Research News

UNC Charlotte Chancellor’s Professor Roslyn Arlin Mickelson is one of just 18 exceptional education leaders and scholars elected as members of the National Academy of Education for valuable contributions to education research and policy development. This diverse group of leaders and scholars is at the forefront of those who are improving the lives of students in the United States and abroad.

A book by Amanda Pipkin, History Department chair and professor, has received the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender’s national 2022 Best Book Award. Through compelling, detailed case studies of women, the researcher reveals the vital contributions women made to the spread and practice of the Reformed faith.

Earning probation or parole may be challenging, but having it revoked is surprisingly easy – clogging prison systems and derailing an individual’s ability to build a productive life. Nationwide, one in four state prison admissions in 2017 were a result of a technical violation by someone on supervised release. With support from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), UNC Charlotte professor Shelley Johnson and her colleagues are building and piloting a novel approach they hope will break the cycle of recidivism and lead to a new national model for parole and probation practices.

To support the first translation into English of an extensive 12th-century Persian poem that presents a Sufi spiritual journey, UNC Charlotte’s William Sherman has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The $48,371 award will enable continued work on a critical collaborative translation of a poem called the “Musibat-Namah,” or “The Divine Tragedy,” by Sufi poet Farid al-Din ‘Attar.

UNC Charlotte researchers and the Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services have created the Gaston Water Map, a website with tools that map known groundwater quality in the county. The site also provides resources on best practices households can use to understand their well water quality. The researchers have mailed more than 8,000 postcards to residents, encouraging them to locate their addresses on the interactive maps on the website.

An article by UNC Charlotte researcher Andrea J. Pitts and colleagues published in the world’s leading medical journal details how competing interests in academic medicine can harm patient care and perpetuate structural racism. Published in early June in the New England Journal of Medicine, the article explores the tensions found in academic residency clinics, as doctors deal with dual loyalties to their patients and their academic institutions.

UNC Charlotte Professor of History Mark Wilson is one of 28 exceptional scholars, journalists and authors chosen as members of the 2022 Class of Andrew Carnegie Fellows. Wilson will receive a $200,000 stipend to conduct significant research and writing.

UNC Charlotte Professor of English and American Studies Program Director Jeffrey Leak and colleagues have received a new American Association of University Administrators (AAUA) award for a special issue of the Journal of Higher Education Management that focuses on the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial justice and equity.

A significant proportion of Gaston County residents get their drinking water from private wells and other unregulated sources, particularly in the county’s northern and western rural communities. Yet, only a small fraction of residents test their water regularly. A UNC Charlotte team will work with residents and county health officials to boost the number of people doing tests regularly and improve the sharing of data, with new state funding to broaden the work.

A team including UNC Charlotte urban planning researcher Katherine Idziorek has received a nearly $2 million grant from the National Science Foundation to advance research on how urban social and spatial systems can be organized to be more resilient and efficient.

UNC Charlotte health psychology doctoral student Jan Mooney is expanding her research in maternal health, with support from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Intramural Research Training Award. The fellowship from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development will allow Mooney to work closely with NIH scientists.

UNC Charlotte faculty member and alumna Dina Massachi has followed a long and winding road to build her extensive knowledge and understanding of L. Frank Baum, author of the enduring classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She is one of the experts chosen to provide insights on Baum in a PBS documentary “American Oz,” which premieres on April 19.

The latest U.S. News & World Report rankings place the Gerald G. Fox Master of Public Administration at #48 nationally, with the program moving into top 17 percent of all ranked public affairs programs. For UNC Charlotte’s nationally accredited MPA program, its ranking marks a 19% increase over last year’s results.

Akin Ogundiran, a Chancellor’s Professor and professor of Africana Studies, Anthropology and History,  is the 2021 recipient of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal, UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious faculty award, in recognition of excellence in research. undiran is a renowned archaeologist and transdisciplinary scholar-teacher who has consistently used diverse research methods in the humanities, social sciences and physical sciences to study African and African Diaspora history, with an emphasis on the Yoruba civilization.

To most observers, the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, illustrates how extremist groups have increased in power and visibility. UNC Charlotte’s Shannon Reid, associate professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, describes the criminality and violence exhibited during the Capitol riots as a major concern.

New UNC Charlotte social and behavioral sciences research on gender inequality indicates that fewer leadership prospects in the workplace apply even to women who show the most promise early on in their academic careers.

Former FEMA Administrator Brock Long will headline UNC Charlotte’s third annual “Talking Policy in the Queen City” symposium on Feb. 24, hosted by the Public Policy Ph.D. and MPA programs with UNC Charlotte Urban Institute.

Eighteen researchers in UNC Charlotte’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS) are among the top 2% percent of the world’s most cited researchers, detailed in a Stanford University study. CLAS researchers from five academic departments represent almost 45 percent of the UNC Charlotte researchers on the list.