Hania al-Shamat receives Award for Excellence from the American Political Science Association
Hania al-Shamat, Ph.D., assistant teaching professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, was selected as one of the winners of the inaugural Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Teaching, or Leadership by Contingent Faculty from the American Political Science Association (APSA).
“Receiving APSA’s inaugural Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Teaching, or Leadership meant a lot to me. It is a recognition not just of my teaching, research and service, but also of the positive and nurturing environment in my department, college, and institutions and the support I receive for various innovative projects,” said al-Shamat. “Personally, it gives me the impetus to continue pushing forward knowing that my contributions to students’ learning are visible and valued.”
The award is sponsored by the APSA Committee on the Status of Contingent Faculty in the Profession and recognizes scholars who have made significant contributions to the field of political science without the support of tenure-track employment.
“As a long-standing member of APSA, I am pleased to see the emergence of this award and the opportunity to nominate Dr. Hania Abou al-Shamat,” said Cheryl L. Brown, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration. “She is, indeed, an outstanding contingent faculty and very deserving of this award. We are all honored to call her our colleague.”
The APSA is the leading professional organization for the study of political science and serves more than 11,000 members across 100 countries.
“The APSA Committee on the Status of Contingent Faculty in the Profession is honored to include Hania Abou al-Shamat among the winners of this year’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Teaching, or Leadership by Contingent Faculty,” stated the committee’s press release. “Dr. al-Shamat innovates inside the classroom environment and continues to educate and mentor students outside the classroom as well.”
The additional winners are Thomas Meredith, Ph.D., lecturer of political science at Santa Clara University and Maria Puerta Riera, Ph.D., adjunct professor of political science at Valencia College.
Background
Al-Shamat joined UNC Charlotte in 2022, after previously holding two adjunct lecturer positions at the University of Florida, first in the Department of History and then in the Bob Graham Center for Public Service.
In 2014, al-Shamat received the prestigious Fulbright Scholar position of visiting researcher associate in Boğaziçi University’s Department of Economics in Istanbul, Turkey.
Al-Shamat earned a Ph.D. from the Political Economy and Public Policy (PEPP) program at the University of Southern California in 2008, an interdisciplinary program bridging political science, economics and international relations. She is a regional specialist of the Middle East and North Africa, and her Ph.D. research culminated in the thesis titled, “The Religious Educational Divide in Nineteenth-Century Lebanon: Institutional Roots of Communal Educational Choices.”
Interdisciplinary Teaching Contributions
Since joining UNC Charlotte, al-Shamat has taught ten different courses across the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and the Interdisciplinary Studies program.
During her first semester, al-Shamat taught two political science courses, “International Organizations” and “Topics in Comparative or International Politics: Women and Politics in the Middle East and North Africa,” as well as a graduate course in the Master of Liberal Studies, now known as the M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies. She designed and introduced the topics course, which the department cross-listed with Africana Studies, Global Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies.
Al-Shamat attended the University’s Career Competency workshop, a professional development opportunity, which guided her design of the syllabus for the “Migrant and Refugees in the Middle East” course.
The course contributed specific content and research to the interdisciplinary Migration Research Network, part of the Center for Migration and Diaspora Studies. The Center is one of the University’s Areas of Existing Excellence, contributing to the University’s recent R-1 status.
Mentorship
Al-Shamat launched the advising and mentoring program for the Online Political Science B.A., and one of her mentoring workshops featured a Zoom webinar with the Senior Education Specialist of the World Bank. Students were able to interact and hear about experiential opportunities at the major international organization.
“Dr. al-Shamat’s invaluable contributions to the respective programs aligned with goals in the University’s Strategic Plan, ‘Shaping What’s Next,’ particularly preparing students to thrive in a changing world, address complex global problems and engage in research and creative expression,” said Brown.
Al-Shamat also supervises numerous independent study projects and chairs honors thesis committees.
“Her direction of various research projects with her expertise has furthered implementation of the departmental goal of heightening student connectedness through undergraduate research,” Brown said.
Globally Networked Learning
During the weeklong Global Learning and Institutionalization Institute (CGII) workshop al-Shamat developed the department’s designated Globally Networked Learning (GNL) course, “Women and Politics in the Middle East,” with direct collaboration between students and instructors in different countries.
Al-Shamat and a faculty partner from the American University of Sharjah-United Arab Emirates created an eight-week program for students to work together creating and producing podcasts on course topics.
