Posts by Roselee Papandrea Taylor | Today at ��ϲ�� | ��ϲ��

Students reminded that their presence matters at Donning of the Kente ceremony for Class of 2025

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Fri, 23 May 2025 01:37:54 +0000

Donning of the Kente is more than a tradition. It is a declaration.

“A declaration that your presence at ��ϲ�� mattered, that your voice, your contributions, your journey have shaped this university in ways that will inspire those who follow in your footsteps,” said Alexandre Bohannon ’17, president of the ��ϲ�� Black Alumni Network.

Bohannon addressed the family, friends, faculty and staff gathered in Alumni Gym Thursday night for the ninth-annual Donning of the Kente ceremony that celebrates the achievements of graduating ��ϲ�� students who recognize their African roots.

“The Donning of the Kente Ceremony is a moment of deep significance; one that reflects strength, resilience and excellence,” Bohannon said.

In his welcome, Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Randy Williams opened with a poem written by the Rev. Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, a Baptist minister, former Morehouse College president and mentor to Martin Luther King Jr., which emphasized the importance of the 60 seconds that each of the 59 graduates spent on the stage.

A father and son embrace at the Donning of the Kente Ceremony.

“This is a moment that reverberates across generations. A minute where our graduates step further into their purpose with the full force of history behind them, and a boundless future ahead of them,” Williams said.

It was during those 60 seconds that the graduates were each donned by a parent, guardian, grandparent, sibling, mentor or friend with a handmade kente stole, woven in the village of Bonwire, Ghana.

“The kente is not mere fabric; it is a testimony. Its vibrant threads tell stories of resistance, sovereignty, wisdom and an unbroken lineage connecting us to our ancestors’ unfadeable presence,” Williams said.

As each of the students stepped on stage, their photos and achievements at ��ϲ�� were displayed on the two large screens behind them. At the podium, faculty members read reflections written by the person who impacted their journey and stood before them on this night.

“Your light, honesty, and vibrant energy have made a lasting impact,” wrote Sandra Reid ’85, a senior lecturer in Human Service Studies, about Ariana Galloway ’25 who stood facing the audience with a broad smile across her face.

“You spoke in class with courage when others stayed silent. I know you’re still finding your path, and the beauty of this moment is not in having it all figured out but in recognizing that you are more than capable of figuring it out as you go. The Donning of the Kente honors all you are and all you’re becoming. Be proud. You’ve earned this. I’m betting on you, and I wish you all the best.”

Reid gently placed the kente cloth stole on Galloway’s shoulders. Galloway and the other students honored at the event will wear the colorful stoles over their maroon gowns Friday at the 135th Commencement Ceremony in the Schar Center.

Brothers and soon-to-be fellow alumni Gavin Green ’23 and Ethan Green ’25 took the stage together. “You had some challenges at first as all of us do, however, you have gone on to finish in four years with a better GPA than me and a job lined up,” Gavin Green’s words made his younger brother laugh. “I am proud to call you my brother. I know you will go on to accomplish great things, bro, keep up the good work!”

Before the students’ names were called, an alumna who walked in their shoes at ��ϲ�� almost 30 years ago was recognized for her contributions to the university with the establishment of the Kelli E. Palmer Donning of the Kente Endowment. Funding from the endowment will support the event, including the purchase of the kente stoles, for years to come.

We celebrate the family, of origin and choice, that have, and continue to, pour into us. And we celebrate you, the graduates, who did the work, who chose to invest in your mind because as my grandmother said, ‘It is the only thing they can’t take from us.’ You are our ancestors’ wildest dreams and a sight to behold!

– Kelli Palmer ’98

Palmer, a 1998 alumna and member of the university’s Board of Trustees, exemplifies alumni leadership through her unwavering commitment to ��ϲ�� and its students. She delivered the keynote address.

“Black Americans have a long history of celebrating today, for tomorrow is not promised,” Palmer said. “Somehow, we carry reality in one hand and hope in the other, while being the embodiment of purpose.”

A graduate of the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education with a degree in elementary education, Palmer later earned graduate degrees from Wake Forest University and the University of Virginia. Today, she leads employee experience at WillowTree, where she champions diversity, equity, inclusion and social impact.

She spoke about a time when the Black community was denied legal rights in this country but still worked together toward desegregation, integration and inclusion.

The Pointe! Dance & Technique Conservatory performed a rhythmic dance choreographed by Assistant Professor of Dance Keshia Gee.

“It is fitting that we are now here, on this day, in this space, on the campus of ��ϲ��, together as a community to celebrate your achievement,” she said.

“We celebrate the family, of origin and choice, that have, and continue to, pour into us. And we celebrate you, the graduates, who did the work, who chose to invest in your mind because as my grandmother said, ‘It is the only thing they can’t take from us.’ You are our ancestors’ wildest dreams and a sight to behold!”

A rhythmic dance of celebration choreographed by Assistant Professor of Dance Keshia Gee and performed by The Pointe! Dance & Technique Conservatory, set the tone for the evening.

“This ceremony stands as a testament to the strength, pride and excellence of our graduates and the community that surrounds them,” Bohannon said. “As we look to the future, let this be our collective charge: To continue building spaces where all students are celebrated, where every story is honored, and where the legacy of inclusion grows stronger with every graduating class.”

Valarie Kaur encourages graduates to measure life by the ‘faithfulness to the labor’

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Wed, 19 May 2021 21:04:53 +0000

University Chaplain Rev. Jan Fuller delivers remarks during the 2021 Baccalaureate service.

