FAU Honors 2021 Hall of Fame Inductees along with Distinguished Alumni
From left to right, Andre Jones; Bradley Sorte; Shernette Dunn, Ph.D.; Melissa Durbin; Viridiana Lieberman; Dr. David Dillon; and Dr. Michael Metzner. Not pictured: Raymond Faloona and Maria Jasin, Ph.D. (Photo by Alex Dolce)
The (FAUAA) hosted its annual Hall of Fame and Distinguished Alumni ceremony and reception recently. The event brought together alumni to celebrate the accomplishments of their most outstanding peers. Alumni from seven of FAU’s colleges were honored for their career accomplishments, and Dr. Michael Metzner, B.A.’12, a graduate of the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and Melissa Durbin, B.S.N. ’96, M.S. ’12, a graduate of the were introduced as the 2021 inductees into the FAUAA Hall of Fame.
Dr. Metzner is a medical advisor and associate producer for ABC Studios. He currently works with writers to help create medical stories, as well as with directors and actors to produce realistic and captivating stories for television. In 2017, he was selected as a medical communications fellow for ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” Dr. Metzner has worked on projects with ABC, HBO, CBS, FOX, and Netflix with some of the greatest storytellers in the industry.
Dr. Metzner graduated in 2012 from the Wilkes Honors College at FAU as a Flagler Scholar with a double concentration in biological chemistry and visual art with a passion to unite the arts and sciences. He completed the M.D. program at the University of Central Florida and continued his post-graduate training as a general surgery resident at UT Health San Antonio, one of the leading trauma centers in the country.
Durbin is chief nursing officer and vice president at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. She joined Boca Raton Regional Hospital in 2006 as executive director of the Lynn Heart and Vascular Institute. Durbin obtained her undergraduate and graduate nursing degrees from FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing with a focus on administrative finance and nursing leadership.
Durbin is a member of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing advisory board, the past president of the Nursing Consortium of South Florida and the past president of the South Florida Organization of Nurse Executives. Previously, Durbin served as the director of trauma and critical care services at Delray Medical Center. She was responsible for the administrative trauma service functions as well as the clinical operations of the Level II trauma service. She actively participated in county and state initiatives for access to trauma care.
“These nine outstanding Owls embody everything FAU stands for: ambition, grit and a resilient spirit,” said Julie Lauderbaugh, assistant vice president of communications, alumni and donor engagement. “After such a tough year, we are delighted to elevate and celebrate their stories of perseverance and achievement to inspire our entire University community.”
Representing seven of FAU’s colleges are the following distinguished alumni:
- Viridiana Lieberman, M.A. ’12, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
- Raymond Faloona, B.B.A. ’90, MAc ’91,
- Bradley Sorte, MSW ’11, MBA ’14, College of Social Work and Criminal Justice
- Shernette Dunn, M.Ed. ’04, Ed.S. ’10, Ph.D. ’20, College of Education
- Andre Jones, B.S. ’92,
- David Dillon, M.S. ’11, M.D. ’15,
- Maria Jasin, Ph.D., B.S. ’78,
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