October 21

The Office of the Provost announces the launch of UNC Charlotte’s Artificial Intelligence in Teaching and Learning Task Force. The task force, led by co-chairs Manuel Perez Quinones, professor, software information systems, and Kiran Budhrani, director of teaching and learning innovations, Center for Teaching and Learning, is composed of representatives from each college, Faculty Council and Atkins Library.  The task force will convene this academic year to: 

• Develop and recommend a campus-wide philosophy regarding the use of AI in educating our students, emphasizing AI as a partner in learning rather than a replacement, and formulate related recommendations for students that align to UNC Charlotte’s mission and commitment regarding responsible and ethical AI across the curriculum
• Review current University policies related to the use of AI in teaching and learning to determine alignment with privacy, security, intellectual property and academic integrity for effective teaching, and recommend revising or developing policies as needed
• Examine needs related to building faculty capacity for AI integration in teaching and learning and provide recommendations for professional development and support

Learn more about the task force.

As part of the realignment of funds from diversity initiatives, the Chancellor has agreed to invest in student success pilot projects and provide faculty/staff opportunities to explore innovative initiatives that support increases in retention and graduation rates.  The Student Success Grants aim to fund initiatives that present clearly defined and measurable outcomes that are aligned with increasing retention and graduation rates. Proposals must demonstrate how the pilot project will contribute to improving student success metrics for all students or specific sub-populations of students and outline a comprehensive plan with specific strategies, milestones, and deliverables that will lead to positive and lasting outcomes. Four grants in the amount of $15,000 each will be awarded to collaborative teams of faculty and/or staff whose projects are selected. We encourage interested teams to submit proposals by 5:00 p.m. on November 1. More information regarding proposal requirements and submission details can be found on the Office of Undergraduate Education website.

Zine-Making Workshop

We invite the campus community to explore and document their personal experiences at UNC Charlotte and within the Charlotte community through the art of zine-making. A zine is a small, self-published work that is a mixture of original and appropriated texts and images; they can be created physically or digitally, by a single person or a small group. Participants in this zine-making workshop will gain valuable skills in self-expression and storytelling while interacting with reproductions of materials from our archives. During the program we will also acknowledge LGBTQ+ History Month and will engage with items from the library’s Special Collections and University Archives related to the LGBTQIA+ community on campus and in Charlotte.

• Thursday, October 24, 4:00 – 6:00 PM, Atkins Library Maker Space, Area 29

The Origins of Totalitarianism: Then and Now

Across the world, authoritarianism is on the rise and democracy appears under threat. Can we learn something by returning to Hannah Arendt’s 1951 book, “The Origins of Totalitarianism?” Please join Dr. Martin Shuster, Professor of Philosophy and the Isaac Swift Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies, for a discussion and cocktail hour around Arendt’s book and its themes. The event also serves to mark the acquisition by Atkins library of a rare first edition of the book, which features an entirely different conclusion than the one found in contemporary copies (a feature Shuster will discuss).

• Thursday, October 24, 6:00 PM, Halton Reading Room, Atkins Library (Register)

Book talk with local author Vanessa Miller

Vanessa Miller is an award-winning author, playwright, and motivational speaker. Her writing has been centered on themes of redemption, often focusing on characters facing multi-dimensional struggles. “The American Queen” is based on actual events that occurred between 1865 – 1889 and shares the unsung history of a Black woman who built a kingdom in Appalachia. Join Atkins Library for a discussion with the author on her latest book.

• Monday, November 4, 5:00 – 7:00 PM, Halton Reading Room, Atkins Library

Two professors at UNC Charlotte’s Atkins Library who were awarded a 2023 Carnegie Whitney Grant through the American Library Association to develop, promote and facilitate an online resource kit have launched the “Respectful Conversation” website (https://respectfulconversation.charlotte.edu/). The grant proposal was submitted by Anne Cooper Moore, Ph.D., then-dean of J. Murrey Atkins Library, and Catherine Tingelstad, Head of Instruction & Curriculum Engagement, for their project entitled, “Free Expression and Constructive Dialogue: The Intersection of Social Issues and Media Literacy.”

Free expression, media literacy, and constructive dialogue are interconnected concepts under the umbrella of respectful discourse. While free expression has long been considered a basic human right in the United States, constructive dialogue and media literacy are newer ideas that focus on the responsibility to engage in productive, informed interactions that focus on individual values, beliefs, perspectives, and the importance of credible information.

The Carnegie-Whitney Grant provides funding for the preparation of popular or scholarly reading lists, webliographies, indexes and other guides to library resources that will be useful to users of all types of libraries in the United States. The “Respectful Conversation” website is a curated collection of resources on free expression, constructive dialogue, and media literacy that is designed to educate and provide learning opportunities for K-12 educators, parents, kids, public librarians, and the general public.

“The online toolkit includes instructional resources that can be adapted by educators, library professionals, and community leaders across the country,” said Catherine Tingelstad. “The goal for this website is to promote comfort in free expression and a willingness and preparedness to engage in constructive dialogue with well-informed citizens.”

Community and campus leaders, including library professionals, can use this resource kit to identify and access materials, resources, and tools that will help them facilitate meaningful and constructive dialogue, educate students and other community members about media literacy, misinformation, disinformation, and fake news, and build their own collections of resources to make available to their community members.