The students in the Class of 2021 experienced an entire academic year in the midst of a pandemic. They reckoned with a global uprising for Black lives, confronted climate catastrophes, witnessed an unprecedented election season and bloodshed in the U.S. Capitol building.

“You’ve been watching the world, wondering about your relationship to all of it,” said Valarie Kaur, a seasoned civil rights activist, award-winning filmmaker, lawyer, interfaith leader and founder of the Revolutionary Love Project, in her Baccalaureate address to the seniors sitting six-feet apart in Alumni Gym. Kaur wasn’t present. She delivered her poignant message in a pre-recorded video. “I will not speak to you as if I am standing up on a stage. I will speak to you as if it’s just you and me sitting in a room of the heart,” she said.

Kaur was in college when she started her quest to investigate hate violence against Sikhs, Muslims and Arabs. Fueled by the grief she felt in the aftermath of her uncle’s death – a fellow Sikh and victim of a hate crime following 9/11 – she searched for answers that took her years to understand.

“Maybe in these last months, you have really found your voice. Maybe you are still finding it,” she said. “Maybe you have overcome grief and rage. Maybe you’re still inside the fire of these emotions. Maybe the catastrophes around us have given you clarity about the role that you want to play in the world. Maybe you are still searching. No matter where you are, honor where you are. Your journey so far has brought you to this day. You made it. You made it to your graduation week.”

As a result of her journey, Kaur shared three practices with the Class of 2021 that she wished she knew when she received her undergraduate degree from Stanford University.

Practice No. 1: See no stranger. “Seeing no stranger has always disrupted the status quo,” she said. “If you choose to see no stranger throughout your life, it will give you the wisdom to show up with courage to remake this world, to reorder this world in such a way that leaves no one behind.”

Practice No. 2: Tend the wound. “When it’s hard to love our opponents, I invite you to remember to tend the wound you see,” she said. “There is no such thing as monsters in this world. There are only human beings who are wounded, who act out of their own insecurity or greed or blindness.”

Practice No. 3: Breathe and push. “There is a rhythm, a cadence to sustaining longevity and resilience to all of your labors in life, so I invite you to breathe, to weave breath throughout your day, to breathe before you push,” she said. ”I invite you to measure your life, not by what you produce or how quickly you produce it. I invite you to measure your life by your faithfulness to the labor.”

Kaur wasn’t the only one with deep lessons to share. Seniors Mackenzie Martinez, Caroline McGimsey and Megan Noor shared reflections of their own explorations with faith. For Martinez, a Mexican woman who is also Jewish, her journey allowed her to forge “a new tapestry of my identity.”

“From services at Hillel to café con leche at El Centro to spontaneous trips to Steak and Shake, I built for myself the sense of belonging that I so desperately craved in order to embody all the pieces of myself,” Martinez said. “I rejected the messages around me that I was too much, not enough or didn’t fit, and instead embraced myself exactly as I am, even if I’m not perfect.”

McGimsey strengthened her Christian beliefs by discovering the value of being there for others through both challenging and joyous times. “God used other people to help me see the things I find meaning in that I had not yet discovered,” she said with a pledge to do the same for others. “Out of gratitude for what has been done for me, I commit myself, wherever I am, to perceive in others what they cannot yet see in themselves.”

Noor, who stood at the podium wearing a hijab, learned to live openly as a Muslim woman. “It took me nearly three years to realize that the real reason was that I was afraid – afraid of being seen, of being visibly Muslim, and of the harassment that might come of that,” she said, referencing the uncomfortableness she felt the first time she wore a headscarf. “But look how far I’ve come! Wearing a hijab is an act of self love, of pride in my religion and my identity, and defiance of anyone who would try to stop me.”

University Chaplain Jan Fuller, who presided over her last Baccalaureate at ��ϲ�� before she retires at the end of the month, reminded seniors that they have already faced challenges and encouraged them soak in both the frightening and exhilarating days ahead.

“I hope you will expect and embrace all aspects of this huge and honorable transition – the excitement, the sense of accomplishment, and also the grief, tension, joy and trepidation of moving into a brand new chapter, territory and way of living,” she said. “All of these emotions and experiences are normal and appropriate.”

Student leaders honored with 2021 Omicron Delta Kappa Awards

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Fri, 30 Apr 2021 12:43:26 +0000

On Thursday, April 29, the university launched a special Omicron Delta Kappa website to recognize this year’s recipients. The site includes video commendations offered by campus partner presenters for each award.

2021 Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Awards website

Since 1977, ��ϲ��’s Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa has recognized students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership skills while maintaining high academic standards. The Circle’s core components include academics, multicultural experience, athletics, campus and community service, social and religious activities, campus government, creative and performing arts, and journalism, speech and mass media.
Exemplary achievement and service are also being recognized this spring during several individual school ceremonies.

2021 Omicron Delta Kappa leadership award winners

Student Media Award – Rachel A. Cifarelli

This award is presented to the student who has contributed the most to advance communications on campus during the current academic year.

Leadership Studies Award – Chandler Alexis Vaughan

The Leadership Studies Award is awarded annually to the senior Leadership Studies minor who has best exemplified the study of leadership as an academic discipline through excellence in related coursework, research and/or other scholarly contributions.

