UNC Asheville Magazine Summer 2017

UNC

asheville Volume 9, No. 2 SUMMER 2017

MAGAZINE

Perspectives on the Sun UNC Asheville offers a rare look at this once-in-a-lifetime event: The Great American Eclipse.

INSIDE

Visualizing the Past & Present Creating an App for That

contents 10

A Page from the Archives Celebrating our anniversary with a look back (Photo by Emmanuel Figaro ‘18)

FEATURES

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Perspectives on the Sun The Great American Eclipse crosses campus on the first day of classes

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Creating an App for That Students and alumni get creative in the virtual world

DEPARTMENTS 2 4 16 18

BIG PICTURE A R O U N D T H E Q UA D BUILDING UP HONOR ROLL

26 32 34 40

I N G O O D C O M PA N Y G O, B U L L D O G S !

C L A S S N OT E S FUTURE WORK

ON THE COVER: The UNC Asheville community will have

the opportunity to safely watch the solar eclipse on campus on Aug. 21 through special sunglasses. (Photo by David Allen ’13)

UNC ASHEVILLE LEADERSHIP TEAM CHANCELLOR

Mary K. Grant

AT U NC ASHEV ILLE , we’re

PROVOST AND VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS

celebrating 90 years of history while

Joseph R. Urgo

focusing on the creative collisions

CHIEF OF STAFF

Shannon Earle

that move us into the future. Art and

VICE CHANCELLOR FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS

engineering come together in our

William K. Haggard

newly opened STEAM Studio, where

VICE CHANCELLOR FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE

college students and faculty partner

John Pierce

with middle school students to build

VICE CHANCELLOR FOR UNIVERSIT Y ADVANCEMENT

Carla S. Willis

boats and prepare young people for

SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR FOR UNIVERSIT Y ENTERPRISES AND ATHLETICS DIRECTOR

successful lives. Our Student Affairs

Janet Cone GENERAL COUNSEL

Clifton Williams SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE CHANCELLOR FOR OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT

Darin Waters EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNIT Y ENGAGEMENT AND NORTH CAROLINA CENTER FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS

and Campus Operations staff teamed up to envision the future of housing and residential life on campus, with apartment-style residence halls and renovations to Highsmith Student Union—construction started this spring and will bring the student experience front and center in this building.

Even our past takes a leap into the future, as history and technology

Stacey Millett

come together in the projects of our computer science and history

UNC ASHEVILLE MAGAZINE STAFF

students, as well as in the work done by our alumni who graduated in

EDITOR

Amy Jessee ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Hannah Epperson ’11

fields of study ranging from philosophy to atmospheric sciences. And in our own backyard, we meet a few of our facilities crew members, who work to make our future campus a little brighter and a little greener.

DESIGNERS

Mary Ann Lawrence, Hanna Trussler ’13 PROJECT MANAGER

They all exemplify the university’s core values of innovation, diversity

Susan Lippold

and inclusion, and sustainability—values that continue to guide us as

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

we move forward as a university community. We are excited to share

Aaron Dahlstrom ’09, Matthew Dershowitz ’20, Hannah Epperson ’11, Casey Hulme ’05, Jack Igelman, Alex Peoples ’17, Steve Plever CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

David Allen ’13, Aaron Dahlstrom ’09, Adrian Etheridge ‘15, Emmanuel Figaro ‘18, Peter Lorenz, Colby Rabon

UNC Asheville Magazine is published twice a year by UNC Asheville Communication and Marketing to give alumni and friends an accurate, lively view of the university—its people, programs and initiatives.

Contact us at magazine@unca.edu.

UNC ASHEVILLE ALUMNI OFFICE ASSOCIATE VICE CHANCELLOR FOR EXTERNAL & UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

their stories with you in this edition of UNC Asheville Magazine.

You are all a part of our history and future at UNC Asheville, and as we start our celebration of 90 years in fall 2017, we take a look back at a few memories from our archives. Thanks to our student photographer Emmanuel Figaro for his creative approach, merging the past and the present. We appreciate hearing from you too, whether you share a memory from your time on campus or help us envision the future.

Laura Herndon

Address Changes Office of University Advancement & Alumni Giving CPO #3800 • UNC Asheville One University Heights • Asheville, NC 28804 alumni@unca.edu UNC Asheville enrolls more than 3,800 full- and part-time students in more than 30 programs leading to the bachelor’s degree as well as the Master of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The University of North Carolina at Asheville is committed to equality of educational experiences for students and is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. UNC Asheville will not discriminate against students, applicants or employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation or any other legally protected status.

To make a report to the university, contact the Title IX Office at 828-258-7872 or visit titleix.unca.edu or Highsmith Union 103.

Coming up on August 21—on the first day of classes—is the Great American Solar Eclipse, passing through campus or a location near you.

We’ll look upward as we look forward, sharing a few perspectives from our faculty about what we might learn from this celestial event.

I hope to see you at one of the many events celebrating our 90th Anniversary.

Go Bulldogs!

—Chancellor Mary K. Grant

© UNC Asheville, June 2017 31,000 copies of this magazine were printed on paper with recycled content at a cost of $14,903.71 or 48 cents each.

