College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences

Two infants unearthed in ancient burial mounds in Salango, Ecuador were buried wearing helmets crafted from the skulls of other children, in what researchers believe was a unique practice perhaps intended to protect the infants’ souls during their journey to the afterlife. The research team – composed of UNC Charlotte’s Juengst and Abigail Bythell and Richard Lunniss and Juan José Ortiz Aguilu of Universidad Técnica de Manabí in Ecuador – published their findings in November in the journal Latin American Antiquity.

UNC Charlotte junior Rebecca De Luna has been recognized for outstanding leadership and service by North Carolina Campus Compact, a statewide network of colleges and universities that are committed to community engagement. She is a psychology major in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Unemployment significantly increases the odds of men entering jobs traditionally performed by women. Notably, some men find real job advantages as a result, a study published in the journal “Social Science Research” by Jill Yavorsky of UNC Charlotte and Janette Dill of the University of Minnesota finds.

Senior Neariah Mandisa-Drummond is the 2019 recipient of the John H. Barnhill Civic Trailblazer Award. While at UNC Charlotte, Mandisa-Drummond – a Communication Studies and Spanish major in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences – has developed a passion for serving people as a member of the institution’s inaugural class of Bonner Leaders.

Longtime UNC Charlotte professor Dr. Susan Cernyak-Spatz passed away on Nov. 17, 2019. Born in Vienna, Austria, Spatz survived the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp, as well as the death march, during the Holocaust. She taught German language and literature in the Department of Languages and Culture Studies, and was instrumental in the creation of Holocaust studies at UNC Charlotte.

A book by UNC Charlotte history professor Karen L. Cox about Confederate monuments is one of the first four books under contract in the newly created Marcie Cohen Ferris and William R. Ferris Imprint for high-profile, general-interest books about the American South. Authors chosen are considered among the nation’s leading authors.

Janaka Lewis, associate professor of English, received the 2019 Bonnie E. Cone Early Career Professorship for Teaching in recognition of her strong commitment to teaching.

In the new book Dear Delia: The Civil War Letters of Captain Henry F. Young, Seventh Wisconsin Infantry, UNC Charlotte historian John David Smith and coauthor Micheal J. Larson have provided a deeper look at Young’s letters through their detailed research and annotations. On Wednesday, Nov. 13 at 3 p.m., Smith will sign copies of the acclaimed book at Barnes and Noble Charlotte bookstore in the Popp Martin Student Union.

Nancy A. Gutierrez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at UNC Charlotte, has been elected chair of the North Carolina Humanities Council Board of Trustees for 2019-2020. The Board of Trustees seeks to make the humanities accessible statewide.

Akinwumi Ogundiran, a transdisciplinary scholar and professor in the Departments of Africana Studies, Anthropology and History, is now designated as a Chancellor’s Professor at UNC Charlotte. This campus honor recognizes his outstanding scholarly achievement and demonstrated excellence in interdisciplinary research, teaching and service.