Hilaire Pickett ’08 Leadership Grant – Angy Nicoll Aguilar & Darsev Kaur

The endowed scholarship, the Hilaire Pickett ’08 Leadership Grant, is awarded to students that participate in the Leadership Education and Development at ��ϲ��. Awards are granted to support students in their junior or senior years to pursue leadership internships or legacy efforts. The students must demonstrate a significant commitment to their organizations and academics and be active in contributions that have a positive impact on the ��ϲ�� community.

The PERCS Outstanding Ethnography Award – Sydney Rey Hallisey & Madison Eleanor Gray

This award recognizes the student who has conducted the most outstanding ethnographic research project at ��ϲ��, judged according to the quality of both the process and product. The award is given by PERCS: The Program for Ethnographic Research and Community Studies.

Katharine duPont Weymouth Scholarship – Lauren Cassidy Willingham

This scholarship is awarded to outstanding juniors in the social sciences and given in honor of alumnus Frank Lyon ’71.

W.L. Monroe Christian Education and Personality Award – Connor Finnegan Jenkins & Srija Dutta

Recipients of this award demonstrate citizenship and a strong desire to help others improve themselves. A trust created by the late W.L. Monroe Sr., who attended ��ϲ�� in 1917, provides cash awards to the recipients.

Truitt Center Reconciliation Award – Caroline E. Penfield

This award is presented to a student who best exemplifies the vision of Douglas G. Noiles and Edna Truitt Noiles ’ 44, who endowed the program in the Vera Richardson Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life “to enable ��ϲ�� students to learn about their own and other faiths and to live lives of reconciliation.”

Ella Brunk Smith Award – Sarah Jane McDonald & Samantha Chessen

In honor of Ella Brunk Smith, wife of former ��ϲ�� President Dr. L.E. Smith, a cash award is presented to a female student in the senior class who has made significant contributions to the religious and moral life on campus.

Martha Smith Award for Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies – Jay Damian Tiemann

This award is given in honor of Martha Smith, one of the founding mothers of the women’s, gender and sexualities studies program at ��ϲ��, to recognize the achievements – both academic and activist in nature – of a graduating senior Women’s, Gender and Sexualities Studies minor.

Iris Holt McEwen Community Service Award – Talia N. Gallo

This award is presented to a student whose service to ��ϲ�� and the larger community exemplifies the generosity of spirit and dedication to philanthropy of Iris Holt McEwen.

Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award – Jubitza Figueroa, Yannick Twumasi & Sandra Lynn Reid

The Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award is an award presented to graduating seniors, alumni and community members of selected colleges and universities in the Southern United States for excellence of character and service to humanity.  At ��ϲ��, two graduating seniors and one faculty or staff member are recognized annually for their honesty, morality, ethics, integrity, responsibility, determination, courage and compassion.

Newman Civic Fellows Award – Anna Lee Gillespie

The Campus Compact Newman Civic Fellows Award is a national award that recognizes students who inspire and engage others through their work to provide long-term solutions for social issues in their communities. This award is made in honor of Dr. Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders, who was a tireless advocate for the role of higher education in preparing students for active and engaged citizenship.

John W. Barney Memorial Award – Meghan Eun-Seon Murray & Emily Marie Guyton Lange

This award recognizes the senior(s) with the highest cumulative GPA. Colleagues, former students, and friends of the late John W. Barney established this award in his honor. Mr. Barney graduated from ��ϲ�� in 1910 and was a member of the faculty for more than three decades.

William Moseley Brown Leadership Award – Eukela Little

Presented by ��ϲ��’s Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, this award is presented to the student who consistently demonstrates the highest ideals of Omicron Delta Kappa: scholarship, service, integrity, character and fellowship, including providing distinguished leadership to his or her peers. The award is named in honor of a former ��ϲ�� faculty member and one of the original founders of the national chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa.

��ϲ�� MBA named a Top 100 part-time business program by U.S. News

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 11:49:06 +0000

U.S. News & World Report ranks ��ϲ��’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business among the country’s top business schools for part-time MBAs.

��ϲ�� is ranked #100 out of 273 schools in the 2022 “Best Part-time MBA Programs” list.

“The ranking reflects the terrific work by our faculty and staff,” said Raghu Tadepalli, dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. “As we celebrate our much better ranking compared to last year, we feel our selectivity is the criterion with the highest impact. Simply put, at a time when part-time MBA programs have waived many entrance requirements, we have held firm to our admissions standards and have been rewarded for this by a much higher ranking.”

All the U.S. News rankings are based on in-depth reputation and statistical surveys conducted in fall 2020 and early 2021. The statistical data that schools report to U.S. News are used to compare factors such as enrollment; acceptance rates; GRE and GMAT scores of the most recently enrolled class; student-faculty ratios; amount of research conducted; and career-related information for graduates of business programs, including starting salaries and job placement success upon graduation.

��ϲ�� is tied at #100 with California State University-Fullerton.

Other North Carolina universities included among the top 100 part-time MBA programs:

#22 Wake Forest University
#73 University of North Carolina-Charlotte
#73 University of North Carolina-Greensboro
#85 North Carolina State University

Designed for working professionals from Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh and beyond, the offers a part-time program with full-time benefits. Students benefit from small class sizes, a curriculum focused on the transfer of course content to practical applications, professional development support, evening classes offered in two locations (��ϲ�� and Research Triangle Park), a flexible schedule, and an extraordinary faculty committed to teaching and engaged learning.

