Academic Affairs

UNC Charlotte students interested in solving community social problems are invited to form teams to compete at the 2015 University of North Carolina Social Entrepreneurship Conference.The competition is open to teams of up to 10 members, including UNC Charlotte students and community representatives. Teams must be led by either undergraduate or graduate students in the competition, which will be held in February 2015. Statewide winners will receive cash prizes.

Heather Smith, professor of geography in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, is the 2014 recipient of the Provost’s Faculty Award for Community Engagement.  Established in 2012, the award honors a tenured faculty member whose teaching, research and service embodies the University’s commitment to civic involvement and whose work strengthens the relationship between UNC Charlotte and the larger community.

The selection committee for the 2015 Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence is soliciting nominees. This award is one of the most important and prestigious presented by the University, as it honors outstanding teachers on campus and provides an example of UNC Charlotte’s commitment to teaching excellence.

Joël Gallegos, assistant provost for international programs, was elected to the Board of Directors of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, widely regarded as the leading professional organization in the field of international education. He will serve a three-year term beginning January 2015 in one of three member-at-large positions. 

The Office of Academic Services is holding free workshops during October for University advisors on a number of topics. Prospective participants can complete an online form for session(s) they plan to attend.

UNC-TV’s “North Carolina Now” will air a story about the Charlotte  Engineering Early College (CEEC) at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 9.

A collaboration between the University and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, CEEC is located near EPIC. Its curriculum focuses on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) with an emphasis on energy and engineering.

UNC Charlotte recently hosted a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Charlotte Engineering Early College (CEEC); the event coincided with on-campus meetings by the N.C. State Board of Education.

University, local and state leaders talked about how the CEEC was an example of innovative, educational concepts that have increased in popularity across North Carolina.

The UNC CAUSE conference will be from Wednesday, Oct. 29, through Friday, Oct. 31, at the Sheraton Charlotte on McDowell Street. UNC Charlotte is the official host of this year’s annual event.

UNC CAUSE was established to help higher education information technology professionals in the UNC system to gather for networking, collaboration and professional development opportunities. The event is open to all UNC system faculty and staff. A number of UNC Charlotte personnel are among the conference speakers this year.

Scholarships help to ease the financial burdens associated with college, and, sometimes, they enable students to better focus on their studies.
The UNC Charlotte Scholarship Office, under the direction of Mark Walter, is a new campus resource that will guide and support all colleges and departments that award endowed and annual scholarships.

Calculus courses are foundational for a number of majors, and a recently implemented redesign has created a fresh, modernized approach to the sequence.

Mohammad Kazemi, professor and associate chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, said, “If students do well in Pre-calculus and Calculus I and II, then they can proceed and do well in a number of other disciplines, such as biology, pre-med, chemistry, physics, math, of course, geology, engineering and computer science.”