This Week in LANG 4/6/2026

In this Edition: “ LANG at CHESS POP-UP Event, Witness in Residence this Tuesday, Spring Refresh Day – No ClassesFriday”

Dear colleagues, 

Thank you so much for contributing to faculty governance by nominating, self-nominating and participating in elections. This week is week number 4 of our elections. We will elect the MAC TT this week. 

I am very 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. 

Please note that we will have candidates visiting campus on Monday and Wednesday this week. My office hours will change in this season of campus visits. Please check on the QR code on my door or in my email signature and here in This Week in LANG. 

I would like to draw your attention to our End of Year Party on April 24, 4-6 pm. We will be celebrating Michèle Bissière, Carlos Coria-Sánchez (who will not be able to attend), and Jane Houston, who are all retiring as of June 30, 2026. I hope you can all come and enjoy the food of our potluck and congratulate our colleagues as they head into the next phase of their lives. 

Dates and Events this Week

Chair Office Hours Week of April 6:

M 11:15-1 (f2f and virtual), T 1:30-3:30 (f2f and virtual), W 1:15-2:15 (f2f and virtual)

Monday, April 6

• Candidate 3 Campus Visit

Tuesday, April 7

• 4:30 p.m.; Fretwell Room 100, Witness in Residence:  Emile XY?, a South African Hip Hop Activist and Educator

Wednesday, April 8

• Candidate 4 Campus Visit

Friday, April 10

• Spring Refresh Day – No Classes 

Looking Ahead: Dates and Events Spring 2026

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 Potluck

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 elected to the DRC SF, DRC TT and the CAPC for 2026-27. 

Congratulations to Dr. Noha Ghali on the acceptance of her proposal at the 40th anniversary Phi Beta Delta International Conference, where she will examine the outcomes of UNC Charlotte’s faculty-led study abroad program to Morocco.  

Congratulations to our Japanese Program:Their students excelled at the Duke Japanese Speech Contest.

The Duke Japanese Speech Contest is held annually during the spring semester and brings together students of Japanese from institutions across the region. Each year, students ranging from the Elementary to Advanced levels participate in a preliminary round at their home institutions, with finalists advancing to compete against peers from other universities. This year’s contest was held on Saturday, March 28, and the Japanese Studies Program was proudly represented by two outstanding UNC Charlotte students. Both participants delivered excellent speeches and earned third-place awards in their respective levels.

Level I: Gwen Perry 『私の趣味「かぎ針編み」』 (My Hobby: Crochet)

Level III: Nydasia Gray 『日本での初めての48時間』 (My First 48 Hours in Japan)

These achievements reflect the students’ dedication and passion for Japanese language study, as well as the strong support system within the Japanese Studies Program. Says Yukiko Yokono, Coordinator of Japanese: “We would like to sincerely thank their instructors, who generously devoted their precious time during an extremely busy period to help the students refine and strengthen their speeches for the competition.We are incredibly proud of Gwen and Nydasia for representing UNC Charlotte with confidence and excellence, and we congratulate them on their well-earned success.”

Congratulations to the Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and German programs for representing our department at the CHESS Pop Up Event. The Chinese Club together with the coordinator of the program, Fang-yi Chao, and Xiaohong Müller, practiced for weeks and performed the Chinese Dragon Dance three times during the event on March 30. The impressive dragon was cheered by all and our department certainly got a lot of attention. In addition, the Arabic Club together with Noha Ghali was present and offered homemade Baclava to students who passed by. One student’s mother had baked for us and the treat was loved by all. The German club together with Leah Kühn was also present handing out stickers to all those who stopped by. The Japanese Club together with Yokono Sensei offered to write the name of anyone who passed by in Japanese. My name in Kanji now adorns my office door. Thank you to all of you for participating and supporting the Dean’s CHESS Pop Up event for Niner Nation Gives.

Congratulations to Sandra Watts who gave a teaching-related presentation titled “Bad Information or Bad Bunny? Misinformation, Culture, and Civic Engagement” at the UNC Charlotte Media Literacy Matters: Empowering Critical Thinkers in a Digital World conference on April 2.

Information for Faculty and Staff

Upcoming Events
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

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.

AI discussion
Join your colleagues for AI@Work, a new discussion series focused on real-world AI applications and honest peer-to-peer learning. The first session is from 9 to 9:45 a.m., Thursday, April 9, and focuses on using AI for scheduling and student training.

AI Summit for Smarter Learning
The schedule is now available for the fourth annual Charlotte AI Summit for Smarter Learning. Register today to participate in this free, full-day event.

7th Annual Southeastern Immigrant Studies Association (SEISA) Conference
Theme: Unraveling the Complexities of Migration: Power, Identity, and Belonging
April 17–18, 2026 | Dubois Center, Charlotte, NC
Join scholars, artists, practitioners, and students exploring how migration shapes communities and belonging. Panels, workshops, and creative sessions highlight lived experiences and envision equitable futures.
Register now.

Wishing you a good week. 

All the best, 

Anabel