College Consensus ranks ��ϲ�� among the nation’s top 100 National Universities

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 15:18:00 +0000

College Consensus ranks 2020. In that category, ��ϲ�� is among the top 30 universities with a student consensus rating of 78 or greater, tying Duke University with a 78.

College Consensus arrives at its rankings by combining the results “from the most respected college rankings with thousands of real student reviews to produce a unique consensus score for each school.”

��ϲ��’s national ranking is based on ��ϲ��’s evaluation in college rankings by U.S. News & World Report, the Wall Street Journal and Wallethub, along with student reviews posted on Niche, Cappex and Students Review. According to College Consensus, “The top universities ranking is the real deal – the ranking of the best colleges nationwide. That’s because the College Consensus method brings together the colleges and universities that have the best schools ranking based on publisher and student ratings, all arranged regardless of size, location, form or classification.”

College Consensus provides this description of ��ϲ��’s experiential approach to teaching and learning:

A variety of enriching intellectual and research opportunities are available to students through the university’s many programs and ��ϲ��’s numerous academic centers advance the work of faculty and students in a range of disciplines. Through these academic programs, ��ϲ��’s students are able to gain opportunities that challenge them in a number of areas including international study, undergraduate research, scholarly publication and collegiate competitions. More than 70% of students participate in at least one international study experience and often combine these trips with internships, research or service. In addition, ��ϲ��’s Study USA program offers students the opportunity to study in a number locations including Los Angeles, New York City, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Alaska, and more.

The Princeton Review names ��ϲ�� a ‘Green College’

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 20:00:01 +0000

��ϲ�� has been named one of the nation’s most environmentally responsible colleges and universities by The Princeton Review.

The Princeton Review’s “Guide to Green Colleges: 2021 Edition” profiles colleges with the most exceptional commitments to sustainability based on their academic offerings and career preparation for students, campus policies, initiatives and activities. Published Oct. 20, the ranking can be accessed at .

The profiles in the guide provide information about each school’s admission requirements, cost and financial aid, and student body statistics. They also include “Green Facts” about the schools with details on the availability of transportation alternatives on campus and the percentage of the school food budgets spent on local/organic food.

��ϲ�� has been included in The Princeton Review’s Guide to Green Colleges for each of the 11 years the guide has been published.

The Princeton Review chose schools based on data from a survey of nearly 695 four-year colleges concerning the schools’ commitment to the environment and sustainability. Of the 416 schools included in the 2021 edition, 393 are in the U.S., 22 in Canada and one in Greece. Inclusion in the publication required a “green rating” of 80 or more.

��ϲ�� .

“We strongly recommend ��ϲ�� to students who want to study and live at a green college,” said Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review. “Each and every one of the outstanding colleges in this edition of our guide offers both excellent academics and exemplary evidence of environmental commitment.”

Franek noted that there is a high level of interest among college applicants and their parents in colleges with green practices, programs, and offerings. Sixty-six percent of the 12,845 respondents (college-bound teens and parents) to The Princeton Review’s 2020 “College Hopes & Worries Survey” said that having information about a college’s commitment to the environment would affect their decision to apply to or attend a school.

��ϲ�� named #2 National University for Excellence in Teaching in new U.S. News & World Report rankings

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 04:02:18 +0000

��ϲ�� is ranked #88 among the nation’s most prestigious comprehensive universities, with a #2 ranking for excellence in undergraduate teaching for the second straight year and a #10 ranking for Most Innovative National University. The 2021 rankings are included in the annual U.S. News & World Report “Best Colleges” guide, which was released Sept. 14.

For the sixth straight year, ��ϲ�� is the leader in the “Focus on Student Success” feature – the only college or university ranked in the top 20 in all eight categories of high-impact academic programs.

“I am especially proud of ��ϲ��’s #2 national ranking for teaching excellence,” said President Connie Ledoux Book. “This is a defining characteristic of our university and that has been especially apparent this year. ��ϲ��’s highly skilled faculty, with the support of staff across the university, have created innovative and effective approaches to teaching and learning during the pandemic. In the most difficult circumstances, ��ϲ�� is again setting the standard for student success in the classroom and beyond.”

As the #2 university for undergraduate teaching, ��ϲ�� is ranked among a group of elite universities that demonstrate the highest quality of instruction.

Top 10 National Universities recognized for excellence in undergraduate teaching:

#1 Brown University
#2 ��ϲ��
#3 Georgia State University
#4 Princeton University
#5 College of William & Mary
#6 Rice University
#7 Dartmouth College
#8 Boston College
#9 Duke University
#9 Stanford University

In the “Focus on Student Success” feature, ��ϲ�� led all other institutions based on a survey of top college and university leaders across the nation. ��ϲ�� has the following top 20 rankings in the eight academic and co-curricular programs proven to enhance student success:

#1 Learning Communities
#1 Study Abroad
#2 First-Year Experiences
#2 Senior Capstone
#2 Service Learning
#7 Internships/Co-ops
#10 Undergraduate Research/Creative Projects
#19 Writing in the Disciplines

“These recognitions demonstrate the dedication ��ϲ�� faculty and staff have to mentoring students and ensuring success in all dimensions of their college careers,” Book said. “Through the opportunities of the ��ϲ�� Experiences, on- and off-campus, our students are engaged in an immersive, 24/7 learning environment.”

With ��ϲ�� ranked in the top 20 in eight categories, Duke University was ranked in the top 20 in seven categories; Yale University and Agnes Scott College in six categories; and Stanford University, Amherst College, Brown University and Princeton University in five categories.