“Apart from gaining a global understanding of women and politics in the region, [this program] enriched students’ growth in virtual teamwork and effective communication, essential skills for the global job market,” said Brown.
In his peer review of the course, Jason Giersch, Ph.D., associate professor of political science and public administration, acknowledged “… multiple pedagogical benefits to this technique, from the authentic assessment associated with an output such as a podcast to the higher-order thinking and communication skills required to collaborate with partners both here and overseas.”
Giersch went on to describe the new course as one of “rich intellectual curiosity” with “Dr. al-Shamat’s teaching ability to be exemplary.”
Model United Nations
Al-Shamat teaches Model United Nations (MUN) courses at the introductory and advanced levels and advises UNC Charlotte’s Model United Nations organization, helping to prepare students to become future global leaders.
She has helped host college and high school MUN programs at the Carolina’s Conference at UNC Charlotte, attended regional conferences with students at UNC Chapel Hill, and traveled to Taipei, Taiwan in 2024 and Manila, in the Philippines in 2025 for the Harvard World Model United Nations Conference.
During the 2025 trip to Manila, ten students got the opportunity to represent Turkey and Italy in various General Assembly committees alongside college students from around the world. Three students were chosen to participate in the semi-finals of the Social Venture Challenge (SVC), a business plan-style competition designed to inspire students to propose solutions to pressing social issues around the world. This was the first time UNC Charlotte students participated in the challenge.
Sofia Fuentes, Krishma Indrasanan and Mia Jammal were tasked with identifying a pressing social issue in their community, reaching out to an organization that works on that issue, building partnerships and proposing innovative solutions. They wrote a proposal for funding and mentorship with short-term and long-term plans.
Fuentes was the SVC finalist and was awarded the Resolution Project Fellowship. The Fellowship comes with $5,000 in funding for her project, mentorship, free pro bono services, and membership in a network of social entrepreneurs.
Her project, “Bridging Knowledge, Empowering Health” is a health literacy program that aims to empower underserved communities by providing accessible, multilingual education on navigating healthcare systems, understanding medical information and making informed decisions.
“These opportunities not only fostered experiential learning for students, but also the introduction to international-level student competition that allowed Sofia Fuentes to emerge as the global leader among all students participating in the Social Venture Challenge,” said Brown.
Phi Beta Delta Mu Chapter
Al-Shamat is also an active member in Phi Beta Delta, an international honor society dedicated to recognizing scholarly achievement in international education. The Mu Chapter at UNC Charlotte was invited to join the honor society in 1987 as a charter member.
In April 2025, the chapter hosted the 39th International Scholars Conference, “Navigating New Realities: Supporting Global Scholars in a Changing World.” Al-Shamat moderated several sessions, including “Bridging Borders: How Study Abroad Prepares Students for a Changing Global Workforce.”
Additional Awards
In 2023, al-Shamat received a $2,000 Capitalism Studies Program Course development grant to create a new course, “Capitalism and Political Economy in the Middle East.”
In 2024, IES Abroad awarded al-Shamat and Noha Ghali, Ph.D., teaching professor and coordinator of the Arabic Studies program, a Faculty-Led Program Award. The grant supported the preparation and establishment of the summer 2025 study abroad course, “Youth in the Middle East: Opportunities & Challenges of Political, Economic, and Social Participation,” in Rabat, Morocco.
On Nov. 17, al-Shamat received the 2025 International Education Faculty Award, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the enhancement of the international education experience at UNC Charlotte.
“Contributing to the enhancement of international education experiences matters deeply to me as I have seen how transformative global learning can be — opening students’ minds, widening their horizons, changing their perspectives, and reshaping how they see their role in the world,” said al-Shamat. “I believe every student deserves the chance to connect across cultures, challenge their assumptions and discover new possibilities for their future.”
The award was presented at the 50th Anniversary Celebration and Annual International Education Awards, hosted in the Halton Reading Room in Atkins Library. Sponsored by Charlotte Global, formerly the Office of International Programs, the award includes a plaque of recognition and $2,000 for professional development or international travel related to her work on campus.
“Global experiences do not only enrich the students academically, they cultivate essential skills such as communication, adaptability, and cross-cultural understanding that will empower them in their future careers that are increasingly global in scope,” al-Shamat said. “Helping students gain these competencies, and watching them carry those strengths into their professional lives, is one of the most rewarding parts of my work.”
Photos courtesy of Hania al-Shamat.
Special thanks to Cheryl Brown for her contributions to this article.