SUMMER 2017

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B I G PI C TU RE

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CRAFTING PASSAGES UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio at The RAMP opened its doors for classes and community engagement this spring, with one of the first projects taking the shape of hand-hewn canoes. “Crafting Passages” is a venture by Journeymen Asheville and Asheville City School’s Foundation’s In Real Life program that connects boys ages 12-14 from Asheville Middle School with Journeymen mentors, bringing them into STEAM Studio and combining groupmentoring with building skills development. Together, over the course of 16 weeks, they explored their hopes, dreams, fears, and aspirations while building boats. Associate Professor of Art and Art History, STEAM Studio co-founder, and Journeymen Asheville Board Member Brent Skidmore hopes the project leads students to be better able to envision themselves in college one day and start to build a path for themselves that leads to higher education.

PHOTOS BY DAVID ALLEN ’13

Of course, that path might be by boat.

Hear more about STEAM Studio (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and other innovative projects at UNC Asheville in the summer podcast at unca.edu/podcasts.

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PHOTO BY DAVID ALLEN ’13

PUBLIC ARTS & HUMANITIES Mellon Foundation Grant Advances UNC Asheville’s Local Leadership

UNC Asheville has been awarded a $700,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support an arts and educational alliance focused on public humanities and community engagement.

The four-year project titled, “UNC Asheville: Leading the Public Arts and Humanities in the City of Asheville,” has four primary goals: •

To enrich the partnership with the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC)

•

To further initiatives in Affrilachia, uncovering what has been the largely undocumented influence of African Americans on the culture and social fabric of Western North Carolina

•

To stimulate new partnerships with local community colleges and educational institutions in order to broaden awareness of and participation in the Humanities Program through the creation of new Humanities Readers and the establishment of an Affiliates and Fellows Program in Humanities

•

To create models for the public liberal arts and humanities through programming at the Center for Creative Entrepreneurship and UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio, and to foster and create partnerships with The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design

“Under the leadership of Chancellor Mary K. Grant, UNC Asheville has strengthened its ties with academic and cultural institutions in the surrounding community. This grant will help UNC Asheville further cultivate relationships with historic colleges and arts organizations in Western North Carolina, developing an alliance that promises to contribute significantly to the region in cultural, academic, and economic terms,” said Cristle Collins Judd, senior program officer at the Mellon Foundation.

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COMMENCEMENT CELEBRATIONS UNC Asheville’s Honorary Degrees Recognize Leaders in Their Fields “At some point ‘life’ will happen,” said Barrett. “Maybe yours won’t involve as many twists and turns as mine, but life won’t always be easy. …You will know and come to honor your own personal brand of grit.”

— Ko Barrett ’94, Commencement speaker

Barrett, who received an honorary Doctor of Science degree, serves as the deputy assistant administrator for research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), supervising the daily operations and administration of NOAA’s research enterprise.

She also has represented the United States on delegations charged with negotiating and adopting scientific assessments undertaken by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In 2007, Barrett and her fellow IPCC scientists were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their work to disseminate knowledge about climate change.

Huff, a Kentucky native, has practiced pediatrics in North Carolina all of his professional career, first in Charlotte, and since 1982, in Asheville, where in 1987 he established the child development program, subsequently named in his honor, at Thoms Hospital. Among many other achievements, Huff became the founding Medical Director of the Ruth and Billy Graham Children’s Health Center at Mission Hospital and under his leadership, Mission Children’s Hospital, the only children’s hospital in Western North Carolina, was formed. Huff received an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

Ko Barrett PHOTO BY DAVID HUFF CREATIVE

PHOTO BY COLBY RABON

Almost 500 graduates received their degrees at the May 2017 Commencement, along with four honorary degree recipients who are leaders in their fields: alumna Ko Barrett, artist Stoney Lamar, pediatrician Olson Huff, and Cherokee elder Ellen Bird.

Olson Huff, M.D.

Stoney Lamar

Lamar is a prolific woodturner who produces his work in Saluda, North Carolina, and has contributed exceptional skill and vision to the world of woodturning for more than 25 years. His work is included in public collections in the American Craft Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, and the Renwick Gallery of the Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Lamar received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

Bird is an elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and was recently given the title of Beloved Woman, a designation bestowed upon Cherokee women who are highly respected for their service to the community, their integrity, and their good character. A fluent Cherokee speaker, she has shared her knowledge of Cherokee traditions, including medicines, quilting, and food, not only with her 10 children, but also with the community. Bird received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Ellen Bird SUMMER 2017

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PHOTO BY HANNAH EPPERSON ’11

THE WRITE PLACE AND TIME Award-winning Authors Find a Home on Campus With a series of renowned visiting authors and the first recipient of the Ramsey Library Community Author Award taking her place on campus, UNC Asheville was “literally” the place to be this spring.

UNC Asheville hosted authors of a wide range of works, from poet Camille Dungy to Nigerian novelist Chinelo Okparanta to environmental activist Carolyn Finney.

Campus was also the home to the creation of original work, with short-story writer Kim Mako taking her place as the first Ramsey Library Community Author.

“The Ramsey Library Community Author Award was designed for someone exactly like Kim Mako: an incredibly talented writer whose voice and style are strong and clear,” said UNC Asheville’s 2016-17 Writer-In-Residence Wiley Cash. “Writers like Ms. Mako don’t need to develop their work; what they need is the time and space to hone their craft and focus their creativity. Time and space are exactly what Ms. Mako is going to have as the winner of this award, and I have no doubt that we at UNC Asheville will one day be bragging that she was our inaugural recipient.”