This year ��ϲ�� moved to the top 10 of the Most Innovative National Universities. These are universities that are making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities.

Top 10 “Most Innovative” National Universities:

#1 Arizona State University-Tempe
#2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
#3 Georgia State University
#4 Georgia Institute of Technology
#5 Purdue University-West Lafayette
#6 Stanford University
#7 California Institute of Technology
#8 Carnegie Mellon University
#9 University of Maryland-Baltimore County
#10 ��ϲ��

The “Most Innovative” rankings for other North Carolina schools include Duke University (#14), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (#50), North Carolina A&T State University (#68) and North Carolina State University (#68).

In the overall National Universities category, ��ϲ�� is ranked #88 and #55 among private universities based on strong scores in several areas of the “Best Colleges” methodology. ��ϲ�� ranks #22 in alumni annual financial support and #64 in graduation and student retention rates, with 90 percent of first-year students returning for their sophomore year and 85 percent going on to graduate within six years. ��ϲ�� is one of only 10 schools with zero percent of classes larger than 50 students.

North Carolina colleges and universities included in the overall National Universities rankings include:

#12 Duke University
#28 Wake Forest University
#28 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
#80 North Carolina State University
#88 ��ϲ��
#187 University of North Carolina at Wilmington
#217 East Carolina University
#227 University of North Carolina at Charlotte
#258 Campbell University
#258 University of North Carolina at Greensboro
#272 North Carolina A&T State University
#284 Gardner-Webb University
#298-389 Wingate University

��ϲ�� moved to the National Universities category in 2019 after being classified as a Doctoral/Professional University by the Carnegie Classification of Colleges. The top schools in the National Universities category this year are (in rank order) Princeton, Harvard, Columbia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale, Stanford, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, California Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins and Northwestern University.

U.S. News & World Report has been producing college rankings since 1983. The rankings are based on an extensive annual data survey of institutions along with opinion surveys of university faculty and administrators.

The Rev. Jennifer Bailey encourages graduates to show up and lead

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Thu, 23 May 2019 15:55:00 +0000

The Rev. Jennifer Bailey delivered the Baccalaureate address to the Class of 2019.

It’s in the news and the messages shared all over social media. These are dark days.

While we might be living in apocalyptic times, the Rev. Jennifer Bailey told the Class of 2019 in her Baccalaureate message that it means we are in a period of remaking the world as we know it.

Quoting from New York Times best-selling author and activist Adrienne Maree Brown, Bailey said: “Things are not getting worse, they are being uncovered. We must hold each other tight and continue to pull back the veil.” She believed the sentiment so much that she made the audience repeat it with her.

It might seem hopeless, but Christian traditions have taught Bailey that from death comes the possibility of new life. She urged graduates not to choose the easy option and become cynics, snarky or fatalistic about these challenging times.

“It’s lazy,” she said. “Hope—radical hope—the type that actually requires us to take an active role in shaping the better futures we want to see is far more difficult. It requires us to put some skin in the game.”

Bailey was one of several people who spoke Thursday afternoon at ��ϲ��’s Baccalaureate service, a multi-faith ceremony the university holds each year to honor the graduating class, their families and the ��ϲ�� community.

An ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a theologian, Bailey founded the Faith Matters Network in 2014 to better equip leaders within and across social movements with resources for connection, spiritual sustainability and support. She began her career as a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow and later served on the staff of the Community Food Advocates and Interfaith Youth Core in Nashville, Tennessee. The work served as a catalyst for The People’s Supper, an initiative she co-founded, and since January 2017 has hosted more than 1,400 suppers in 121 communities nationwide.

As someone who graduated 10 years ago, Bailey said she was providing insight more as an older cousin than a wise elder sage. “What I’ve learned along the way is that what you build is less important than how you build it,” she said. “In particular, it is the act of investing time, commitment and energy into your relationships with family, friends and colleagues that will make all the difference.”

A lot of life is spent in those mundane moments between major milestones and while advancing their personal and professional lives at breakneck speed is possible, there are other options. “I am here to tell you that while fanning the flames of your ambition, it’s OK to pause and take a breath,” she said. “It’s OK to spend time sowing seeds of relationship and nurture in yourself and your community.”

Seniors Amy Belfer, Eliana Chervin, Michael Dryzer, Robyn Epstein, Ethan Feuer, Gabriella Fies, Hannah Podhorzer, Sydney Solomon, Elana Spiegel, Sara Wasserman and Sophie Zinn gave the Shehechianu blessing, a Jewish prayer.

That community will be an essential part of their lives, she said. “Cultivating community takes time and investment but when the inevitability of loss and grief, heartache and pain occur, it is those relationships that have the power to sustain us and see us through.”

That community will change over time. The graduates will change over time. The world will change over time, Bailey said.

“Yet if we continue to hold each other tight and pull back the veil, perhaps we can be active participants in guiding and shifting that change to move in a direction that opens the door to more love, peace, equity and justice for each living thing and the planet that sustains us,” she said.

Before Bailey spoke, seniors Kenneth Brown, Mariatu Okonofua and Hannah Podhorzer offered reflections about the meaning they’ve made out of their time at ��ϲ��.

It was a line in a siddur or prayer book that shifted Podhorzer’s thinking. “The creation of the world is not yet complete until you have fulfilled your creative function in it,” she said. It was a revelation that reframed her thoughts about who she is meant to be.

Senior Kenneth Brown offered reflections about the meaning he has made out of his time at ��ϲ��.

