Awards and honors

UNC Charlotte’s “Zero Waste Initiative” for Richardson Stadium was named the 2014 Wells Fargo Green Award winner at the annual Charlotte Chamber Energy Summit. The University was recognized in the large business category for “its impressive efforts” to eliminate waste in the 16,000-seat stadium.

The 2014 Wells Fargo Green Awards are presented to “member companies who have incorporated innovative, sustainable practices in the products they produce, the services they provide and within the culture of their company.”

Chancellor Philip L. Dubois recently received an honorary Doctor of Arts from Kingston University, located in London, England.

In presenting the honorary degree, Julius Weinberg, professor and vice chancellor at Kingston University, noted it was in recognition of the chancellor’s “outstanding contribution to internationalism, specifically to acknowledge the depth and value of the partnership between Kingston University and UNC Charlotte over the past 30 years, which has enhanced the academic life of so many students and staff across both institutions.”

Former Lee College of Engineering professor Helene Hilger was recognized by the Water Environment Federation with its Fair Distinguished Engineering Educator Medal at its 87th annual WEF Technical Exhibition and Conference in New Orleans.

The medal recognizes accomplishments in the education and development of future engineers. The award namesake, Gordon Maskew Fair, was a professor of sanitary engineering at Harvard University who was known for achieving exceptional results in preparing students for the water environment profession.

UNC Charlotte has earned the inaugural Smart Fleet Champion Award from the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center and the N.C. Department of Transportation.

The honor is the program’s highest level and is given in recognition of vehicle fleet efforts to reduce petroleum use and carbon dioxide and other “harmful” emissions. It was presented recently at the first Southeast Alternative Fuels Conference in Raleigh.

Chancellor Philip L. Dubois has been elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), an organization of state-supported institutions that offer degree programs leading to bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees.

The chancellor’s wife, Lisa Lewis Dubois, was elected to a one-year term as chair of the Planning Committee for AASCU Spouses and Partners.

Delane Vanada, assistant professor of art education and visual studies, will be among a delegation of art education researchers who will travel to Helsinki, Finland, in early November to conduct research about art education policy and practice in Finnish schools and communities.

Deborah Porter, a 2014 graduate of the master’s program in Teaching English as a Second Language and a former instructor in the English Language Training Institute in the Office of International Programs, has received a U.S. Department of State English Language Fellow award to Bethlehem University, West Bank, for 2014-15.

Porter will teach intensive English at Bethlehem University and join other English faculty to develop curriculum materials for the training of future English teachers.

Cole Carter, office manager for the Aerospace Studies Department (Air Force ROTC Detachment 592) in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, was named “University Civilian of the Quarter” by the U.S. Air Force.

She was selected for the honor from among 33 college employees in the Southeast region; officials cited her positive impact on the University’s Air Force ROTC program.

Eric Heberlig, professor of political science, is a co-recipient of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation’s D.B. Hardeman Prize for the work “Congressional Parties, Institutional Ambition and the Financing of Majority of Control.”

Heather Smith, professor of geography in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, is the 2014 recipient of the Provost’s Faculty Award for Community Engagement.  Established in 2012, the award honors a tenured faculty member whose teaching, research and service embodies the University’s commitment to civic involvement and whose work strengthens the relationship between UNC Charlotte and the larger community.