Kim Mako, Ramsey Library Community Author Award winner

“When I first heard about the award I knew I wanted to apply right away,” Mako said. “To connect with the UNCA campus and have my own working space at Ramsey Library is an incredible opportunity. I look forward to using these resources to complete my book and I’m so grateful for this wonderful gift of space and time.”

35TH ANNIVERSARY Center for Jewish Studies Celebrates 35 Years PHOTO BY EMMANUEL FIGARO ’18

UNC Asheville’s Center for Jewish Studies celebrated its 35th anniversary in March, and recognized Rick Chess, professor of English, for his 25 years of leadership as the center’s director.

“The Jewish experience has been part of the human experience for a long time,” Chess said.

“There’s a lot that one could learn that would be valuable to a person trying to become a fully developed mature adult and citizen of the world by studying Jewish history, culture, thought, and practice.”

The celebration consisted of a series of events and performances from March 23-26, including Rick Chess gives the 2017 Phyllis Freed Sollod Memorial Lecture The Passion, the Beauty, the Heartbreak: Israel through Poetry and Music, by Israeli writer and recording artist Danny Maseng, a screening of a short film documenting the history of the Center for Jewish Studies, and the 2017 Phyllis Freed Sollod Memorial Lecture, presented by Chess.

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PHOTOS BY MARIA ANGELL, JESSICA PARK, AND LAURA BOND

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PI MILES First 5K with a Finish Line for Math Literacy Math is no reason to run away—unless you’re running in the Asheville Initiative for Math’s Pi Run, which honored that special number with a 3.14 mile run or walk, beginning at 3:14 p.m. on the Sunday before Pi Day, 3/14.

“The Pi Day Run is a chance to show your support for math literacy,” said Professor Sam Kaplan, who also directs the Asheville Initiative for Mathematics at UNC Asheville. “Math literacy describes the ability to solve problems, understanding statistical concepts like risk, critical-thinking skills, and the ability to communicate effectively with numbers.”

PHOTO BY AARON DAHLSTROM ’09

Math literacy is vital to making better decisions about personal health and finances, as well, Kaplan explained, and in the case of an almost-5K run, it offered a family-friendly afternoon that ended in pie at the finish line.

ARTS FOR SOCIAL CHANGE Third Annual Arts Fest Featured Music, Films, and Exhibits UNC Asheville’s third annual Arts Fest included everything from student-performed “space music” accompanying a special star-gazing on the Quad, to origami paper crane folding workshops and literary readings by middle school poets.

The three-day festival on April 6-8, themed “Arts for Social Change,” featured performances, exhibitions, and talks by artist and lecturer David Hess; award-winning songwriter, speaker, and writer David LaMotte; and visual artist, photographer, and author Clarissa Sligh.

Arts Fest culminated with a festival Saturday, April 8, followed by film screenings of student work and a documentary on student entrepreneurs. Musicians and dancers took the stage on the (Top) UNC Asheville Arts Fest Reynolds Green, while art vendors (Middle) Artist and author Clarissa Sligh displayed and sold their crafts.

(Bottom) Student singers performing Hess’s interactive exhibit, “Gun Show: An Art Exhibit,” was on display, as were several science-related activities, including a giant interactive camera obscura and a presentation on “the art of physics.”

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FACING PROJECT Students Examine Affordable Housing in Asheville, Past and Present

“When we have a 1 percent vacancy rate and three people moving here every day, there’s going to be a problem,” Slaughter said. It’s a problem that disproportionately affects African-Americans in the community, and has historically led to the destruction of African-American neighborhoods, Slaughter explained. Urban renewal projects in Asheville in the 1950s-1970s displaced several vibrant black communities, like the one at the city’s East End. UNC Asheville and other North Carolina schools participating in the Facing Project are all members of North Carolina Campus Compact, a coalition of 36 public and private colleges and universities dedicated to improving community life and educating students for civic responsibility. Slaughter recruited student volunteers for the project to interview local residents with direct experience with the affordable housing issue in Asheville. She then coordinated volunteer training and consultation throughout the project, and coordinated a community theater event to share the collected stories.

One of the student volunteers was first-year student Leah Fagan, who interviewed photojournalist Andrea Clark.

Asheville’s East End became the focus of the interview, as Clark is the photographer and author of Twilight of a Neighborhood: Asheville’s East End, in which Clark chronicled the daily life of the Asheville neighborhood before and after the impact of urban renewal there.

Through their interview Fagan learned about Clark’s grandfather, who was a contractor in Asheville. “He built a lot of what could be considered landmarks in Asheville: a police station, a church, and he participated a lot in the community,” Fagan said. “He didn’t really get any recognition for that.” Fagan and the other volunteers

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PHOTO BY PETER LORENZ

Over the past two semesters UNC Asheville has been one of five colleges and universities in North Carolina to carry out a “Facing Project,” examining a community issue through the collection and sharing of individual stories. For May 2017 graduate JaNesha Slaughter, who coordinated UNC Asheville’s “Facing Project,” this was the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at one of Asheville’s most pressing issues: affordable housing.

JaNesha Slaughter ’17

transformed their interviews into a first-person narrative.

Those narratives were in turn performed as monologues in a special performance and discussion event held at the YMI Cultural Center.

“It was very illuminating as to Asheville and some of its shadows,” Fagan said. “It’s an experience I never would have had in Asheville given the color of my skin, which is really valuable, and I hope it’s a message that strikes other people of privilege or other people of circumstances that wouldn’t give them so much plight.”