“Why was I still shadowed by pursuing exactly what I was meant to do in this world? After all, if we constantly live in fear of our own story, we never get to write it,” Podhorzer said. “For me, while at ��ϲ��, my art became my advocacy, my vulnerability, my voice, my purpose. It also became my conduit for leadership.”

While grieving the death of his sister, Brown felt the love from his ��ϲ�� community. “The past four years and those experiences have taught me that the meaning we attempt to make with our lives is pointless if we don’t have love—a love that protects, trusts, hopes and preserves,” he said.

Through the relationship she made with then-Muslim Life Coordinator Anna Torres-Zeb during her freshman year, Okonofua is comfortable embracing all of her identities. “Now, several hours before my graduation, I can say that I am leaving more complete than I arrived,” Okonofua said. “I am proudly, unabashedly black, African and Muslim—a whole individual much greater and complex than the sum of my parts.”

��ϲ�� faculty voices highlighted

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 20:55:00 +0000

Four faculty members showcased their expertise on Friday in a series of “TED Talk”-type presentations that celebrated the people, resources and connections that make ��ϲ�� a strong community.

Kenn Gaither, associate dean of the School of Communications and professor of communications, moderated the event, which was part of the celebration of the inauguration of Connie Ledoux Book as ��ϲ��’s ninth president.

Cindy Fair
Watts-Thompson Professor of Public Health Studies and Human Service Studies
“The experience truly changed the trajectory of my life”: The power of undergraduate research

Cindy Fair examines how children with pediatric HIV transition to adolescence and young adulthood, has mentored several ��ϲ�� students with their own undergraduate research.

The relationship that teacher Annie Sullivan formed with Helen Keller, who was left both deaf and blind after an illness when she was a baby, had an impact on Cindy Fair.

In her presentation, Fair referenced an iconic moment in the movie about Keller’s life, “The Miracle Worker,” when a young Helen standing at a water pump with her teacher first understood the sign for water. “Her understanding of the world profoundly shifted that day,” Fair said.

That water pump scene is an accurate depiction of Fair’s undergraduate research mentoring process, she said. “When I begin to work with my own students, I encourage them to be open to ‘water pump’ moments—moments when there is unexpected enlightenment and awakening,” Fair said.

Fair, who in her own research examines how children with pediatric HIV transition to adolescence and young adulthood, has mentored several ��ϲ�� students with their own undergraduate research. She referred to her “happy place” as the intersection of her scholarship, research and the teacher-mentor relationships she shares with her students.

When Fair was working with Jamie Albright ’13, she was studying the reasons why young people living with HIV did or did not want to have children. At the same time, Albright focused on the reproductive health information that doctors shared with that same population.

Albright interviewed a 19-year-old woman and during a routine question—how many children do you have?—the woman burst into tears. The woman went on to share that she had become pregnant at age 15 and gave the baby up for adoption, a story she had never shared with anyone outside of her family. At the end of the interview, the woman thanked Albright for allowing her to share her story. It was in that moment that Albright realized she had a “gift and interest in helping people tell their stories as a way to heal from trauma,” Fair said.

Albright is now a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the University of Virginia and will propose her dissertation next week. “It is such an honor to walk alongside students as they begin to take ownership of a question and make previously unmade connections at their own metaphoric water pump,” Fair said. “I can imagine how Annie Sullivan felt as she watched her pupil take the world by storm.”

Tony Crider
Professor of physics
“Taking Games Seriously,” or learning from scenarios and immersive play

They might be fun but games are being taken seriously in education.

Tony Crider has been using them in his classroom for more than 10 years as a form of experiential learning.

Tony Crider has been using games in his classroom for more than 10 years as a form of experiential learning.

He started using Reacting to the Past games in 2007, which involve students working in teams to debate big ideas that emerge from classic texts by Plato, Confucius and Galileo. “Think of it as Model UN on steroids and with a time machine,” he said.

Crider discovered by studying his own students that these “games” had a serious impact on who speaks in a class and how often. “Anyone who’s taught or even been in a classroom knows that some students are prone to talk less and often and there are one or two students that talk a lot,” he said. “Over the course of a well-designed Reacting to the Past game, both the number of people who speak and the number of things said increases day by day.”

Another thing that Crider and his colleagues learned from these games in the classroom is that competition matters to students. If one team was certain to win and another to lose, both sides quit preparing for class. “The driving factor was the competition,” Crider said. “The instructor’s job is to keep it interesting.”

In 2012 Crider started co-teaching with Anthony Weston, professor of philosophy. They taught a class together about the scientific and philosophic ways humans look for extraterrestrial intelligence. In part one of the final exam given in that class, students were confronted with a black 8-foot monolith and four video cameras in an empty room.

“What would you do?” he asked the audience gathered in the Great Hall at Global Commons.

“They touched it,” Crider said. “They took selfies with it. They knocked on it to see if we were inside.” Part of the class then scouted campus looking for a second monolith. A few remained behind to look for clues.

“After 90 minutes, they knocked the monolith down and treated it like a conference table,” Crider said. “With no prompting, they started to ask and answer questions that would make a teacher proud.”

What did we learn in this class? How has this class changed us as people? Do we actually believe in aliens now?

Throughout their work in the class, students realized that sometimes humans aren’t very kind to others they deem inferior. “And they promised themselves not to be like that,” Crider said.

