Awards and honors

Franz Kellermanns, the Addison and Gertrude Reese Endowed Chair in International Business and professor of management, has received a best paper award with two co-authors for research on family businesses.

Charlotte Pride honors outstanding individuals each year with the “Champions of Pride Awards” in recognition of their demonstrated exemplary work and dedication to the LGBTQ community. This year, Josh Burford, assistant director for sexual and gender diversity in the Multicultural Resource Center, was honored with the Charlotte Pride “Harvey Milk Award.”

UNC Charlotte student Hunter Aldridge won first place in the final round of the Upper College Men Division of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) National Student Auditions on July 7. Aldridge, a tenor, studies with Brian Arreola, assistant professor of voice and director of the Department of Music opera workshop program.

Accounting Professor L. Howard Godfrey is being honored by the Charlotte business community for his academic leadership and legacy. He will receive the first Academic Leadership Award during the Charlotte Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Awards July 22. 

Health care executive Susan DeVore and real estate developer Fred Klein will join UNC Charlotte’s leadership as new members of the Board of Trustees.

Gov. Pat McCrory appointed DeVore and Klein each to a four-year term, beginning July 1.

Janna Shedd, Tonya Bates and Robin James have received the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences’ 2015 Teaching Awards in recognition of “their dedication, teaching and research contributions and lasting impact on students.”

Victor Chen, assistant professor of international management in the Belk College of Business, has received the 2015 Young Professional (YP) Educator Award from the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals (YPs).

The Charlotte Chamber YPs honored 24 finalists who are between 21 and 39 years of age in six categories. The awards were presented earlier this month at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Distinguished cancer researcher Pinku Mukherjee was honored with the O. Max Gardner Award – the highest faculty accolade given by the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina. She was presented the honor formally Friday, April 10.

A student volunteer venture to help veterans near Camp Lejeune this past fall recently earned the University the Outstanding Community Partner Award from the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP).

This past fall, eight students from the University College/College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Learning Community participated in a SERCAP Volunteers for Communities Alternative Break Program. The volunteers, all freshmen, were Jessica Beavers, Selena Brown, Alyssa Finkelstein, Benjamin Iuliano, Hannah Javidi, Madison McKinnon, Edwin Ogachi and Sarah Payne.

Bill Ribarsky, the Bank of America Endowed Chair in Information Technology, is the 2015 recipient of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal, UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious faculty award in recognition of excellence in research.

Ribarsky’s research has greatly influenced the field of visualization and visual analytics. He has been lauded by peers for advancing the way in which individuals visualize data and approach real-world problems.