News

In his 2017 memoir At Home, Away From Home, UNC Charlotte’s Tanure Ojaide speaks of the indelible impressions from his early years in Nigeria. In his words, “One does not forget what one yearns for at heart.” At age 70, many of his poems, short stories, critical essays, and books serve as activist works calling out for justice and fairness for the people and the ecosystem of the Niger Delta.

Flu season is upon us once again. This October marked the 100th anniversary of the Influenza Epidemic (Spanish Flu) of 1918 in North Carolina, and we can learn lessons from the historic event. Lauren Austin, who earned her Public Policy Ph.D. and master’s degree in History from UNC Charlotte, researched this influenza pandemic, which left citizens “afraid to breathe,” as she describes it. Her research, with co-author Dr. William P. Brandon, appears in the book, “North Carolina’s Experience during the First World War,” co-edited by UNC Charlotte history professors Dr. Steven Sabol and Dr. Shepherd McKinley.

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Senior Associate Dean Shawn Long has received the Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Award from the University of Kentucky Lyman T. Johnson African American alumni group, honoring his impact on other people’s lives.

Gregory Mixon, professor of history, recently received the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Council Award for Excellence in Research Using the Holdings of Archives. He was honored for the book, “Show Thyself a Man: Georgia State Troops, Colored, 1865-1905.”

Bioarchaeologists like UNC Charlotte researcher Sara L. Juengst are part archaeologist, part biological anthropologist. They study human skeletal remains to learn about and tell the stories of past communities and cultures. While archaeologists more often study settlement patterns and artifacts like ceramics or stone tools from historical excavations, bioarchaeologists study burial sites, items found at burial sites, and bones.

Members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community have a new way to share their opinions on a variety of issues with the launch of YourVoiceCLT. Charlotte’s Community Survey Panel was founded by the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, the Ph.D. in Public Policy Program, the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, and the Policy Opinion, Learning and Sentiment Lab.

The LYNX Blue Line Extension’s first trip in March 2018 signaled dramatic change for UNC Charlotte and the Charlotte community. For researchers Isabelle Nilsson and Elizabeth Delmelle, the new line and the neighborhoods it passes through between Uptown Charlotte and the main campus represent a living laboratory for research exploring how transit investments affect neighborhood change and the implications for residential mobility and income segregation.

UNC Charlotte historian Aaron Shapiro thinks deeply about the impact of society’s resting places and the importance of protecting and understanding them. In his co-teaching of a history class called “Preserving Memory in the Digital Age,” Shapiro strives to help students broaden their perspectives on cemeteries and their surrounding communities, through in-depth research and class work.

As part of the effort to advance experiential learning for students, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences faculty and staff learned best practices during a two-day workshop in June with Worcester Polytechnic Institute facilitators. The primary goal of the workshop was to explore how to integrate project-based learning throughout CLAS.

From planting American flags at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, to performing ‘Amazing Grace’ at the Brittany American Cemetery and Memorial, members of the Pride of Niner Nation are representing UNC Charlotte and the United States at the 74th commemoration of D-Day. Over 40 of the student musicians are majors or double-majors in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.