In part two of that same final exam, students entered a backyard with three chickens, a table, three barbeque chicken pizzas, three-cheese pizzas and a bowl of sunflower seeds. “When faced with a ‘planet’ of chickens, nearly all of them quickly ate the chicken pizza and ignored the sunflower seeds, which could be eaten by humans and chickens alike,” he said.

Considering lessons learned in the classroom and conversations they shared about how humans treat life forms they deem inferior, Crider expected a different outcome. “I was hoping they would not eat alien pizza in front of the aliens,” he said.

Regardless, Crider said experiential assessment is important for instructors. “We should always try to figure out not just what students say they learn but what they actually learn,” he said.

Haya Ajjan
Associate professor of management information systems
The growth and impact of the Center for Organizational Analytics

Are we preparing our students for the future?

Haya Ajjan said it’s a question that professors must continually ask. One way that Ajjan has strived to offer this preparation is with a multi-disciplinary innovative curriculum for analytics. “I wanted to bridge the gap between the theory in the classroom and practice,” she said.

Haya Ajjan wanted to bridge the gap between the theory in the classroom and practice.

��ϲ�� offers analytics programs, from computer science to math and statistics to media analytics. Ajjan decided students could benefit from all the programs working together.

“Those programs had the potential for a lot of synergy and I was confident that if we could all get together, we could learn from each other,” she said.

But she wanted there to be a hub that would connect them all to make collaboration seamless. She proposed creating a center for analytics and worked to recruit 11 corporate sponsors and analytics faculty.

“Today we have 18 faculty and 17 students working on seven real projects that solve real problems,” she said. “The work enables us to bridge the gap between what we do in the classroom and what students do with our clients.”

Students from computer science, math and statistics, business and media analytics are all working together to come up with solutions to problems. “It is amazing the ideas that come through when students from multiple disciplines look at the same problem using their different lenses,” she said.

Students have worked to improve data processing time for insurance companies from three days to three minutes. They have analyzed Internet of Things data to help restaurants predict food illness outbreaks before they happen. They have collected more than 72 indicators to build a snapshot for global engagement of citizens in North Carolina.

“The quality of their analytics work is inspiring, excellence acknowledged by all our clients, including Ben Martin, the chief officer of advanced analytics at Hanes Brands, who has described how impressed he has been by how quickly the students reach high-quality decisions,” Ajjan said.

The collaboration and hands-on learning that has occurred because of work with the Center for Analytics, which launched in spring 2016, has had a significant impact on students.

“My students always tell me that when they go for job interviews, they are not just talking about classroom experiences,” Ajjan said. “They are highlighting the positive impact their work has had on our partners and sharing the feedback they have received from executives of those companies or from government leaders in North Carolina.”

Jean Rattigan-Rohr
Executive director of community partnerships, director of the Center for Access and Success, and professor of education
Higher education and the pre-K-8 space: Is there room in which to grow?

Statistics tell us that children who come from low-income households often struggle in school.

As founder of the “It Takes a Village” Project at ��ϲ��, which uses a collaborative approach to help children in the community who are struggling to read, Jean Rattigan-Rohr understands that the work they do in the program is in response to two questions: How can we help? And what might we be able to do together?

“We have asked and over the years, friends, colleagues, students and community members have responded with great enthusiasm and in significant numbers,” she said.

The program grew from its original concept and in addition to reading, children are participating in Science in the Village and Music in the Village. In the spring, Engineering in the Village will be added to the mix.

A new faculty member had asked Rattigan-Rohr how she could get involved. “She couldn’t imagine how the little time she could spend would make a difference,” Rattigan-Rohr said and gave a compelling example as a counter argument.

This past summer, Brandon Sheridan, an assistant professor of economics, taught Economics in the Village to a group of fifth-grade students. The children created their own business—a lemonade stand—developed their own advertising and marketing plan, figured out how much they could charge per cup to make a profit and voted to donate the $750 proceeds to a charity.

At the start of the program, students were asked what steps they would need to take to be a millionaire. Hard work, get a good job and “put your money in the bank so you don’t lose it” were among their answers. At the end of the two-week session, Sheridan asked the same question. The answers—buy and sell stocks, start a business, become an owner of a company and put your money in the bank to earn interest—were very different.

“Look at the difference in the discourse,” Rattigan-Rohr said. “It’s as if these ideas, concepts and language did not exist for these students until they were in the program.”

Sheridan is teaching the same course this fall. This time it’s to a group of fourth-grade students and their parents.

“It is difficult for schools to do it all when the need is so deep and so wide,” Rattigan-Rohr said. “But this I know: When institutions, such as ours, decide to come along side classroom teachers and school systems and lend a hand for students who, for whatever reason, find learning to be daunting, we can make a difference.”

‘Long Maroon Line of Alumni’ celebrates ��ϲ��’s ninth president

Roselee Papandrea Taylor — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 21:35:00 +0000

Sixty-nine alumni participated in the 'Long Maroon Line' to support the inauguration of President Connie Ledoux Book.

Donned in maroon robes and commemorative medallions to mark the occasion, 69 alumni led the procession into Schar Center Thursday afternoon to support the inauguration of President Connie Ledoux Book and their alma mater.

Selected based on their ongoing commitment and involvement with the university, the alumni spent much of the day attending inauguration events held around campus, including an alumni luncheon, a special campus tour, a pop-up history display and community reception.

