Awards and honors

Krystal Turner ’14,’19 M.A. recently was named Outstanding Entry-Level Student by the Chi Sigma Iota (CSI) Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society International. The society promotes scholarship, research, professionalism, leadership, advocacy and excellence in counseling.

Suzanne Leland, a core faculty member of the Public Policy Ph.D. program and professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, is the 2020 recipient of the Harshini V. de Silva Graduate Mentor Award.

The Cato College of Education continues to broaden its influence nationally with the selection of Tina Heafner as president of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS).Heafner, a professor in the Department of Middle, Secondary and K-12 Education, is a longtime member of NCSS and has held a number of roles and elected positions.

A book by UNC Charlotte Africana Studies associate professor Oscar de la Torre has received the inaugural Outstanding First Book Award from the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora.

UNC Charlotte junior Rebecca De Luna has been recognized for outstanding leadership and service by North Carolina Campus Compact.

UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and First Lady Lisa Lewis Dubois were honored recently by Mayor Vi Lyles for their leadership, dedication and service to the city of Charlotte.

Senior Neariah Mandisa-Drummond is the 2019 recipient of the John H. Barnhill Civic Trailblazer Award.

UNC Charlotte’s chapter of Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), the International Honor Society in Education, continued its award-winning streak with a trio of honors at the 53rd Kappa Delta Pi Convocation.Omicron Pi Chapter received its fourth Achieving Chapter Excellence Award, which recognizes Kappa Delta Pi chapters that exhibit outstanding programming supporting the society’s mission.

Assistant Professor of Architecture Catty Dan Zhang has won the 2019 University of California, Berkeley, College of Environmental Design “Emerging Designers” competition. As the winner, she will receive a $5,000 honorarium, an exhibition of her work in the college’s Wurster Gallery, a reception and the opportunity to deliver a public lecture.

Nancy Gutierrez, dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at UNC Charlotte, has been elected chair of the North Carolina Humanities Council Board of Trustees for 2019-20.