Spotlights

The Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence is one of the most important and prestigious traditions at UNC Charlotte, recognizing excellence in teaching. This year, two faculty from the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences have been named as finalists for the award. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on Sept. 5. […]

UNC Charlotte is committed to celebrating success in many different forms, and is establishing and expanding the various ways we recognize faculty. Alongside teaching excellence, exemplary research and notable publications, they have recently established recognition for large research grant funding. On Wednesday, March 27, “Charlotte’s Million Dollar Research Circle” reception recognized faculty who have received a large grant totalling at least […]

Shannon Reid, Ph.D., associate professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology and affiliate faculty with the School of Data Science, works at the intersection of technology and public safety with projects that focus on reducing crime, while increasing community buy-in and trust in AI. She serves as chief executive officer of Chimeras, which got its start from an NSF […]

A high school crush and a broken leg helped Luther “Cole” Kissam V find his passion for writing, but working through his mental health struggles set Cole on a path to be a published author, and helped him develop the growth mindset he needed after dropping out of college, twice. Cole will graduate from UNC […]

The five inaugural recipients of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS) Distinguished Leadership Awards have helped make the college strong, leaders say. Honorees are Twig Branch, Nancy A. Gutierrez, Margaret Kocherga, Boris “Bluz” Rogers and Shawn Long, who was honored posthumously.

Charlotte alumnus Joseph Graham Jr.’s inspiring story of struggle and progress is featured in a documentary film “Grit & Grace: The Fight for the American Dream,” produced by a Congressional committee focused on economic disparity and fairness in growth.

Supported in part by a national Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship, Claire Patrick is studying urban planning in the master’s program at Georgia Tech’s School of City and Regional Planning. Her goal is to meld technology and equitable planning strategies to ensure that in the future our cities are healthy, just, and sustainable. Patrick graduated in May 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in geography, minors in public health and religious studies, and University and Geography honors.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed UNC Charlotte alumna Sandra J. Hairston as United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, making history with her selection as the first Black woman to serve as the district’s top prosecutor. Hairston earned a bachelor’s degree in English from UNC Charlotte in 1981.

UNC Charlotte alumna Estella Patterson ’96 is the new police chief for the city of Raleigh, N.C., chosen following a competitive national search. Patterson, who graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in political science from UNC Charlotte and was a member of the Army ROTC, has risen through the ranks with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) over the past 24 years.

UNC Charlotte alumna and former faculty member Brenda Tindal ’04 has been named executive director of Harvard Museums of Science and Culture. She earned bachelor’s degrees in History and Africana Studies with University Honors distinction from UNC Charlotte in 2004 and was a visiting faculty member in the Department of History and the Honors College.