“Students can use their academic knowledge, and their position of power, to enact change,” Slaughter said.

Fagan’s experience, and the experience of all the student volunteers, was exactly what Slaughter hoped her peers would take away from the Facing Project.

“It’s quintessential service learning, taking the terms that you are learning in class and giving you real-life examples,” Slaughter said. “Students can use their academic knowledge, and their position of power, to enact change.”

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PHOTO BY DAVID ALLEN ’13

HEALTHY COLLABORATION Mission Health and UNC Asheville Enter Into Ambitious New Partnership Ronald A. Paulus, M.D., Mission Health President and CEO and UNC Asheville Chancellor Mary K. Grant, Ph.D., announced in February that the Asheville institutions they lead are entering into a new and ambitious partnership focused on health, wellness, education, and engagement. Their united efforts will result in the creation of a diverse and wide-ranging package of initiatives, including: •

Healthy Campus 2020 Initiative

•

Internships and Employment Opportunities

•

Sports Medicine Services

•

Establishment of Mission Health Scholarships

“We are certain that our alliance with UNC Asheville will result in expanded opportunities for their student body and student athletes, as well as our own team members,” said Dr. Paulus. “Our partnership will lead to a healthier community, prepare the workforce of tomorrow, and raise awareness about UNCA’s mission and our own. This is another important way we are helping our community be well, get well, and stay well.”

THE STATE OF BLACK ASHEVILLE PHOTO BY PETER LORENZ

Annual Research Project Prompts $500,000 for Buncombe’s Isaac Coleman Fund Ten years after research into The State of Black Asheville began, the ongoing UNC Asheville student research project has come from the classroom into the community, prompting significant new funding by Buncombe County for community programs addressing the needs of underserved, poor communities.

Annually since 2007, UNC Asheville Professor of Political Science Dwight Mullen has led his students in collecting and presenting an array of data on health, housing, income, education, employment, and incarceration rates—cataloging the severe racial disparities in Asheville. “In pretty much every area the students have looked at, the disparities by race have widened,” said Mullen.

The data moved from the academic sphere into the public sphere this year, when members of the county commission used the research to inform their ultimately unanimous vote in favor of $500,000 in funding for the new Isaac Coleman Community Investment Program to support and expand community efforts to improve health, education, and employment.

“Recognizing that people, especially African Americans, have been left behind, many community organizations and individuals have been trying to do something about it on their own,” said Mullen. “So getting funding to people already engaged in that work is really encouraging.”

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THEN

R AMSEY LIBR ARY Ramsey Library has been central to the life of UNC Asheville since it was built in 1965. Students today visit Ramsey not only to find books or a quiet place to study, but also to use online databases, to learn advanced media editing and use creative technologies in the Media Design Lab and CrAFT Studio, or to grab a quick coffee and a bite to eat.

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AND

NOW A time-traveling tour of UNC Asheville’s 90 years.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY EMMANUEL FIGARO ’18 WRITTEN BY HANNAH EPPERSON ’11

W

e’ve come a long way from that first class of just 86

students meeting in the basement of the Biltmore High School, when students could get to class by riding a streetcar and tuition could be paid with eggs and milk.

The university has changed and grown in many ways throughout the years, with plenty of change and growth to look forward to in the future.

Take a moment to explore UNC Asheville’s history through the creative vision of student photographer Emmanuel Figaro ’18, who searched the archives to investigate the changing face of UNC Asheville throughout the past 90 years.

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ACADEMICS Carmichael Hall and Owen Hall will see their first renovations in 2018, thanks to funding from the Connect NC Bond.

These buildings have been an academic home to students since being built in 1966 and 1979 respectively.

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ATHLETICS Of course, no matter what the year is, we always cheer for our Bulldogs. UNC Asheville’s women’s basketball team wasn’t created until 1972.

With 17 players—none of whom had played basketball before—the team took on Warren Wilson and won. Today, the women’s basketball team has claimed three Big South Tournament titles and played in the NCAA tournament.

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We love our archives!

Through an ornate marble doorway on the second floor of Ramsey Library lies UNC Asheville’s Special Collections and University Archives—manuscripts, books, oral histories, photographs, and other materials chronicling the history and culture of our region.

As Old as These Hills Special Collections is a great place to find out more about the mountains and community we live in. In Special Collections, visitors can flip through the pages of a UNC Asheville yearbook from 1939, view photos of the daily life of Asheville’s African-American community in the 1950s, or listen to recordings of the oral histories of six notable personalities from NASCAR as collected by Professor of History Dan Pierce (yes, NASCAR has roots in WNC).

Special Collections Speed Date

TECHNOLOGY Technology has changed in leaps and bounds in the last 90 years. From 3-D

So many primary sources, so little time! Some UNC Asheville history classes use a “speed dating” approach in order to find the perfect match for their projects. Gene Hyde, head of Special Collections, creates introductory collections on different topics, allowing groups of students to quickly get a feel for the subject they might choose to research. Sometimes it can take a while to find the right fit—but never rule out the opportunity for love at first sight!

printers to virtual reality, have a wealth of technology at their fingertips, just waiting for their creativity and innovation.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNC ASHEVILLE SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

What’s New in the Archives?

