General News

John Allemeier, associate professor of composition in the Department of Music, and associate professor of English Aimee Parkison are among 15 artists across the state who received a 2013-14 North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Award in the categories of songwriting, composing and writing.
Fellowships are awarded to artists to support creative development and the creation of new work. Recipients were selected by panels comprised of artists and arts professionals with expertise in each discipline. 

In recognition of his efforts to promote diversity, chemistry professor Daniel Rabinovich will be recognized this week by the American Chemistry Society’s Committee on Minority Affairs.

The Student Union Art Gallery is exhibiting the two-person display “Secret Lives of the Inanimate,” which features the works of alumni Rachel Simpson and Andrea Vail through Nov. 26.
“Secret Lives of the Inanimate” investigates the world through a unique lens by focusing on moments of interaction between objects and their environment. Pieces in the exhibit include a combination of altered found objects and photographic transfers that explore the interesting and odd in everyday objects.
Simpson said her works seek to explore “objects in the world and how they got there.”

During a recent four-week project, local middle and high school students had a chance to experience the life of an engineer.

American Education Week is Monday, Nov. 18, through Friday, Nov. 22. In observance of this period, the College of Education’s Office of Teacher, Education, Advising, Licensure and Recruitment will sponsor an Education Walk of Fame from 10:15 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, Nov. 20, in front of the Student Activity Center.
Members of the campus community are invited to “show their appreciation for an educator (teacher, counselor or administrator) who made a difference in their lives.” Participants will be able to draw a star and write the name of their educator.

Faculty and staff members are invited to join colleagues for socializing and networking at a Faculty and Staff Social, which will be from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 19, in the lobby of the Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts.
 Sponsored by Chancellor Philip L. Dubois, the social will feature light hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer and soft drinks.

Faculty and staff members can receive up to four free tickets for the Nov. 15 men’s basketball contest against Elon University.
Ticket pickup is under way; interested employees can get their free tickets at the 49ers Athletic Ticket Office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays through Thursday or before noon on Friday.  A valid University faculty/staff ID is required.
The game starts at 4 p.m., Friday, in Halton Arena.

Ning Zhou, a doctoral student in computing and information systems in the College of Computing and Informatics, will defend “Hierarchical Learning of Discriminative Features and Classifiers for Large-scale Visual Recognition” at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 26, in the College of Health and Human Services, Room 145. Jianping Fan is the dissertation advisor.

Jillian Tullis, a faculty member in the Department of Communication Studies, is one of the organizers of a “Death Café” that will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Respite: A Centre for Grief and Hope.
According to an article in the Charlotte Observer, Tullis is co-facilitating the café in conjunction with gerontologist Lynn Hare. Their goal is “to create a safe, respectful place to stimulate conversation on death and dying and also offer community resources for those in need of further support.”