Academic Affairs

Director of Classroom Support Steve Clark has been called a one-of-a-kind thinker and an innovator in his job at UNC Charlotte. He can add recipient of the Governor’s Award for Excellence to his resume.

The Office of Adult Students and Evening Services recently honored the inaugural recipients of the Bernard Osher Foundation Endowed Scholarship.
Last year, UNC Charlotte received a $1 million grant from the San Francisco-based Osher Foundation, which is being used as a permanent funding source to aid nontraditional students to complete their degrees. Through the Osher Reentry Scholarship Endowment, 29 undergraduates received scholarships for the fall semester.

For 30 years, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute has surveyed Mecklenburg County residents. The results of this annual survey have become an important resource for local governments and nonprofit agencies to discern community attitudes about issues that may impact their work.

Nationally, UNC Charlotte is one of the top producers of Fulbright Scholars, according to a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
This is a significant achievement, ranking UNC Charlotte alongside other major research institutions, such as the University of California Berkeley, University of Georgia and University of Michigan. But it’s not a surprise either, said Joël Gallegos, assistant provost for international programs.

UNC Charlotte has established Project Mosaic, an initiative that will be led by Knight Foundation Distinguished Professor Jean-Claude Thill to enhance the University’s social and behavioral science research. The divisions of Academic Affairs and Research and Economic Development are funding the campus-wide effort, which will be housed in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

International Education Week is Monday, Nov. 18, through Friday, Nov. 22, and the University will observe this period through special programming, lectures, presentations and other events to emphasize the campus’ commitment to global and international understanding.

The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute’s online publication PlanCharlotte.org has won a $12,000 grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to boost a project that will look at Charlotte’s creeks.
The grant from Knight Foundation Fund at Foundation for the Carolinas will pay a researcher in local history to examine the role the creeks have played in Charlotte’s growth and development, including the city’s cultural and social history, with a special focus on neighborhoods in west and northwest Charlotte.

The University’s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center is a partner on a $620,000 federal grant to develop a molecule inverter that mounts on solar panels.
EPIC will work with clean-energy startup SineWatts, according to an article in the Charlotte Business Journal.
SineWatts will open an office in Charlotte. It is likely to be a tenant UNC Charlotte Portal Building when the facility opens in early 2014.

The Office of Academic Services offers free workshops to University advisors on a variety of topics. November’s offerings in the Academic Advisor Development Program include:

The Office of International Programs is hosting the “Immigration Today Film and Discussion Forum,” a weekly event at 5:30 p.m., Mondays, through Nov. 18. The discussions are based upon “Harvest of Empire: The Untold Stories of Latinos in America,” a documentary film that explores the history of U.S. connections and immigration relationships to seven countries in Latin America, North America and the Caribbean.