CLAS in the News, September – October 2008

November 6, 2008
Categories: College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences, Updates

This is a report of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences faculty, students and alumni in the news for the months of September and October. If you or your work is featured in the media, please contact Allison Reid at to be included in the next edition, which will be sent out Jan. 12, 2009.

Faculty Expertise

  • Political science professors Dr. Ted Arrington and Dr. Eric Heberlig and history professors Dr. David Goldfield and Dr. Dan Morrill were quoted in the Bloomberg story, “Charlotte Beating New York, London Doesn’t Mean Republicans Win.” (Oct. 24)
  • Heberlig also appeared on Charlotte NPR affiliate WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks,” speaking about “The Electoral College & Pat McCrory.” (Oct. 13) Heberlig live-blogged the Oct. 16 presidential debate on WCNC at “UNCC Professor dissects debate by topic.” (Oct. 16) He was quoted in other news stories related to the election, including the Winston-Salem Journal and istockanalyst.com.
  • Arrington was interviewed on BBC’s “World News America,” discussing the presidential election and how it’s playing out in Charlotte in “N Carolina Republicans feel Obama heat.” (Oct. 13) Other news outlets interviewing Arrington about the election include WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks,” (Oct. 6), which also featured political science professor Martha Kropf, and the Gaston Gazette (Oct. 18) and WRAL (Oct. 14).
  • Biology professor Dr. Pinku Mukherjee was recognized as an impressive new UNC Charlotte recruit at Charlotte Business.com and in the Charlotte Observer story “UNCC pleased to hit professorial jackpot.” (Sept. 1) Market Watch and Reuters ran announcements about her research with a cancer vaccine. (Sept. 23)
  • The Charlotte Observer quoted criminal justice professors Dr. Vivian Lord and Dr. Paul Friday in the article “Police chief wants to ease rules on vehicle chases in Charlotte.” (Oct. 29)
  • WCNC News 36 aired a commentary on “Will economy affect Mecklenburg County bonds on the ballot?” Dr. Robert Kravchuk, political science professor and department chair, discussed this topic with them. (Oct. 6)
  • Dr. Aimee Parkison, assistant professor in the English department, had her short story, “That Certain Shade of Blue,” featured at Charlotte ViewPoint. (Oct. 2)

In addition to the appearances listed above, Charlotte NPR affiliate WFAE’s “Charlotte Talks” featured a number of other CLAS faculty in September and October:

  • Political science professors Dr. David Swindell and Dr. Robert Christensen discussed “Ordinary Justice vs. Social Justice.” (Sept. 9)
  • Dr. Matthew Eastin, assistant professor in the geography and earth sciences department, talked about “Weather, Hurricanes and Green Living.” (Sept. 11)
  • Dr. Dan Grano, associate professor in the communication studies department, discussed “Media Influence on Elections.” (Sept. 19)
  • Dr. Tom Holt, associate professor of criminal justice, was featured on the program “Hacking the Hacker’s Mind.” (Oct. 10)
  • Dr. John Szmer, assistant professor of political science, talked about “Election 2008 & the Courts.” (Oct. 14)
  • Dr. Greg Weeks, associate professor of political science, talked about “Latino Politics.” (Oct. 17)

Alumni and Student Newsmakers

  • The Greensboro News & Record featured communication studies alumnus Demetrius Noble in “Spoken-word poets take aim at society.” (Sept. 13)
  • Charlotteobserver.com featured video of Dr. Ted Arrington’s political science class on their response to the presidential debate in “Obama/McCain bore UNCC poli-sci class.” (Oct. 2)