Awards and honors

Lee College of Engineering’s Tony Schmitz invests significant time in his students with a goal to “train decision makers.” For his efforts, he was named the 2018 recipient of the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, one of UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious accolades.

Two teams from the School of Architecture have won top awards in the 2017-18 Steel Design Student Competition hosted by the American Institute of Steel Construction and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

The competition recognizes exceptional projects in two categories, one addressing affordable housing and the other for open submissions that explore a variety of issues related to the use of steel in design and construction. More than 300 projects were submitted from universities across the United States and abroad; 16 projects were honored.

The Black Alumni Chapter is seeking nominations for its 2018 Excellence in Leadership Award. The program, established in 2011, recognizes the accomplishments of UNC Charlotte alumni and friends in the greater Charlotte region who have achieved excellence in the areas of education; entrepreneurship; financial services; health care; philanthropy; public service; and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). More information and a nomination form are on the web.

A new faculty honor, the UNC Charlotte Award for Teaching Excellence, will be presented for the first time in fall 2019 in conjunction with the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence.

Robert Cox, Celine Latulipe, Heather Perry, Drew Polly and Tony Schmitz are the 2018 finalists for the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence, one of UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious honors.

Recent Charlotte graduates Haley Pace and Martha Thomas, remarkable student-athletes for the 49ers’ softball and women’s soccer teams, respectively, have been named Conference USA Scholar Athlete Award winners for their sports. Pace is a repeat honoree.

 The C-USA Scholar Athlete of the Year Awards are presented to the top student-athletes in each conference-sponsored sport, determined by a vote of the league’s 14 faculty athletic representatives. The award is based on academic achievement (GPA), athletic achievement and service.

Heather Coffey from the Cato College of Education’s Department of Middle, Secondary and K-12 Education is this year’s recipient of the Bonnie E. Cone Early-Career Professorship of Teaching.

UNC Charlotte is one of five exemplary colleges and universities nationwide to receive the Excellence in Assessment designation.

This distinction recognizes the University’s “commitment to the comprehensive assessment of student learning outcomes as a means to drive internal improvement and advance student success at the institution level.”

Consuelo Salas is the 2018 recipient of the J. Murrey Atkins Library Faculty Engagement Award. An assistant professor with the University Writing Program and the Department of English, Salas will be honored during a library social and award ceremony, scheduled for 4 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 6, in the Halton Reading Room.

The Atkins Library Faculty Engagement Award is presented to a UNC Charlotte faculty member who has engaged in innovative or exceptional work with library collections, programs and services. It comes with a $2,500 allocation for professional development.  

Scott Smith, chair of the Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science Department, received the Outstanding Lifetime Service Award from the North American Manufacturing Research Institution of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (NAMRI/SME) at the 46th annual North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC) held in College Station, Texas.

The award honors distinguished members for their long-term dedication and contributions to NAMRI/SME.