There’s always something new and interesting in the university archives, whether it’s the collection of new stories, a “brown bag talk” with a faculty expert, or the discovery of a piece of local history once forgotten. For interesting insights, be sure to check out the Special Collections & University Archives blog, at unc-asheville-archives.blogspot.com.

SUMMER 2017

ILLUSTRATION DESIGNED BY FREEPIK

UNC Asheville students now

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BUILDING UP

CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION

By Amy Jessee

PHOTO BY PETER LORENZ

The Next Year Will Bring New Buildings and Renovation

UNC Asheville Chancellor Mary K. Grant, flanked by elected officials, university trustees, students, and staff, broke ground April 28 on new campus housing. The new residence halls will house 294 students in the fall of 2018.

UNC Asheville is building on its strong liberal arts foundation by renovating academic buildings, expanding spaces for the student experience and community engagement, and constructing apartment-style housing. Together these projects impact the heart of campus, creating state-of-the-art facilities to better serve students, welcome visitors, provide a home away from home, and enhance the learning environment.

Renovations on Highsmith Union have already begun, which will bring the student experience to the front and center of the building, providing meeting spaces and open areas for student organizations, as well as an area to showcase a student art gallery and share the work of the Intercultural Center. Two fireplaces and a coffee shop will contribute to the warm and inviting atmosphere, and a 5,000 square-foot multipurpose room will increase the university’s ability to host campus and community events, from large lectures to banquets and conferences.

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The new residences will consist of multiple buildings, three- to four-stories each, with a variety of living options from four- to six-beds in an apartment-style suite. Complete with full

“For me, this new residence hall means community and home. ...

There’s a feeling of family here,” said Tim Hussey, 2017-18 president of the Student Government Association. kitchens and laundry rooms on site, the residences will encourage collaboration and community and be staffed by a

BUILDING UP

community director. Students will be steps away from their classes in nearby academic buildings.

“For me, this new residence hall means community and home,” said Tim Hussey, 2017-18 president of the Student Government Association (SGA). “Living on campus has granted me the opportunity to know what’s going on and how I can get involved. … There’s a feeling of family here... In these halls are where some of my closest relationships are formed and I hope that proves to be true for the future students who will live in this new residence hall. Residence life provides a sense of family away from your family, and being able to rely on the support of others around is and always will be a crucial part of residence hall life.”

Highsmith Student Union North View; Image provided by Little Diversified / Workshop

The estimated costs of the projects are $12.4 million for the renovations to Highsmith Union and $33.8 million for construction of the six-building residence project. Both the student residences and Highsmith Union renovation are self-liquidating projects. The Highsmith renovations are funded through the student debt service fee approved by the on-campus Fee Committee, and the student residences are funded through room charges that have been market tested.

Both projects have been approved by the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees, the UNC System Board of Governors, and the Rendering from Founders Drive; Image provided by Hanbury North Carolina General Assembly. State appropriations cannot be used to renovate combine an apartment-style floor plan that many students look or construct student unions or residence halls. for off campus with the convenience of living on campus, and the Highsmith renovation will revitalize the space that student Student input has been essential to both projects, from the organizations use to collaborate with each other and engage fee discussions through the feasibility study, market study, with the campus community.” student surveys, and workshops and community meetings.

“I've heard from many students who are looking forward to the improvements that these projects will bring to campus,” said UNC Asheville 2016-17 Student Government President and Student Trustee Charlie White. “The new residence halls will

For more information on current construction projects, visit facilities.unca.edu/construction.

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H O N O R RO LL

AWARD-WINNING FACULTY UNC Asheville Honors its Dedicated Professors For Patrick Foo, associate professor of psychology and UNC Asheville’s 2017 Distinguished Teacher of the Year, teaching is about “improving people’s lives.” And from the letters nominating him for the award, he has certainly improved the lives of his students and colleagues.

Department of Psychology Chair and Associate Professor Pam Laughon spoke to his “absolutely stunning classroom lectures and laboratory exercises, which range from neural analysis of cockroaches to dissection of sheep brains. He enjoys nothing more than taking our students on a journey through the nervous system across species, and students respond with high praise for his teaching and more importantly, a real sense of accomplishment as learners.”

Foo’s deep appreciation for the field of neuroscience and the drive to help students learn comes from an extremely personal place: his own body.

In the sixth grade, Foo woke up one morning completely paralyzed. After suffering from a severe case of the flu, he contracted Guillian-Barre syndrome, a rare disorder in which the immune system attacks the nervous system. He spent two years in a wheelchair. With the help of his mother he was able to continue going to school but could no longer participate in many activities he loved and excelled at, like playing football and running track.

While he made a full recovery, this intense experience ignited a desire in Foo to better understand the human body.

“I became obsessed with trying to figure out what caused nervous system diseases. It’s this passion for learning that I want to pass on to our students. … We have studied concussions in soccer players, balance coordination in seniors, meditation techniques, robotic navigation, and virtual reality here at UNCA. These are not just studies for academic sake, but projects that can potentially improve people’s lives,” he explains.

As the co-founder and former director of UNC Asheville’s neuroscience program, Foo has been instrumental in expanding the curriculum into a minor that attracts increasing numbers of students each year from a range of disciplines, including biology, chemistry, psychology, and health and wellness.

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By Hannah Epperson ’11 and Casey Hulme ’05

“I try to remind my students of the joy of discovering new ideas and gaining knowledge. My ultimate goal is to empower students so they can fly solo after they graduate from UNCA,” Foo says.

