This Week in LANG 9/15/2025
In this Edition: **Dr. Kai Werbeck, Acting Chair M-R, Chair out of Office M-R, Chair Office Hours Friday in person and virtual 11-2, German Campus Week is this week**
Dear colleagues,
I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Please note that we are celebrating German Campus Week this week. The topic “Black Germans – Afro-German Experience in Past and Present” promises interesting lectures and events. Please see the schedule below.
I am out of the office Monday through Thursday this week for research. Please contact Kai, who will be serving as Acting Chair. I will check emails but will respond more slowly than usual. Since I won’t be available in the first part of the week, I am holding drop-in office hours (in person and virtual) on Friday 11-2.
Note: If you see a link at the bottom of this email which says “Read Full Message” please click that to view all content. Or view the content online here.
Dates and Events this Week
Chair out of office M – R, Dr. Werbeck is Acting Chair M-R
German Campus Week – “Black Germans – Afro-German Experience in Past and Present”
Monday, September 15
- Fulbright Applications due
- Kick off for German Campus Week – Film Screening: “Audrey Lorde – The Berlin Years 1984 -1992” (2012) in the LRC
4:00-6:30 pm, Guest Speaker Julia Jordan-Zachary, Light Refreshments will be served
Pop-up Book Exhibit in Atrium
Tuesday, September 16
- German Campus Week – Film Screening and Discussion: “Afro Germany” (2017)
4:00-5:30 pm, Mebane Hall 010, Light Refreshments will be served
Wednesday, September 17
- German Campus Week – Lecture and Discussion: “My Grandfather would have shot me,” A Black German’s Discovery of her Family’s Nazi Past
4:00-5:30 pm, Mebane Hall 102, Light Refreshments will be served
Thursday, September 18
- Football Game, classes after 2:30 will be moved online, no parking available
- Deadline to apply for December Graduation
Friday
- Chair Office Hours, 11-2 virtual and in person
Looking Ahead Dates and Events Fall 2025
September 22
- International Education Award Nominations due, see IE awards website.
September 25
- Title XI Training due
September 27
- 2025 International Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m
September 29
- CIVIQ Applications due via this form
- Bringing Informative Debate and Dialogue into the Classroom, 3:00-4:30, LRC
- Proposals for Witness in Residence due via Submit a suggestion
September 30
- Register here CHESS Continuing Faculty Workshop invite: Form
October 1
- SOTL Grant applications due see Learn More and Submit
October 3
- Unsatisfactory Mid-Term Grades due, please see Unsatisfactory Grading At Midterm Instructions
October 7
- CHESS Continuing Faculty (formerly known as Non Tenure Track) Workshop, 1:00-2:30pm, in person, register here for invite: Form
October 8
- CHESS Continuing Faculty (formerly known as Non Tenure Track) Workshop, 2:00-3:30pm, in person, register here for invite: Form
October 9-10
Student Recess, No Classes
October 16
- Last day to withdraw from course(s)
November 3
- RDL and JFDA applications due see CHESS Faculty Development Awards
November 5
November 11
- Veteran’s Day, no classes
November 26-29
- Thanksgiving Break
December 2
- Last Day of Classes
December 3
- Reading Day
December 4-10
- Exam Period
December 12-13
- Commencement
December 15
- Final Grades due
Congratulations
Congratulations to Susanna Cisneros, who received the UNC Charlotte Award for Teaching Excellence for Teaching-Focused Faculty on Thursday, September 11. She was honored at a wonderful ceremony together with the other finalists and the winner of the award for Tenure-Track Faculty.
Congratulations to Allison Stedman, Mary LaMarca, Michèle Bissière, Don Cross and Bobby Hobgood for hosting a wonderful event for the French Program. On Wednesday September 10, about 40 students showed up for French Declare Night, had pizza and cookies, talked with faculty members and were able to declare their French Major or Minor on the spot.
