College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences

South Point High School English teacher Bobbie Cavnar describes teaching as 25 percent preparation and 75 percent pure theater.  Lately, the UNC Charlotte alumnus has taken his place on the national stage, sharing his views of teaching, the humanities, the arts and issues confronting the nation’s schools.

Three UNC Charlotte alumni with majors or minors in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences were among the alumni, faculty and university friends that the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association recognized at the 2018 Alumni Awards celebration at the Hilton Charlotte Center City on April 20, 2018.

For her transformational impact on international education at UNC Charlotte, Anabel Aliaga-Buchenau, associate professor of German, is the 2018 recipient of the International Education Faculty Award. Notable contributions include a keen focus on expanding opportunities for students to study, work and intern abroad, with a parallel focus on growing community partnerships to support students. She also has grown academic offerings and community outreach.

A classroom approach in which students seek solutions to problems rooted in real meteorological data; non-traditional teaching techniques to help students grasp organic chemistry; and a focus on students choosing research projects geared to their interests are just some of the innovative, hands-on approaches this year’s CLAS Excellence in Teaching Awards recipients use to challenge students.

UNC Charlotte alumna Tracy Dodson recently was named assistant city manager for economic development by City Manager Marcus Jones. Dodson earned bachelor’s degrees in architecture and psychology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She also holds a Master of Design Studies degree in Real Estate and Urban Development from Harvard University.

A Call to China, a book written by UNC Charlotte retired religious studies professor Jeffrey Meyer, is a silver winner in the historical fiction category of the Independent Book Publishers Association Benjamin Franklin Awards™. A professor at UNC Charlotte for 35 years, Meyer taught Asian religions in the Religious Studies department, with a focus on Buddhism and Daoism.

Faculty emeritus Ken Godwin, who was a faculty member in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and affiliated with the Ph.D. in Public Policy Program, passed away on Sunday, April 15, 2018. Among numerous attributes, he was well known for his exceptional mentorship of graduate students, particularly in the areas of education policy and environmental policy.

Joyce Dalsheim, a cultural anthropologist in the Department of Global Studies, has been selected as a 2018 Luce/ACLS Fellow in Religion, Journalism & International Affairs. She will use her ethnographic research in Israel/Palestine to engage in a critical examination of the relationship between sovereignty and liberation, focusing on questions of religion and religious freedom. Her work adds new perspective to a broad set of interdisciplinary conversations on secularism and citizenship in the modern world.

Jordan Flynn, a senior criminal justice major from Mebane, North Carolina, is UNC Charlotte’s 2018 Student Employee of the Year. He was honored for his work since fall 2016 as a maintenance assistant in Housing and Residence Life (HRL).

Anita West Moss, 74, professor of English, died Wednesday, April 11 following a brief illness. Described as an avid reader, lover of fine film and theater, enlightened conversationalist, and progressive intellectual, Moss joined UNC Charlotte’s Department of English in 1972 and continued teaching until a week before her death.