One UNC Asheville alumna, who is now in medical school, attests to Foo’s unwavering commitment to his students’ success. “The truly special thing about Dr. Foo as a professor is not the fact that he is simply a brilliant teacher, not that he creates an engaging and challenging environment to learn, not that he has a wealth of knowledge to share, or that he is a heck of a research advisor, it is simply that he is wholeheartedly invested in the success of his students.”

“I try to remind my students of the joy of discovering new ideas and gaining knowledge. My ultimate goal is to empower students so they can fly solo after they graduate from UNCA,” Patrick Foo says.

For Heidi Kelley, teaching isn’t just imparting information to students. Instead, she helps students “discover their knowledge for themselves.”

“I challenge my students to dig deep into both their own experience and our class texts to unlock the meanings of human experience—theirs and those of others,” Kelley says.

“Thus my teaching tactic is to gently steer my students to realize their own understanding of the material.

“I feel that the more hard-won the insights are, the more my students treasure this understanding.”

Kelley’s teaching philosophy has earned her the prestigious 2017 Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award for UNC Asheville. Each year, the UNC Board of Governors selects a faculty member from each UNC campus to receive the award; Kelley was nominated for the teaching excellence award by a committee of her colleagues.

H O N O R RO LL

PHOTO BY CASEY HULME ’05

Kelley says her teaching pedagogy was impacted by her experiences following a massive stroke in 1998, which left her speechless and unable to walk or stand.

“After a year of intensive physical, speech, and occupational therapy, I returned to the classroom culturally fortified with new insights into the making and unmaking of culture and the capacity of individuals and communities to deal with adversity and social disruption,” Kelley says. “Now my pedagogy is focused on teaching my students to understand not only different cultures but also different ways of being in the world.”

PHOTO BY DAVID ALLEN ’13

Patrick Foo, associate professor of psychology and UNC Asheville’s 2017 Distinguished Teacher of the Year

Heidi Kelley, professor of sociology and anthropology and 2017 UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence recipient

Understanding those cultures and ways of being in the world can require going beyond work in the classroom. As a faculty fellow of UNC Asheville’s Key Center for Community Engaged Learning, Kelley offers regular partnerships between her students and the broader Asheville community, helping them to apply the lessons they’ve discovered in Kelley’s class to the world around them. In 2013, she was a key participant in a community collaboration that brought together undergraduates with a local neighborhood in a series of forums and reading circles designed to prepare for nationally renowned scholar Cornel West’s visit to campus.

“To strive to see the world from another person’s point of view is imperative.

This principle of cultural relativism does not mean that students give up their values in my classroom but rather learn to see how their values are constructed and culturally situated,” Kelley says. “I want my students to learn the significance of where they come from while at the same time, recognizing and appreciating the significance of those different from themselves.”

FACULTY AWARDS Associate Professor and Chair of Classics Lora Holland Teaching Excellence in the Humanities Associate Professor and Chair of Chemistry Herman Holt Jr. Teaching Excellence in the Natural Sciences Assistant Professor of Sociology Lyndi Hewitt Teaching Excellence in the Social Sciences Assistant Professor of Chemistry Amanda Wolfe Teaching Excellence for Untenured Faculty Award Adjunct Lecturer of Humanities Chrystal Cook Teaching Excellence Non-Full-time Faculty Award Associate Professor and Chair of Management Micheal Stratton Distinguished Service Award Associate Professor of Drama Lise Kloeppel - Distinguished Service Award Professor of Physics Michael Ruiz - Scholarly and Creative Achievement Award Assistant Professor of English Amanda Wray - Scholarly and Creative Achievement Award Professor of Political Science Dwight Mullen - Ruth and Leon Feldman Professor for Service Professor and Chair of Drama Rob Bowen - Ruth and Leon Feldman Professor for Scholarly and Creative Work

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PE R S P E C T I V E S ON THE SUN WRITTEN BY JACK IGELMAN PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAVID ALLEN ’13

The first day of classes on campus is usually a straightforward affair.

Classroom icebreakers.

Grading expectations.

New books.

But as UNC Asheville faculty and students follow the start-of-thesemester rituals and gather to begin their classes on August 21, there will be one uncommon occurrence.

THE GREAT AMERICAN ECLIPSE.

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BECAUSE OF A RARE CONFLUENCE of the coordinates of sun, moon, and earth, for two minutes in the afternoon, a nearly 99% complete solar eclipse will cast a shadow across the campus. The Great American Eclipse, as it’s known, will be the first of its kind since 1776. And UNC Asheville is planning to take full advantage.

Professor of Religious Studies RODGER PAYNE fondly recalls watching a total eclipse in the early 1960s when his family drove from Charlotte to Florence, South Carolina. “It was a really awesome experience.

I remember it well and I’m excited about the opportunity to see one again,” says Payne, who is taking part in making the stellar phenomenon a shared experience for the entire campus. He’s hoping the excitement of the rare celestial event isn’t just celebrated by campus astronomers and scientists and that students will seize the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be so close to the total eclipse.

Indeed, Payne and other faculty are making plans to stretch the encounter into a semester of scholarship that will examine the rare event not only through the lens of science, but a range of other perspectives, including meteorology, archaeoastronomy, math, literature, and Payne’s field: religion.

“Some of the more famous and influential astronomers were encouraged by their religion. It helped them conceive their place in the cosmos,” remarks Payne.

