Awards and honors

During the University’s observance of International Education Week, Charlotte Global recognized three faculty members, a staff member and two students for their efforts to advance global learning. Aspen Hochhalter, associate professor of art and art history, received the International Excellence Award. During her tenure, she has developed and led multiple study abroad experiences including the […]

Ashley Tate, assistant professor of dance, is one of three choreographers to receive a 2025-26 North Carolina Choreographic Fellowship from Trillium Arts. This two-week fellowship in June 2026 will provide Tate and a group of four dancers with financial support, lodging and studio space at the Trillium Arts campus in Mars Hill, North Carolina. Tate will use the […]

KoKo Thornton ’97 is the 2025 recipient of the Inspiring Teacher Award, presented at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, known as the Jimmy Awards. Thornton was nominated by her former student Conor Kruger, who participated in the 2024 Jimmy Awards. He is her fifth student to go to the national competition from Enloe Magnet […]

Savannah Lake is UNC Charlotte’s digital scholarship librarian. She joined the University in January 2021 after working in the publishing industry. Lake was named a 2025 Core Emerging Leader by the American Library Association, placing her in a distinguished national cohort of professionals new to the field of librarianship. Lake discusses this honor and the […]

By Bryson Foster Four UNC Charlotte students from various academic colleges are nominees for the prestigious Truman Scholarship and the James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program. Three of the students are part of the Honors College and the Levine Scholars Program . The Truman Scholarship offers up to $30,000 for graduate study for juniors who […]

Harrison Hieb and Whitney Wilson, staff members in Office of University Marketing and Communications, recently won a regional Emmy Award for the video “The Science of Spiders.” Hieb, the video’s cinematographer, and Wilson, its producer, were recognized at the 2025 Nashville/Midsouth Chapter of National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ceremony. The chapter, founded in […]

Erik Byker, a professor in the Cato College of Education Department of Reading and Elementary Education, is among the 2025 recipients of the UNC Board of Governors Awards for Teaching Excellence. Byker, named the University’s 2024 Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence recipient, stated, “My goal is to guide learners toward a transformation from thinking […]

Ya-yu Lo, professor of special education and child development, and her doctoral advisee Morgan Nichols were recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children for their work in the field of emotional and behavioral health. Lo received the North Carolina CEC Distinguished Service Award for the Division of Emotional and Behavioral Health for her research on behavioral […]

Indya Barginere and Violet Drinkwater, students in the Ravin School of Architecture, won an award in the U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored photo contest “Framing the Future: Industrial Technologies.” For the national contest, professional and amateur photographers submitted photos of the innovative technologies, processes and people that will increase competitiveness of the U.S. industrial base and […]

Ishwar Aggarwal, a research professor in physics and optical science, was elected to the National Academy of Inventors 2024 Class of Fellows. He will be inducted during the NAI’s 14th annual meeting in June. Aggarwal, who joined UNC Charlotte in 2011, has been issued 104 U.S. patents with more applications in process. Prior to the University, he […]