Meet the Marshals for May Commencement 2024
University marshal is an honor bestowed on distinguished faculty members. Representing the faculty at University ceremonial functions, including commencement, they are symbols of faculty excellence and leadership in teaching, professional achievement and service to campus and community. Congratulations to this year’s University marshals Karen Ford-Eickhoff, Carlos Cruz, Terry Shirley and Jean-Claude Thill.
Karen Ford-Eickhoff, management
Karen Ford-Eickhoff is the University marshal for the commencement ceremony at 10 a.m., Friday, May 10, for the Belk College of Business and College of Health and Human Services.
A clinical professor of management in the Belk College of Business, Ford-Eickhoff has research interests related to how boards can be more effective in serving their organizations, developing healthy relationships with the top management team and acting as important connections with the organization’s community. She joined UNC Charlotte in 2012 after teaching at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and serving as chair of the board of directors for a major hospital.
Carlos Cruz is the University marshal for the commencement ceremony at 3 p.m., Friday, May 10, for the College of Arts + Architecture, College of Computing and Informatics, Cato College of Education and William States Lee College of Engineering.
Cruz, associate professor of physical theatre and director of the Master of Fine Arts program in the College of Arts + Architecture, founded the Nouveau Sud Circus Project in 2014 with a McColl Award from the Arts and Science Council. Empowering individuals and communities that are often marginalized lies at the root of this community-centered contemporary circus company. In 2023 he received the Bonnie E. Cone Professorship in Civic Engagement, and earlier this year, he was presented the 2024 Engaged Faculty Award by North Carolina Campus Engagement.
Terry Shirley is the University marshal for the commencement ceremony at 10 a.m., Saturday, May 11, for the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences and the College of Science.
Shirley is associate chair and senior lecturer in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences in the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences. He is passionate about teaching and mentoring, the field of meteorology, advocating for students and supporting his colleagues. He serves as faculty advisor for the Student Organization of Meteorology and the Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics organization and co-advises Chi Epsilon Pi, the Meteorology National Honor Society.
Jean-Claude Thill is the University marshal for the commencement ceremony at 3 p.m., Saturday, May 11, for the Graduate School.
Thill is the Knight Distinguished Professor of Public Policy in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences in the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences. His research encompasses transportation and mobility systems, urban and regional science, geospatial data science and place-based policy analysis. Thill, who has published extensively, was recognized among the top 2% of most cited scholars by a Stanford University study. In 2022, he received the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal, UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious faculty award.