“This is really a terrific opportunity to encourage our students to not just think about something from a single perspective; it’s a chance for students to be inspired by the many ways humans have attempted to make sense of what’s going on around us.”

ANATOMY OF A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE *not to scale

SUN

It’s an apt lesson, he believes, to prepare students to engage with a complex, diverse, and changing world, and the eclipse is a once-in-a-lifetime teaching opportunity, particularly fitting—he believes—for a liberal arts university.

For his part, Payne isn’t committed yet to watching the eclipse from campus. The narrow corridor where the moon’s shadow passes across the Earth and the total eclipse can be viewed is just seventy miles wide and Asheville is just beyond its complete shadow, known as the path of totality.

Still, to be so close is a rare event and why so many among the campus community can hardly contain their excitement. BRIAN HART, the Physics Department assistant and the manager of Lookout Observatory, says that the cosmic arrangement of a solar eclipse is uncomplicated. “The moon goes between the sun and the earth at just the right time and at just the right angle. When that happens, the moon’s shadow is cast on the surface of the earth,” explains Hart, who adds that a solar eclipse is a bit like covering a large distant object with the tip of your outstretched thumb.

But here’s the rub: the moment the black sphere of the moon shadow blocks the light of the sun is pure chance.

PARTIAL TOTAL

MOON

EARTH

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Hart explains that the moon is roughly 400 times smaller than the sun and the sun is 400 times more distant than the moon from the earth. “If the moon were any smaller or the sun any closer, this wouldn’t work,” he says.

A total solar eclipse occurs only about once every year and a half on planet earth. With those odds, a total solar eclipse happens in the same geographic location on average just every 375 years.

The last total solar eclipse cast in the continental U.S. was in 1979 in the Pacific Northwest.

The path of totality on August 21 will be the first to exclusively cross the continental U.S. from coast to coast since the writing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

“Since the country was born we haven’t had one that’s just ours, so consequently, a lot of people are calling it the Great American Eclipse,” says Hart. According to the NASA eclipse website, the earth, moon, and sun will align over the Pacific Ocean and track across the U.S. from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina shadowing Asheville at 1:08 p.m. and peaking at 2:37 p.m.

UNC Asheville astrophysicist BRIAN DENNISON has seen two total eclipses in his lifetime—one in Germany in 1999 and the other in 1970 in Currituck in eastern North Carolina when he and six other classmates drove through the night in a Dodge sedan from Louisville, Kentucky.

Physics professor Brian Dennison has seen two other total solar eclipses in his lifetime and looks forward to seeing another

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Dennison remembers it as an experience like no other. “To see the sky darken so quickly and to look at the corona of the sun is something you never forget,” he says. “What makes an eclipse so extraordinary is that when the moon blocks the sun, you can observe the corona—the sun’s outermost layer—a boon for solar scientists and eye candy for the casual observer.”

Not only was the vision etched in his mind, but on film too.

One of his classmates captured several photos of the eclipse, images that he and colleagues still use in student labs to explain the light from the sun. In one image, the rarely seen chromosphere is visible, a red layer of light from the sun whose color is only on view during a solar eclipse.

While solar eclipses aren’t within his field of expertise, Dennison points out that an eclipse is a gateway to a range of other subjects, and not all of them in scientific fields. In fact, among the astronomy courses offered in the fall, at least one won’t entirely be taught by astronomers.

Modern Languages and Literatures Assistant Professor JUAN GUILLERMO SÁNCHEZ MARTINEZ and Assistant Professor of Physics BRITT LUNDGREN will co-teach ASTR 301, Indigenous Perspectives on the Sky. Lundgren and Sánchez Martinez met during new faculty orientation last fall and realized they had a mutual interest in how native and ancient cultures observed the night sky.

Britt Lundgren and Juan Guillermo Sánchez Martinez will co-teach a class on how native and ancient cultures observed the night sky

SEQUENCE OF A TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE DIAMOND RING EFFECT

THE CHROMOSPHERE

THE SOLAR CORONA

The final gleam of brilliant photospheric light immediately before the beginning of totality. Note that the surrounding corona is just beginning to appear.

With the much brighter photosphere almost completely obscured by the moon, this very thin layer becomes visible. This phase of a total eclipse lasts only several seconds.

Just after most of the chromosphere is obscured, the spectacular solar corona appears and dominates most of the total eclipse (which was just over 2 minutes long for this particular eclipse).

Images provided by Brian Dennison and taken by Gary Sego at the total solar eclipse of March 7, 1970 in Currituck, North Carolina.

Sánchez Martinez is a scholar of Latin-American literature and is interested in how indigenous cultures conceive the cosmos and their place in it. Sánchez Martinez concedes that while culture and science may not seem to have much in common, he’s hoping the course helps bridge the gap by exposing students to the different ways native people relate to science, time, space, and language.

“We want to invite students to see the sky in a different way,” he says. “Western science takes a logic-centric perspective, but there are other perspectives.”

“We’re increasingly disconnected from the night sky in a way that our ancestors weren’t,” says Lundgren. After all, she says, connecting with the night sky or watching an eclipse is an experience that can’t be replicated in a classroom.

While their class is geared for upper-class students, Physics Lecturer JUDY BECK is teaching a first-year seminar that’s centered on the sun.

“

Using the sun as a theme is a wonderful INTERDISCIPLINARY TOPIC. We’ll look at the science of the sun, solar energy, the sun in culture and history, and of course, talk about the eclipse,” says Judy Beck.

