Awards and honors

“Visible Man: The Life of Henry Dumas” by Jeffrey Leak, associate professor of English, is the nonfiction recipient of a 2015 Literary Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA).

Devin Collins, assistant director business and entrepreneurial development, Charlotte Research Institute, was named by the Charlotte Business Journal to its 22nd consecutive list of the region’s “Forty Under 40.”

According to the publication, the 40 individuals named are “making major strides in their careers and having a positive impact on their communities.”

Chancellor Philip L. Dubois is the 2014-15 recipient of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District III Inclusion and Diversity Leadership Award, which recognizes an individual for his/her efforts to foster inclusion and diversity within the higher education profession, on his/her campus or in the greater community.

Roslyn Mickelson was named the 2014 University Professor of UNC Charlotte.  This honor recognizes outstanding scholarly achievement in a professional field, as well as demonstrated ability to excel in interdisciplinary research, teaching and service.  The University Professor is recommended to the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees by the chancellor and holds this title for life.

The Charlotte-based LGBT arts, entertainment and news publication qnotes recently named Josh Burford, assistant director for sexual and gender diversity in the Multicultural Resource Center, as its “2014 Person of the Year.”

The recognition stemmed from Burford’s extensive campus and community involvement, and in particular, his outreach initiatives related to the establishment of a community LGBTQ historical archive in UNC Charlotte’s J. Murray Atkins Library Special Collections.

J. Scott Derrick, executive director of the Student Union and Cone University Center, is president-elect for the Association of College Unions International (ACUI); he will be installed formally in April at the organization’s annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.

“I am both honored and humbled to have been elected by my fellow ACUI colleagues as president-elect,” said Derrick. “To be trusted with this responsibility is something that I take very seriously.”

Murray Webster, professor of sociology, is the 2015 winner of the Cooley-Mead Award from the American Sociological Association’s Social Psychology Section.

The Cooley-Mead Award, established in 1978, is given annually to an individual who has made lifetime contributions to distinguished scholarship in sociological social psychology. In addition to receiving the award, the recipient presents an address to the Social Psychology Section at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting in August. The award is the top honor presented by the section.

UNC Charlotte Magazine recently received a 2014 Gold MarCom Award in the category of educational publications.

SPARK Publications, the creative firm that designs the magazine, nominated the second quarter edition of the UNC Charlotte Magazine for the honor.

John Bland, director of public relations in the UNC Charlotte Office of University Communications, is the magazine’s editor.

Erik Saule, assistant professor of computer science in the College of Computing and Informatics, has been named a National Consortium for Data Science Fellow for 2015.

The National Consortium for Data Science (NCDS) is a public-private partnership to advance data science and address the challenges and opportunities of big data; Saule was one of three NCDS Data Fellows for 2015.

The Lee College of Engineering presented its 2014 Excellence in Teaching Awards to Tara Cavalline from the Department of Engineering Technology and Construction Management for undergraduate teaching and Matt Whelan from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering for graduate teaching.

Cavalline was honored as teacher who genuinely cares for her students and has an approachable demeanor. She makes every effort to know each of her students and their personalities.