2022-23 Inclusive Excellence Grants to advance diversity, promote equity and foster inclusion

Nineteen campus proposals have been selected by UNC Charlotte’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion to receive 2022-23 Inclusive Excellence Grants
Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Nineteen campus proposals have been selected by UNC Charlotte’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion to receive 2022-23 Inclusive Excellence Grants for their potential to advance diversity, promote equity and foster inclusion throughout Charlotte and surrounding communities. Projects chosen from proposals submitted by faculty and staff are designed to address ideas related to diversity education and training; faculty, staff and student recruitment or retention; institutional excellence in policy and practice; or cultural programming.

“Our campus is full of engaged scholars whose expertise can shape the landscape of what it means to lead in equity and engagement for the benefit of our communities,” said Brandon Wolfe, chief diversity and inclusion officer. “The projects selected for funding reflect our shared commitment to creating and supporting a culture of inclusive excellence. The review committee is to be commended for its leadership in evaluating, discussing and making selections from the pool of competitive proposals.”

Wolfe heads the University’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which administers the grant program. Launched in 2006 as the Chancellor’s Diversity Challenge Fund, the program was reshaped last year as Inclusive Excellence Grants to reflect the framework shaped by the American Association of Colleges and Universities  for organizing equity, diversity, belonging and student success efforts in higher education. Funding for each project ranges from $2,000 to $10,000.

2022-23 Inclusive Excellence Grants awarded and their project teams (read more):

  • 2023 Thriving Together Symposium: Terrence Harper, Leigh Norwood, Jalisa Lewis and Phylicia Currence, Center for Counseling and Psychological Services
  • Afterschool Coding Program for STEM Exposure: Austin Fifield, engineering technology and construction management, with Kaiwen Cheng, Theresa Mount and Mark Rohlinger
  • Ageism: The Overlooked Intersection: Cynthia Hancock and Kendra Jason, sociology, and Christine Davis, communication studies
  • Annual Intertribal Powwow: Michelle Stanley, Office of Institutional Research, with Page Freeman
  • Atkins Library Community-Driven Experience Study, 2022-23: Jon B. Moore, Becky Croxton, Tiffany Davis and Tracie Krumbine, J. Murrey Atkins Library
  • Beyond Resiliency and Survival:  Addressing Interpersonal and Systemic Oppression Targeting LGBTQ, Disabled Persons at the Margins: Terri Rhodes, Emily Brown, Daniela Recabarren and Erica Lennon, Center for Counseling and Psychological Services
  • Building Capacity: Teacher Professional Development for Cultural Competence and Computer Science Micro-Credential: Xiaoxia Newton, educational leadership; David Pugalee, Center for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics; Shanique Lee, Cato College of Education; and Audrey Rorrer, College of Computing and Informatics
  • Charlotte Strings Collective: Performing String Music by Black Composers: Miranora Frisch, music, and Charlotte Strings Collective
  • Cultural Festival 2022: Joseph Hoff, Nicole Ianieri and Denise Medeiros, Office of International Programs; Yongling Gorke, languages and culture studies; Ryan McKeel, Chervon Moore and Kim Turner, Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement; and Adam Burden, student involvement
  • Dia de los Muertos Campus Altar: Ryan McKeel, Office of Identity, Equity and Engagement
  • Graduate Diversity Research Showcase: Julie Goodliffe, Katherine Hall-Hertel, Jill Huerta, Janet Morse, Johnna Watson and Aura Young, Graduate School; Cathy Howell, educational leadership; Bruce Taylor, reading and elementary education; and Manuel Perez, software and information systems, with Adoril Oshana
  • Graduate Recruitment of Underrepresented Philosophers (GROUP): Andrea Pitts and Trevor Pearce, philosophy
  • Immigrant Inclusion, Integration and Citizenship in Charlotte: Gordon Hull, philosophy; Beth Whitaker, political science and public administration; Heather Smith, geography and earth sciences; and Lan Kolano, middle, secondary and K-12 education
  • Lauren Anderson, First African-American Principal Ballerina for Houston Ballet: Delia Neil, dance, with Ayisha McMillan Cravotta
  • Promoting Equity through the Understanding of Latinx Heritage Speakers’ Literacy Practices, A Charlotte Initiative: Javier García León, Paloma Fernández Sánchez and Olga Padilla-Falto, languages and culture studies
  • Scaling Equitable Learning Environments that Promote Student Success: Heather McCullough, Center for Teaching and Learning; Kim Buch, psychological science; and Dave Frantzreb, sociology
  • Sustaining What We Start through the Critical English Educator Collaborative: Meghan Barnes, English; and Heather Coffey, middle, secondary and K-12 education, with Lucy Arnold
  • Translation as a Site of Global Engagement and Democracy, An Interdisciplinary Symposium: David Boyd, languages and culture studies; and Emek Ergun, global studies
  • Website (Re)design to Strengthen Recruitment and Retention of Diverse Graduate Students: Andrea Pitts, philosophy; Ritika Prasad, history; Erin Basinger, communication studies; Mónica Rodríguez, languages and culture studies; and Sara Juengst, anthropology

Created in 2020, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion guides UNC Charlotte toward inclusive excellence by developing and supporting programs and initiatives that enhance capability, build community and leverage diversity and inclusion to help the campus community thrive.