado, Boulder, he taught as an adjunct instructor at Pikes Peak Community College and was a full-time instructor at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. Richard specializes in engagement strategies such as classroom-flipping and gamification.

Adam Johnson, Emerging Technology Librarian, Winter Park Campus
Adam comes to Valencia from Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, where he served as an academic success center coordinator and adjunct librarian. He has a diverse career in higher education, including working as an adjunct professor of English, a website designer and a writing center administrator. Adam has a master’s degree in library and information science from Valdosta State University, a master’s degree in English from The Citadel and two bachelor’s degrees, theatre and English from The College of Charleston.

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