College of Arts + Architecture

Emily Makaš was appointed to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission by Charlotte Mayor Vi Lyles.

The commission is the shared city and county entity that recommends the designation of sites for landmark status as well as secures their preservation through design review and the buying and selling of endangered historic properties. The commission has 12 members: six appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, four appointed by City Council, and two appointed by the mayor.

For the first time, UNC Charlotte is a partner in presenting Charlotte SHOUT!, which will invigorate Uptown Charlotte, bringing performances, installations, food trucks, interactive art and engaging conversations to plazas and venues in the center city.

Karen Hubbard, a retired associate professor of dance, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from North Carolina Dance Education Organization at the 2023 conference held at UNC Charlotte.

Hubbard, who has danced on Broadway, television and film, retired in 2022 after teaching in the Department of Dance for 36 years. While at UNC Charlotte, she evolved an innovative approach to teaching Vintage Jazz Dance; the students in her class learned jazz movement from the first half of the 20th century as well as cultural, historical/aesthetic aspects of the form. 

José Gámez has been elected the second vice president of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture. A professor of architecture and urban design in Charlotte’s David R. Ravin School of Architecture, he also is the associate dean for research and graduate programs for the College of Arts + Architecture.

Zuzanna Dyrda, from the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław, Poland, is teaching two classes in the College of Arts + Architecture. She also is serving as the 2023 McColl Center Visiting Artist-in-Residence, an annual shared residency program with the McColl Center. 

Six distinguished alumni will be honored by the College of Arts + Architecture at its ninth annual celebration of alumni achievement scheduled for 11:30 a.m., Thursday, March 30, in the Anne R. Belk Theater in Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts.

A new book by  Kelsey Klotz, lecturer in music and assistant dean for inclusive excellence in the College of Arts + Architecture, explores the creation, manifestation and interpretation of “whiteness” in mid-century America through the study of jazz musician Dave Brubeck.

Blaine Brownell, director of the David R. Ravin School of Architecture, examines the role of the built environment in both the spread and the mitigation of infectious disease historically, currently and in the future in “The Pandemic Effect: Ninety Experts on Immunizing the Built Environment.”

Brook Muller, dean of the College of Arts + Architecture, has announced he will depart the University effective June 30. Lee Gray, professor of architectural history, will become interim dean.  

“I would like to thank UNC Charlotte for giving me the opportunity to lead the College of Arts + Architecture,” Muller said. “I have learned so much from its magical constellation of creative disciplines and believe strongly in the mission of the college to promote the arts and design as engines of civic imagination.”  

Kaustavi Sarkar, assistant professor of dance, has received a $10,000 “Grant for Arts Projects — Dance” from the National Endowment for the Arts” for the project, “ShilpaNatyam: Creating a New Vocabulary in Indian Dance,” in partnership with New York-based choreographer Maya Kulkarni.