English professor receives Reynolds Award

Lara Vetter, professor of English, is this year’s recipient of the Thomas L. Reynolds Leadership Award for her contributions to student success and enrollment management.

The honor comes with $1,000, an engraved plaque and the recipient’s name engraved on a perpetual trophy on display in the Graduate School.

“Our graduate program directors comprise faculty who not only excel in teaching and advising, but take responsibility for making graduate education grow and prosper in their program,” said Associate Provost and Graduate School Dean Tom Reynolds. “This award gives us a way to highlight and acknowledge our very best leaders and their accomplishments.”

Vetter, who joined UNC Charlotte in 2005 as an assistant professor, has a research and teaching focus in modernism, modern and contemporary poetry and life writing and gender and sexuality.

“Dr. Vetter has been a tireless advocate for her students,” said Nancy A. Gutierrez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. “She also has been committed to the establishment of a dual graduate degree with Kingston University, London, through which students can earn an M.A. in English from UNC Charlotte and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Kingston University. This is the first such graduate dual degree at UNC Charlotte, and her leadership was critical to the creation of this unique option for students.”

As director of graduate studies for the Department of English and advisor to the English Graduate Student Association, Vetter has helped students access resources and find opportunities to present their research and network with graduate students from other universities. The EGSA awarded Vetter its Professor of the Year Award in 2017, 2014 and 2009.

Vetter earned a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Georgia State University. Read the entire story on the Graduate School website.