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Spring Convocation Celebrates Innovation, Leadership, Excellence, Community

Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø celebrated Spring Convocation on April 17, 2025, highlighting academic, athletic and artistic achievements, as well as leadership, character and community service.

Professors Gill-Sadler and Castañeda Selected for National Humanities Center Residencies

Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø professors Gill-Sadler and Castañeda were recently selected for summer residencies at the National Humanities Center—a four-week program to give humanities scholars an opportunity to make progress on a current research project or jumpstart a new one. Learn more.

Beyond the Ides of March: Insight from Shakespeare

Beware the Ides of March? Charles A. Dana Professor of English Emerita Cynthia Lewis explores how prophets in Shakespeare's works, like the Soothsayer warning Caesar, often go unheeded. Examining patterns across Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra, and Cymbeline, Lewis reflects on humanity's reluctance to heed warnings when they contradict our desires—a pattern as relevant today as in ancient Rome.

Haley Fullerton ’20 on Confident Communication and Maintaining her Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø Village

The connections and skills Haley Fullerton ’20 built at Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø have carried her through many chapters of post-grad life, including teaching English in Madrid and her career in New York City. She finds the Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø community everywhere she goes. 

Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø Prof Ann Fox Awarded Fulbright Specialist Grant to Turkey

Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø Professor Ann M. Fox will share expertise in disability studies and American studies with colleagues and students at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey, as a Fulbright Specialist. Learn more.

New Need-Based Scholarship Honors Beloved Professor and Lifelong Friend

Learn more about how a new need-based scholarship will benefit students, and how the relationships students at Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø develop last a lifetime.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø English professor Brenda Flanagan is working on a memoir about her year working for civil rights activist and singer Nina Simone. Learn more.

With Book Bans on the Rise, Prof Examines Importance of Banned Books Week

Book bans as a form of censorship have a long and storied history. A Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø prof examines the motives behind book bans and their unintended effects. Read more.

Partnering for a Safer Future: Public Health Pro to Deliver SPEAS Lecture

The nation relies on a vast network of public health professionals to anticipate and respond to community needs daily, and especially in times of crises. Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø alum Sami Jarrah has served as a leader for some of the largest public health departments in the country. He’ll deliver the SPEAS lecture. 

Fancy Feasts: Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø Gourmet Society Offered Sophisticated Spin on Campus Cuisine

The students, faculty and staff who made up the Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø Gourmet Society added elegance, international flair and fun to campus dining. Read more.

Plate Full of Promise: Community Kitchen Contributes to Revitalized City, Launches Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Bailey Foster ’94 launched Real Good Kitchen, a shared commercial kitchen, and created a community that’s elevated food options and opportunities in her Knoxville hometown. Learn more.

Congratulations to the 2024 Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø Retirees

Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø will honor retirees this week during a special end-of-year celebration. Here, we congratulate the faculty and staff who have contributed immeasurably to the college community.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø Professor Awarded North Carolina Humanities Grant

Alan Michael Parker, Douglas C. Houchens Professor of English, has received a fellowship from the North Carolina Humanities. This $8,000 grant will support his book project, One Million Likes: Understanding Cartooning in a Digital Age.

The Power of Two: Documentary, Chat With Indigo Girls Inspires Across Generations

Before their Friday concert, the Indigo Girls visit Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø for special screening of the documentary It’s Only Life After All and a post-film Q&A with faculty, staff and students. Learn more.

Lewis's essay, "A Shakespearean Romance," celebrates the 50th anniversary of The Riverside Shakespeare, the complete works she used when she started her teaching career at Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø in 1980.

Unlocking the Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø Experience: A Guide for Newly Admitted Wildcats

A senior approaching graduation, Ruby Zhou '24 reflects on her time at Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø in this letter to her past high school self on making the college decision and anticipating all to come as a member of the Wildcat community. 

Photo Essay: English Scholars Go to AWP Conference

In February, Abbott Scholars in Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø’s English Department had the opportunity to attend the AWP (Association of Writers & Writer Programs) Conference in Kansas City. Check out their photos and reflections. 

Need a Good Read? Author and McGee Professor Rone Shavers Defies Convention

Author and Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø McGee Professor of Creative Writing Rone Shavers talks Afrofuturism, mind-blowing fiction and what it takes to push against convention. Read more.

Rick Thurmond ’94: Transforming Charlotte’s Music Scene

Rick Thurmond ’94 wants his home city of Charlotte to be recognized for its vibrant music scene. Through Music Everywhere CLT, he’s working to strengthen the local music economy. 

English Professor Earns National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship

Â鶹ÊÓƵ¹ÙÍø professor receives National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship to translate works by Korean poet Kim Hyesoon. Read more.