Many met President Book for the first time on Thursday and were excited to take part in such an important day in ��ϲ��’s history. “I’ve heard nothing but great things about Dr. Book,” said Renita Leak Webb ’04. “I am so happy to be a part of the inauguration of ��ϲ��’s first female president and such a phenomenal woman.”

��ϲ�� is where Meredith Citty ’14 grew into the teacher she is today, so participating in the Long Maroon Line means a lot to her.

“I believe that being a part of the Long Maroon Line is a way that we can all celebrate the accomplishments that are achieved on this campus,” Citty said. “I’m excited to see how President Book continues to move ��ϲ�� in a positive direction throughout her presidency.”

At age 100, Dr. Charles Kernodle, a member of the Class of 1938, led the line of alumni. After graduating, he served as a U.S. Army chief surgeon in Frankfurt, Germany, during World War II and then returned to Burlington, North Carolina, and established the Kernodle Clinic with his brother and cousin. For 35 years, he provided family health care. He also served as the football team physician for Williams High School in Burlington for nearly seven decades.

Kernodle, who began offering free physicals to ��ϲ�� football players in 1949, was proud to be chosen to lead his fellow alums. “It’s an honor to be here at ��ϲ��,” he said. “I have always had a long association with ��ϲ��, especially athletics.”

Kernodle was the first person that Richard McGeorge ’71 warmly greeted when he arrived at ��ϲ�� Thursday afternoon. McGeorge, a former ��ϲ�� football and basketball player, was the 16th overall pick of the 1970 NFL draft and had a nine-year career with the Green Bay Packers. He’s come back to ��ϲ�� several times since he graduated but supporting President Book at her inauguration was a definite highlight. “I’m excited and very proud for my family, for my friends and for ��ϲ��,” McGeorge said.

Tracey Walser Nugent '84 P'15, front center, said she 'takes such pride in ��ϲ�� and its traditions.'

For many of the alumni, the opportunity to participate in the historic event was a “great honor,” said Ira “Ike” Credle ’83. “It makes me feel like my alma mater appreciates the genuine love I’ve demonstrated in promoting ��ϲ�� as a premier institution for developing leaders in our global society over these last 35 years. I am proud to be an alumnus and honored to participate in this historic inauguration of a great leader like Dr. Book.”

When Nolan Elingburg ’11 G’12 was a student at ��ϲ��, he was able to experience a class with Book, who was associate provost of academic affairs at the time. “Dr. Book taught me at ��ϲ�� and I could not be happier to see her become the first female president in school history,” he said. “Today is a great day for our ��ϲ�� community and university, and I know there will be many more to come during Dr. Book’s tenure.”

Brian Feeley, director of alumni engagement, thanked the 69 alumni at a luncheon prior to the inauguration. “In all of the diverse ways we seek to better ourselves in concert with others, we are ��ϲ��,” Feeley said, quoting Chaplin Emeritus Richard McBride who retired in 2009. “Each of us honoring each other’s contributions to create and recreate the ��ϲ�� that will live long.”

Philip Rodriguez '17 and Arielle Watkins '18 were the youngest alumni and at the end of the 'Long Maroon Line.'

For Feeley, that’s what the Long Maroon Line represents. “The collective spirit of we and what we will accomplish together,” he said.

Members of the “Long Maroon Line of Alumni”

Charlie Kernodle ’38 P’72
Mildred Johnson Erlacher ’49
Jim Drummond ’50
George Shackelford ’51
Phil Mann ’54
Mary Sue Colclough Mann ’55
George Nall ’56
Dick Simpson ’57
Don DeSarro ’58
Jim McCauley ’59
Don Blalock ’60 P’92
Glenda Isley Blalock ’61 P’92
Della Marie Vickers McKinnon ’62
Linda Clark Kelley ’63
Gail Hettel LaRose ’64
Bill Maness ’65
Nancy Turner Watson ’66
Sam Troy ’67
Bobbie Ippolito Morrison ’68
Sam W. Story, Jr. ’69
Wade Williamson ’70
Rich McGeorge ’71 P’00
David Moore ’72
Kathy Streeter Morgan ’73
Mark Smith ’74 P’07
Raymond Beck ’75
Daryl Ingold ’76
Dana Miller Hester ’77
Doug Cox ’78
Grayson Whitt ’79 P’08 P’09
King White ’80
Leon Proffitt ’81
Hunt Ward ’82 P’11
Ike Credle ’83
Tracey Walser Nugent ’84 P’15
Sue Hoggard Rich ’85
Darryl Smith ’86 P’21
Rick Barnes ’87
Patricia McDowell Brewer ’88 P’16
David Hibbard ’89
Karen Cain-Henderson ’90
Kathryn Frith Richardson ’91
Sallie Hutton Sistare ’92
John Denning ’93
Thad Gulliford ’94
Priscilla Awkard ’95
Trey Foy ’96
Rich Nowalk ’97
Lee Leckie ’98
Jenn Bonnell Nowalk ’99
Kristen Nastasia ’00
Charlie Cooper ’01
Joe Keener ’02
Christian Wiggins ’03
Renita Leak Webb ’04
Zack Pund ’05
Britten Ginsburg Pund ’06
Jeremy Allen ’07
Webb Bond ’08
Dorian Wanzer ’09
Brandon Helton ’10
Nolan Elingburg ’11 G’12
Hannah Wachtmeister ’12
Leslie Johnson ’13
Meredith Citty ’14
Allison Fox ’15
Sophie Ritter ’16
Philip Rodriguez ’17
Arielle Watkins ’18

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