August 24

The Office of Academic Affairs invites nominations for UNC Charlotte’s candidate for the O. Max Gardner Award, the highest faculty honor conferred by the University of North Carolina System. Established in 1949, the award recognizes a member of the UNC System faculty who, during the current scholastic year, has made “the greatest contribution to the welfare of the human race.” All faculty members across the UNC System are eligible for consideration. 

Past UNC Charlotte recipients of the award include Pinku Mukherjee, Department of Biological Sciences, and Diane M. Browder, Department of Special Education. More details about previous campus nominees can be found on the Office of Academic Affairs website.

We encourage nominations of distinguished UNC Charlotte faculty whose teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity, or service has had a significant and far-reaching impact on society and the human condition.

Please forward the names of nominees to Jen Knight by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 4. Include in your nomination the individual’s name, rank, and department/unit. Also, please provide a brief description of this individual’s specific contribution(s) or achievement(s) and why they would make a good nominee. If your nominee is selected to be put forward as our campus nominee for the award, you will be asked to collaborate on a letter of recommendation.

Are you looking to engage undergraduates on a research, scholarly, or creative project? Have you thought about how an undergraduate student can help your scholarly research program? Have you had students asking you questions that would be interesting to further investigate?  Are you looking to test a new question or try something new?  Do you have a need for a student, but not the means? Yes? Yes. or Yes! The Office of Undergraduate Research can help!  The OUR Scholars program can help you find and employ students in collaborative learning through undergraduate research, scholarly and creative activities. The OUR Scholars program is an open application program and mentors should be committed to considering all student applicants carefully. The program works best, and mentors have the highest likelihood of matching, when there is broad recruitment of students. If you already have identified a single student, one already involved in research with prior experience, that you would like to work with this year, the SURG program might be a better fit. Student authored SURG applications are due September 8.

We are pleased to announce that the Office of Undergraduate Research is now accepting submissions for faculty project descriptions for the Spring of 2027 OUR Scholars Program. If you have questions about the expectations, the application, the process, or how to attract students, reach out to OUR’s Director or the Associate Director. If you are ready to prepare a proposal, view the template and visit the competitions portal to apply.  The deadline for submission is September 10. This is step one, so please encourage your students to apply for the program starting September 14. The program is FWS eligible, but not required

Early Alerts are due for all 1000/2000 level courses by 12:00 p.m.on Friday, September 11. Are you new to Charlotte? Check out the Advisor Tool Kit page. CONNECT Best Practices training modules are located on Canvas under published courses. Advisors and faculty can request a one on one or team session follow up training centered around your departmental initiatives. After completion of the training modules, follow up training requests can be made. For more information contact Gary Martinez, Advising Systems Specialist, or LeeFredrick Bowen, Executive Director of Advising Systems.

Register now for Fall Workshops. Over 100 sessions available!

Workshops are available on the following topics:

• Digital Accessibility
• Generative AI Foundations
• Teaching With AI
• Canvas Foundations, Tools, and Analytics
• Student Engagement
• Teaching Essentials

Interested in getting funded for your scholarship of teaching and learning research?

Attend the SoTL Orientation Monday, August 31 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. to learn how the SoTL Grants Program has been adapted to promote our Strategic Plan, how UNC Charlotte supports SoTL work on campus and how to leverage those supports to get funded for SoTL Research.

New Accessibility Policy: What it means for Teaching

Join representatives from the Office of Legal Affairs, the Office of Accessibility and Accommodation, and the Center for Teaching and Learning on Wednesday, September 2 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. for an information session on Policy 319 and its implications for teaching, learning materials, and course design.

Level Up Your Teaching Toolkit

Work Towards a Microcredential 

• Essentials of Teaching and Learning
• Essentials of Learning Technologies
• *NEW* Digital Accessibility Champion
• Teaching with AI Champion

Register for Online Training Courses 

• Starting with a Fresh Canvas
• Canvas Assignments & Gradebook
• Canvas Studio Training Resources
• Dealing with Difficult Situations in the Classroom
• Universal Design for Learning
• Introduction to Learning Objectives & Backward Design
• Using Feedback to Improve Teaching & Learning

Apply for a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant

• Orientation to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Program
• Proposal Writing Course
• Call for Proposals

See Your Learning Journey

• Access your CTL Professional Development Transcript.