General News

Oscar de la Torre, associate professor of Africana Studies, will have his first book, “The People of the River: Nature and Identity in Black Amazonia, 1835-1945” published by UNC Press; it is scheduled for release in October.

This work is a social and environmental history of the Africa-descended people in Brazil’s Amazonian forest. It is a story of the difficult journey from slavery to peasantry, and how Black Amazonians used the environment to forge new overlapping identities as citizens, black and indigenous in the post-emancipation years.

Tanure Ojaide, the Frank Porter Graham Professor of Africana Studies, has published a new collection of short stories, “God’s Naked Children,” and a volume of 105 poems, “The Questioner.”

UNC Charlotte is monitoring Hurricane Florence closely. At this time, the area is not expecting significant effects from the storm beyond moderate to heavy rain and some gusty winds. However, it is important to note that even a slight change in the storm’s path could lead to greater effects in Charlotte.

Lee College of Engineering’s Tony Schmitz invests significant time in his students with a goal to “train decision makers.” For his efforts, he was named the 2018 recipient of the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, one of UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious accolades.

Violist Kirsten Swanson, an adjunct professor in the UNC Charlotte Department of Music, will be the featured performer for a Faculty & Friends Concert, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 11, in the Rowe Recital Hall.

The newly formed 49er ACE (Alumni Campus Employee) group recently gathered for an end of summer reception at the Harris Alumni Center at Johnson Glen. Currently, there are more than 600 faculty and staff members who are proud UNC Charlotte alumni.

Two teams from the School of Architecture have won top awards in the 2017-18 Steel Design Student Competition hosted by the American Institute of Steel Construction and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

The competition recognizes exceptional projects in two categories, one addressing affordable housing and the other for open submissions that explore a variety of issues related to the use of steel in design and construction. More than 300 projects were submitted from universities across the United States and abroad; 16 projects were honored.

Ming-Chun Lee, a professor in the School of Architecture’s Master of Urban Design program, has been named one of five inaugural fellows in the Niantic/Knight Fellows Program, a community engagement initiative by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Niantic Inc., maker of the popular Pokémon GO game. The fellowship will support projects that address community issues and promote resident engagement using Niantic’s augmented reality technology.

Assistant Professor of Voice Carl DuPont had the new album, “The Reaction,” released by Albany Records. It features songs by black composers, most of whom have never been recorded.

Imagine being 25 feet in the air, balancing atop a telephone pole. Your legs are trembling at the sight of the ground below, and you are connected only to a single safety rope. Your next move will require focus and determination. So, you breathe in deeply and jump.