This Week in LANG 12/8/2025
In this Edition: **Exam Week, Commencement**
Dear colleagues,
Wishing you all a good exam week and smooth grading. If you can make it, come to graduation on Friday at 3 pm.
Dates and Events this Week
Friday, December 12
- Commencement, 3pm, CHESS
- Deadline for application for Director of CHAI (see below)
Looking Ahead Dates and Events Fall 2025
December 15
- Final Grades due
December 18
- FRG proposals due
Thank you
Thank you all for bringing wonderful food to share and to celebrate the end of the semester.
Congratulations
Congratulations to Dr. Paloma Fernández Sánchez who was honored during National Transfer Week (October 20–24)—hosted by the University Transfer Center and Tau Sigma, the National Transfer Honor Society— as ¨Transfer Champion.” This distinction is awarded to faculty and staff who demonstrate outstanding support for transfer students and make a significant positive impact on their academic journey. Dr. Fernández Sánchez was nominated by students and selected by the University Transfer Center and Tau Sigma (National Transfer Honor Society).
Congratulations to Dr. Fang-yi Chao who together with the Chinese Undergraduate Students Association (CUSA) organized and held a workshop on traditional Chinese Painting on 11/19. About fifty students participated in the event. At the event, students learned about the basics of traditional Chinese painting and gained practical painting experience.
Additionally, CUSA, in conjunction with the Department of Languages, Cultures and Translation, held a Chinese Language Table on 11/20 to promote the Chinese Minor and the Chinese Undergraduate Students Associations. This was one of the language tabling events held during International Education Week.
Student Success: Ellie McCuthen – Critical Language Scholarship
Eleanor (Ellie) McCutchen participated in the 2023 CLS Chinese Program hosted by Tamkang University in New Taipei City, Taiwan 2023. Ellie is a recent graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she majored in Political Science, Economics, and Sociology and minored in Chinese. Ellis was also a Levine Scholar and was actively involved with the CUSA, Chinese Undergraduate Students Association. Please see a feature about Ellie on the Critical Languages website and find here an article published by the Ed Abroad office when she was awarded the scholarship. She is doing a Princeton in Asia fellowship after graduation.
Information for Faculty and Staff
Job Announcement: Interdisciplinary Studies – CHESS AI (CHAI) Concentration Program Director
The Office of Interdisciplinary Studies in the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences seeks a Program Director for the CHESS AI (CHAI) Studies Program. This position starts January 1, 2026 with one course release for the Spring 2026 semester and prorated administrative stipend. The position is a nine-month appointment with an administrative stipend to cover summer responsibilities and has a three-year renewable term beginning July 1, 2026. Candidates must hold a graduate degree in a relevant discipline and be a current full-time faculty member in the College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter describing their qualifications, administrative experience, and vision for the CHAI Studies Program; a CV; and the contact information of three references to Dr. Karyn Williamson-Coria kwill235@charlotte.edu in the Interdisciplinary Studies Program. For full consideration, applications must be received by December 12, 2025 at 5PM.
For additional information about this position, contact Dr. Mary Jo McGowan, Executive Director, Office of Interdisciplinary Studies, maryjomcgowan@charlotte.edu.
Commencement
Please review commencement.charlotte.edu for full details about Winter Commencement.
Volunteers are needed at Fall Commencement ceremonies Friday, Dec. 12, and Saturday, Dec. 13.
Coming up in 2026
Symposium for Online Learning
2026 Heritage Language Learning Symposium
The 2026 Heritage Language Learning Symposium will occur on Thursday, February 19, and Friday, February 20, 2026 (10:00 am – 6:00 pm US EST each day). For 2026, the symposium will feature five prominent scholars engaged in Heritage Language Education. The presenters will share their research and practical experience with UNC Charlotte faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, as well as K-12 educators and attendees from other institutions.
The Symposium will promote a broad understanding of literacy practices and training for heritage speakers by bringing together experts in bilingual education in Arabic, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish.
Please visit the website to find the program, abstracts for the research presentations, and workshops, as well as the registration form
Thank you for all you do.
All the best,
Anabel