This Week in LANG 3/23/2026
In this Special Edition: “New Administrative Roles in the Department for 2026-29, SEACS this week Friday and Saturday, Dr. Hobgood receives SCOLT Founders Award”
Dear colleagues,
Thank you so much for contributing to faculty governance by nominating, self-nominating and participating in elections. Congratulations to our Associate Chair, Graduate Program Director, Coordinators and Advisors who will serve 2026-29. Please see below for details.
I am also grateful for everyone who is submitting their names for ballots during our process of committee elections. I appreciate your participation and look forward to a successful election season this Spring.
Dates and Events this Week
Chair Office Hours Week of March 23:
T 11-1 (virtual), W 11-12:30 (f2f and virtual), R 3-5 (f2f and virtual) Election Week 2: DRC TT
March 26, Thursday
- Faculty Forum for Associate Professors interested in learning about Promotion to Full
March 27, Friday
- SEACS Conference, Mebane Hall 1st floor
March 28, Saturday
- SEACS Conference, Mebane Hall 1st floor
Looking Ahead: Dates and Events Spring 2026
March 30
- CHESS Pop UP Event for Niner Nation Gives: Japanese and Arabic Writing, Chinese Dragon
Plaza between Mebane and CHHS, 2-4, all are welcome to staff tables
April 7
- 4:30 p.m.; Fretwell Room 100, Witness in Residence: Emile XY?, a South African Hip Hop Activist and Educator
April 16
- CHESS Faculty / Staff Achievement Recognition
April 18
- NCAATG Annual Meeting, LRC 10:00-2:00
April 24
- Department Meeting, Mebane 434, 2:30-4:00, end of year party 4:00-6:00
May 11, 12, 14 and 15
- GLI Institute
May 13
- 4th Charlotte AI Summit for Smarter Learning
Congratulations
Congratulations to our colleagues who have been appointed or elected to the following administrative roles for 2026-29.
Congratulations to Dr. Bobby Hobgood, who was honored with the SCOLT Founders Award.
The Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) held the 2026 conference in Raleigh, North Carolina March 19-21. At the Awards Ceremony on March 20th, the SCOLT Board of Directors presented the Founders Award to Dr. Bobby Hobgood, Director of the Language Resource Center and Adjunct Instructor of French at UNC Charlotte in Charlotte, NC. This award is for a member who has made significant contributions to SCOLT over the years and who exemplifies the spirit and ideals of the founders of the organization.
Congratulations to Sandra Watts who has been named President-Elect of the UPCEA South Region, covering 13 states and territories from Texas to Puerto Rico. Congratulations also to Dr. Watts for giving the following presentation:
Thank you to Yukiko Yokono, Susanne Gomoluch and Jeff Killman for representing the department at Admitted Student Day 1 and to Daniela Dal Pra and Xiaohong Mueller for representing us on Admitted Student Day 2. Thank you to our Associate Chair for organizing volunteers for these events.
Information for Faculty and Staff
Upcoming Events
CHESS Pop UP Event for Niner Nation Gives
Our department is one of the three chosen to support the CHESS Pop UP Event for Niner Nation Gives. Thank you to the Chinese Program for performing the Chinese Dragon Dance and to the Japanese faculty members and the Arabic faculty member for organizing writing of student names in their respective languages. The department will have several tables. Volunteers are welcome. Please sign up here.
- March 30, Plaza between Mebane and CHHS, 2-4,
CHESS Faculty Governance Workshops
We have scheduled two CHESS Faculty Governance Workshops. Dean Boyer and Associate Dean Weeks will lead them, along with Faculty Council Co-Chairs Kent Brintnall and Greg Wickliff. The purpose is to discuss the importance and usefulness of faculty governance, the ways in which you can get involved, and the expectations we have of different ranks. There will be two sessions (to maximize who can participate) that will cover the same material.
- Monday, March 23, 1:00-2:30 (Fretwell 418)
Witness in Residence: Emile XY?, a South African Hip Hop Activist and Educator
Emile YX? Jansen, a South African Hip Hop activist, educator, and founder of the Heal the Hood Project and Black Noise, has been selected as this fall’s witness for the Anabel Aliaga-Buchenau Witness in Residence Initiative. Raised under Apartheid, he left formal teaching in 1993 to use Hip Hop culture, breaking and storytelling specifically, as an educational tool for healing and personal and social transformation. He is internationally recognized for work that reframes Hip Hop Culture as a living practice of dignity, creativity, and liberation. Come learn from this award-winning South African Hip Hop activist and his decades of experience healing, sharing, and diversifying creative and economic solutions.
- Tuesday, April 7; 4:30 p.m.; Fretwell Room 100.
- RSVP Here
Coffee with Provost Troyer
Faculty and staff, the provost would like to invite you to join her for coffee and assorted cookies on Friday, April 3 in Cone 112 from 9:00-9:45am. This is a wonderful opportunity for all of you to share any thoughts or concerns with the provost in a relaxed environment. Please respond to the embedded form. If you have any questions, reach out to Syreeta Taylor.
Save the Date: CHESS Faculty / Staff Achievement Recognition (FSAR) reception is April 16.
We look forward to celebrating our faculty and staff on Thursday, April 16 at 4 p.m. at the Harris Alumni Center. More details about when and how to submit your achievements is forthcoming.
Wishing you a good week.
All the best,
Anabel