This Week in LANG 1/16/2026

In this Edition: “Department Meeting 1/23 Agenda NEW LOCATION – MEBANE 010, Annual Evaluations Due 1/20, Poetry Slam Invitation”

Dear colleagues, 

I hope you had a wonderful long weekend. I look forward to seeing you on Friday for our department meeting. There is a lot of information I would like to share with you. 

Dates and Events this Week

Office Hours Week of January 20:

T 11-1 (f2f and virtual), W 11-12:30 (f2f and virtual), R (3-5 virtual)

January 19

• Submission Deadline for 2025 Annual Evaluation Materials

January 20

• Last Day to Drop Add
• Early Alert Information Email sent
• NEW: Submission Deadline for 2025 Annual Evaluation Materials

January 23

• Department Meeting, Agenda Mebane 010, 2:30-4:00

Looking Ahead: Dates and Events Spring 2026

January 26

• Census Date

February 6

• Early Alert Reports due 

February 19-20

• Heritage Language Symposium 

February 26

• Poetry Slam, Cone After Hours, 6:30-8:30

February 27

• Department Meeting, Mebane 434, 2:30-4:00

March 20

• Department Meeting, Virtual (zoom: https://charlotte-edu.zoom.us/my/aaliagab)

March 27-28

• SEACS Conference

April 24

• Department Meeting, Mebane 434, 2:30-4:00, end of year party 4:00-6:00

Congratulations

Congratulations to the Japanese program. They have secured UNC Charlotte as the host for the annual Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). The JLPT is the world’s most recognized standardized exam for evaluating and certifying Japanese language proficiency for non-native speakers. Administered globally by The Japan Foundation and JEES (Japan Educational Exchanges and Services), and coordinated in the U.S. by AATJ (American Association of Teachers of Japanese), the JLPT serves as a benchmark for academic, professional, and cultural advancement. It is a great honor for UNC Charlotte to host this test. The inaugural test will be administered on our campus on December 6, 2026.

Information for Faculty and Staff

Amendments to Bylaws 

CHESS Faculty Council has approved a number of amendments to the CHESS By-laws related to the structures and procedures of faculty governance and to the movement of administration of the Faculty Research Grant program to the college rather than university level. We’ve offered our rationale for these various proposals and ask that you consider them and cast your votes by Monday, January 26 at 5pm.

The current version of the CHESS By-laws can be found here.

Please use this Google Form to submit your votes. 

Self-Nominations Requests in LANG

We need to submit a nomination of one faculty member for each of these committees. You will hear more about these nominations at the department meeting and will receive a form to submit your self-nomination.

Course and Curriculum Committee:

The CHESS Course and Curriculum Committee (CCCC) consists of five members, 2 members elected in even years from the two departmental groupings listed in the bylaws, and 2 members elected from the two department groups in odd years, plus one at-large candidate. According to the bylaws, members serve for two-year terms and no department may have more than one member serving. 

Faculty Development Award Committee (formerly Reassignment of Duties):

The Faculty Development Awards Committee consists of five members, 2 members elected in even years from the three departmental groupings listed in the bylaws, and 2 members elected from the two department groups in odd years, plus one at-large candidate. According to the bylaws, members serve for two-year terms and no department may have more than one member serving. Only tenured faculty members are eligible to serve. 

Faculty Research Grant Committee:

The Faculty Research Grant Committee shall consist of five members. Election to the Faculty Research Grant Committee is by special procedure, supervised by the Nominating Committee, whereby Department-group members are elected in both even and odd years and the at-large member in odd years. 

Non-Tenure Track Promotion Review Committee:

The Non-Tenure Track Promotion Review Committee will consist of 4 Non-Tenure Track faculty members and 3 Tenured members; 4 members elected in even years (2 – NTT and 2- TT members) from the 2 departmental groupings listed in the bylaws, and 3 members (2 Non-Tenure

Track and 1 Tenured) elected at large in odd years. 

Early Feedback – 2/6

Early feedback is particularly important in introductory courses, since students in those classes are more likely to be new to the University and are still adjusting to our academic expectations (see the CONNECT Faculty Best Practices).  Faculty members teaching a 1000 or 2000 level course will receive an email on Tuesday, Jan. 20. providing instructions to enter alerts for students who are of concern due to:

• attendance/participation
• quality of work submitted
• other reasons (likely to result in them not succeeding in the class)

The deadline for reporting early alerts is 12 p.m. (noon) on Feb. 6. 

Charlotte Distinguished Research Award (formerly First Citizens Award)

Please see the information about the nomination process for this year’s Charlotte Distinguished Research Award (formerly First Citizens Award). Note that any UNC Charlotte faculty member can nominate a senior full-time faculty member for this award. Nominations require external letters and supporting documentation, so you’ll want to get started on this process soon. Nominations must be submitted by February 13, 2026, using the designated form.

Upcoming Events

CHESS Reappointment and Promotion Workshops 

We will be holding two reappointment and promotion workshops in March on Zoom, one for tenure track faculty and one for non-tenure track. These workshops are designed to help faculty, chairs, and college/department review committee members understand the process and answer any questions they may have. Dean Boyer and I will lead them.

Tenure track: Tuesday, March 17 (9:00-10:30am)

Non-tenure track: Wednesday, March 18 (2:00-3:30pm)

Please fill out this form to RSVP and receive the Zoom link.

2026 Poetry Slam

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.

Wishing you a good week. 

All the best, 

Anabel