Who We Are
Gordon Rakita, Ph.D. | Associate Vice President of Faculty Excellence and Academic Engagement
Office: Building 1, Room 1404
Email: grakita@unf.edu
Gordon F.M. Rakita is a bioarchaeologist and Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work. Prior to joining the faculty at UNF he was Principal Investigator and Analytical Director for SWCA Environmental Consultants of Flagstaff, Arizona. He is Associate Editor for the journal Bioarchaeology International. He earned his B.A. in Anthropology from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico. In 2016 he was named the junior laureate of the Lloyd Cotsen Prize for Lifetime Achievement in World Archaeology. His areas of expertise include bioarchaeology, anthropological approaches to mortuary and other ritual behavior, analytical data management and statistical analyses, emergent social inequality and complexity, and evolutionary theory.
Kim Roberts | Faculty Development, Office Manager
Office: Building 1, Room 1403
Email: kim.roberts@unf.edu
Kim began working at UNF in 2018 and has had several previous positions, working as a Program Assistant, Administrative Secretary and Office Manager. She is now supporting the Offices of Faculty Development & Research. Kim has a B.S. Degree in Education K-12 and loves working with students. She takes advantage of the UNF Wellness Center, walking every day on the indoor track. She enjoys working out and playing Pickleball with her husband and friends. Kim especially enjoys spending time with family and if you really want to see her light up, ask her about her two grandchildren.
Judith D. Ochrietor, Ph.D. | Director of Undergraduate Research
Office: Building 1, Room 1406
Email: j.ochrietor@unf.edu
The mechanisms through which neural cell metabolism is supported is my current focus of study. Specifically, I investigate members of the Basigin subset of the immunoglobulin superfamily (IgSF) and the roles they play in the metabolic aspects of sensory systems. Members of this subset of the IgSF often interact with monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs), that are known to move pyruvate, lactate, and ketone bodies across a plasma membrane via facilitated diffusion. We use cell and molecular biology and biochemistry techniques to answer questions related to the interactions between Basigin IgSF family members and MCTs, both in cis (on the same cell) and in trans (across two different cells) to ultimately understand how those interactions support the metabolic needs of neural systems.
Juliana Leding, Ph.D. | Director of Faculty Excellence
Office: Building 1, Room 1405
Email: j.leding@unf.edu
Juliana Leding, Ph.D., joined UNF in 2007 and is a Professor in the Department of Psychology. She is an experimental psychologist with a focus on cognitive psychology and human memory. Her research involves examining factors that lead to the creation and avoidance of true and false memories. Her recent scholarship involves examining evolutionary explanations for human memory processes and exploring whether certain individual differences are related to the likelihood that an individual will experience false memories.
Justin Sipes, Ed.D.| Director of Community-Based Learning
Office: Building 1, Room 1502
Email: justin.sipes@unf.edu
Dr. Justin Sipes is the Director of the Center for Community-Based Learning at the University of North Florida (UNF). In this role, he collaborates with others throughout the institution to enhance the breadth and depth of community engagement activities, monitors progress on community engagement efforts, and prepares the campus for its Carnegie Elective Community Engagement Classification process; a distinction it received in 2010 and 2020. As Director, Justin supervises professional and paraprofessional staff and guides the strategic direction of the Center.
Justin received his doctorate from UNF in Educational Leadership with a focus on higher education. His dissertation was on the pre-college expectations of first-generation college students. He has almost two decades of experience in higher education in both in academic and student affairs (community engagement, faculty development, fraternity & sorority life, student organizations, housing and residence life, and leadership programs).
Outside of UNF, Justin co-facilitates national communities of practice for Campus Compact, is campus lead for the IARSLCE Alliance, and an executive committee member and assessment chair of the Gulf-South Summit. In addition, Justin is active in NASPA where he takes on a variety of volunteer committee and reviewer roles. Justin also volunteers annually with THE PLAYERS Championship Golf Tournament as a member of the Parking committee.