General News

CarlosAlexis Cruz, associate professor of theatre, is the new president of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the national professional membership organization for college and university theatre departments and administrators, educators, graduate students and theatre practitioners. He assumed leadership of the organization at the 2023 ATHE Conference in Austin, Texas.

Susana Cisneros ’09 M.A. is among this year’s recipients of the Latin American Excelente Award. Presented by the Spanish language newspaper LaNoticia, the awards recognize honorees for their work in the community.

The Department of Art & Art History and Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Art and Design in Wrocław, Poland, recently jointly presented an exhibition, “The World Without Us,” curated by UNC Charlotte painting professors Andrew Leventis and Maja Godlewska.

Tom Burch, associate professor of scenic design, recently returned from six weeks in Italy, where he designed two opera productions for La Musica Lirica, an intensive opera training program for young professional singers. Premiering first in the town of Novafeltria, each production traveled to additional locations in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.

Stinker Bell, UNC Charlotte’s youngest blooming titan arum, is showing signs of opening during the next one to three days.

Tammy Blume, manager of the McMillan Greenhouse, said, “I am predicting a bloom Thursday, Friday or Saturday. The day it begins opening, we will keep the greenhouse open until 8 p.m. for viewing. The following day, we will open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.”

A house designed, built and owned by Marc Manack, associate professor of architecture, with his firm SILO AR+D, was awarded the 2023 George Matsumoto Prize from NCModernist, a nonprofit organization and educational archive established for the documentation, promotion and preservation of residential modernist architecture in the state.

Natasha Stracener ’98, instructional media production manager for UNC Charlotte’s Center for Teaching and Learning, is the 2023 recipient of the Erskine B. Bowles Staff Service Award, given by the UNC Staff Assembly. She is the first UNC Charlotte employee to receive this prestigious recognition. Stracener was honored at the Staff Assembly meeting held at Winston-Salem State University on Tuesday, July 25.

Beth Derrick Crigler has been appointed vice chancellor for advancement at UNC Charlotte, following a national search. She has served in this role in an interim capacity since July 2022. 

The lobby of Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts on the UNC Charlotte main campus is the location for the annual piano sale Aug. 3-5. The Department of Music has the use of new first-class pianos on a no-cost basis each school year. This arrangement is provided through an association with the Rockley Family Foundation. These instruments, those provided to other institutions and those made available by various manufacturers will be sold to perpetuate this valuable program.

Dig DEEP (Dialogue, Education, Engagement and Practice), sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Provost’s Office, the Career Center and ADVANCE-FADO, is a series of professional development workshops to be held Aug. 8-10 for faculty who want to grow in their Inclusive Excellence content, curriculum, communication and pedagogy.