College News

A book by UNC Charlotte History Professor Christine Haynes has been chosen the best book in modern French history (post 1815) over the previous two years, receiving the inaugural Weber Book Prize from the UCLA Department of History.

When the Jamil Niner Student Pantry opened on campus in 2014, professor Nicole Peterson decided to focus a research project on campus, working to determine the depths of the food insecurity problem on the UNC Charlotte campus.

A book by UNC Charlotte Africana Studies associate professor Oscar de la Torre, The People of the River: Identity and Environment in Black Amazonia, 1835-1945, has received the inaugural Outstanding First Book Award from the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora.

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.

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.

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.

Mark West, professor and chair of the Department of English, is the 2019 Bonnie E. Cone Professorship in Civic Engagement recipient for his ongoing commitment to civic involvement that has positively impacted the University’s relationship with the community. He received the honor in September 2019.