Congratulations to Sandra Watts for giving a plenary session by invitation in conjunction with Dr. Tonya Amankwatia at the 2025 NATO Training Technology Conference in Istanbul, Türkiye. The plenary was titled, “Adaptive Minds: Building Cognitive Resilience and Ethical Competence in Training.” In addition, Sandra earned the #SOLAR25 COLO Credential: Strategic Governance & Differentiation in Online Learning – SOLAR 2025 (SOLAR is the Summit for Online Leadership and Administration
COLO+ Chief Online Learning Officer) and she completed the five week UPCEA course “Overview of Professional, Continuing, and Online Education”
Important Information for Faculty and Staff
THIS WEEK German Campus Week – 9/15-9/20
Other Exciting Upcoming Events
Please click here for other exciting upcoming events in CHESS.
Duo Push Update
Starting Wednesday, Sept. 17, OneIT will implement Duo Verified Push for all users of Duo Multi-Factor Authentication. A three-digit verification code will be required for the Duo browser prompt.
RDL & JFDA
The College of Humanities & Earth and Social Sciences (CHESS) Tenured Faculty Reassignment of Duties (RD) Program and Junior Faculty Development Award (JFDA) Program facilitate professional development of faculty by supporting research and scholarly activities that enrich the intellectual life of UNC Charlotte. Applications for Reassignments of Duties and Junior Faculty Development Awards to be taken during Academic Year 2026-27 are due by Monday, November 3, 2025, at 5 p.m. Detailed guidelines and application forms can be found on the CHESS website.
Nominations for International Education Awards
The Office of International Programs is pleased to welcome nominations (self and by others) for the 2025 Faculty International Education Award, the 2025 Staff International Education Award and the 2025 Student International Education Award. The Faculty International Education Award recognizes a faculty member for his/her outstanding contributions to the enhancement of the international education experience at UNC Charlotte. The Staff International Education Award recognizes non-faculty university employees who support internationalization efforts at UNC Charlotte. The Student International Education Award recognizes outstanding contributions and involvement in international programs and studies at UNC Charlotte. Nominations may come from any member of the University community for any of the awards. The deadline for Faculty, Staff and Student International Education Awards nominations is September 22. For nomination and other information, visit the International Education Awards website and refer to the specific award. Award recipients will be recognized at the International Education Celebration on Thursday, November 17. IE awards website.
SOTL Grant Proposals
The Faculty Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grants Committee is now accepting proposals for projects that explore the role of AI in teaching and learning. These grants provide faculty with the opportunity to evaluate the impacts of AI on student learning, instructional practices, and educational outcomes. Whether you are testing new approaches, investigating challenges, or assessing opportunities, this is your chance to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on AI in education. Proposals are due October 1. Funding will be awarded by Winter Break. Take this opportunity to advance your research, innovate in the classroom, and help shape the future of teaching with AI. Learn More and Submit
CIVIQ -CHESS Initiative on Very Important Questions
CIVIQ represents a structured approach to interdisciplinary research and teaching, as well as to public-facing scholarship. CIVIQ projects address a Very Important Question that confronts the world today or has done so in the past. What constitutes a “Very Important Question” is construed broadly to include any major issue or challenge that confronts the Charlotte area, North Carolina, or any other society/region, or that poses an intellectual, philosophical, religious or other conceptual problem. Proposals are welcome from all areas of study and methodological approaches. Applications for the CIVIQ 2026 Cohort are due on Monday, September 29, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. Co-PIs should follow the detailed instructions in the guidelines below for the designated award, combine their materials into a single PDF file (LastnameCoPI1_LastnameCoPI2_CIVIQ), and submit them using this form.
Request for Proposals: Witness in Residence Initiative
Submit a suggestion for the Witness in Residence initiative! Your suggestions for Spring 2026 are requested by September 29 for a residency tentatively scheduled for the week of March 23. However, you are encouraged to submit whenever you encounter an interesting candidate and all themes are invited. For the Spring we are especially interested in a theme that is global and/or within the social/environmental sciences, to balance the recent local/humanities perspective. Please also send ideas for next Fall.
Wishing you all a wonderful week. Thank you for all you do.
All the best,
Anabel