College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg community have a new way to share their opinions on a variety of issues with the launch of YourVoiceCLT.

Akin Ogundiran, professor and chair of the Africana Studies Department, has been inducted as a Visiting Fellow of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. This honor recognizes his preeminent status as a researcher and scholar of emergent societies and social complexity in Yorubaland, Atlantic Africa and the African Diaspora during the past 700 years.

As part of an effort to advance experiential learning for students, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences faculty and staff learned best practices during a recent two-day workshop with Worcester Polytechnic Institute facilitators.

J. Daniel White Jr., a professor in the Department of Religious Studies, died on June 12.

Born June 21, 1945, in Franklin County, White graduated from Campbell College. He completed a Ph.D. in South Asia Religions, Languages and Literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971 and joined UNC Charlotte that same year. During his career, he was a prolific presenter and writer on Indian history, religions and customs. Colleagues also noted his dedication to discovering and nurturing talented scholars.

Shan Yan, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, has received a $1.7 million R01 research grant from the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. Findings are expected to offer insight into how cancers develop and to open avenues to new therapeutic strategies, especially with pancreatic cancers.

The Integrated Network for Social Sustainability (INSS) and Sustain Charlotte are partnering to host the 2018 Charlotte Sustainability Summit, scheduled for Thursday through Saturday, June 7-9, at UNC Charlotte Center City.

This three-day summit will include presentations of student research, a film, discussions, workshops and talks that highlight the impact of collaborative efforts to advance sustainability in Charlotte.

Glenn Boreman, chair of the Department of Physics and Optical Science in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, was elevated to the status of IEEE Fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in recognition of his significant contributions to optical and infrared antenna technologies.

Andrea Pitts, an assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, has received a six-month Career Enhancement Fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

“Odie,” the UNC Charlotte Botanical Garden’s other mature Titan Arum, is expected to blossom this month. This will be the second time the 12-year-old specimen will bloom at McMillan Greenhouse; the first time was in 2015.

A classroom approach in which students seek solutions to problems rooted in real meteorological data; nontraditional teaching techniques to help students grasp organic chemistry; and a focus on students choosing research projects geared to their interests are just some of the innovative, hands-on approaches this year’s CLAS Excellence in Teaching Awards recipients use to challenge students.