Lundgren, who is an astronomer and expert on how galaxies evolve, says that people in her field spend more time crunching numbers on a computer than actually looking at stars.

Which is why an important element of the course will include “Using the sun as a observing with the naked eye so students can connect with theme is a wonderful the night sky. interdisciplinary topic.

We’ll look at the science She points out that eclipses give scientists a rare opportunity of the sun, solar energy, to see things close to the sun that would otherwise be unobthe sun in culture and servable from Earth and have led to important discoveries, history, and of course, including confirmation of Einstein’s theory of general relativity. talk about the eclipse,” says Beck. “What a great way to start For their class, Lundgren and Sánchez Martinez are hoping your college career by seeing a solar eclipse with your new their students will become more thoughtful about the universe classmates.” and develop a better understanding of their place in the world.

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“

And like many of her colleagues, Beck believes that a multifaceted approach to a single topic is the best preparation for lifelong learning and preparing students for thoughtful careers.

“What we need to do is prepare people to process information, be critical thinkers, and to adapt to what’s happening in the world There is something about around us,” Beck says.

LOOKING UP AT THE SKY that fascinates, whether you’re an astronomer or not or whether you care about the science,” says Brian Hart.

And while a solar eclipse lasts mere minutes, humans have reacted to eclipses in wildly different ways that can resonate for lifetimes. LORENA RUSSELL , who teaches fiction, will include in her “Readings in Gender and Sexuality” class a journal entry and essay written by Virginia Woolf in 1928 after watching a solar eclipse in the north of England.

“What I find interesting is the intensity of Woolf’s experience watching the eclipse. It’s an interesting astronomical phenomenon, but for her it was a profound social experience and symbolic of life being rejuvenated,” explains Russell.

Creating a powerful shared moment and sense of community on campus is one of the reasons the university is investing

Physics Department assistant and the manager of Lookout Observatory Brian Hart is busy preparing campus for the eclipse

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time and energy to celebrate the brief, but potentially weighty impact on students and staff.

While eclipses in centuries past were typically a surprise to unsuspecting earthlings, this one will be in the spotlight. Hart points out that it will be the first total eclipse in the U.S. since the invention of social media and will not likely come as a surprise to anyone with a smartphone.

Among the information he’s hoping to convey by any means is to never look at an eclipse with the naked eye and to purchase a pair of specially filtered glasses. Even when only 1 percent of the sun is visible, as it will be during the maximum eclipse at UNC Asheville, the sun is still 10,000 times brighter than the full moon and can result in permanent eye damage, said Hart, which is why there will be enough glasses available for the entire UNC Asheville community.

If you are in Asheville, outside of the path of totality, you will see a 99% partial eclipse, but experts say that there’s a pretty big difference between a full and nearly full eclipse. The distinction is that the corona won’t be present—drowned by the rays of sunlight that isn’t covered by the moon.

So if you’re looking for members of the astronomy and physics faculty, they may be hard to find on campus August 21. They may be headed to the path of totality and locations where the skies are more likely to be clear. Lundgren says the probability of

Physics Lecturer Judy Beck is teaching a first-year seminar that’s centered on the sun

a clear sky improves the farther away you go from the mountains, but the weather at this point is anyone’s best guess. However, even if the skies are cloudy, it will still get darker, but the view of the eclipse will not be as dramatic, since it won’t include the direct view of the solar corona.

“Everyone is guarding their secrets about where they plan to go,” laughs Lundgren, who hasn’t committed to a viewing location yet. “It’s sort of like New Year’s Eve. Everyone is waiting for a better invitation.”

Physics Department Chair CHARLES BENNETT is planning to be on campus helping ready the Quad for students to view the eclipse safely by setting up a sun funnel, a telescope, and providing protective glasses.

“There is something about looking up at the sky that fascinates, whether you’re an astronomer or not or whether you care about the science. People just like to look up into the sky,” says Hart.

“For me, it’s the mystery. It’s so big and vast. It’s more than you can comprehend. To experience one small part makes me feel like I’m part of something remarkable.”

And if you miss this one, says Hart, you may just have to wait a lifetime. The next partial eclipse scheduled for Asheville is 2024.

But the next total eclipse? 2153. 4

Professor of Religious Studies Rodger Payne sees how astronomers looked to religion to understand the cosmos

THE GREAT AMERICAN SOLAR ECLIPSE

AUGUST 21, 2017 The campus community is invited to gather on the Quad from 1-3 p.m. for special solar eclipse activities, festivities, and refreshments.

lookoutobservatory.unca.edu

!

CAUTION: It is NEVER safe to look at the sun without protection at any time when any part of its bright disk is visible.

Associate Professor Lorena Russell takes a literary look at the eclipse through the writings of Virginia Woolf

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I N G O O D CO M PA N Y

YEAR OF THE TREE Campus Operations Staff Go Beyond Being “Tree Huggers;” They’re Lifelong Learners and Certified Arborists Ray Magalski, Brady Gottman, and Josh Elliott have been studying the trees on campus—not for an undergraduate class, though they do have a textbook—but for their jobs. All three are among the newest Campus Operations members to earn an elite Arborist certification from the International Society of Arboriculture.

pulling weeds, leaf removal, tree pruning, fence building, garden construction, lumber gathering, and almost anything you can think of involving organic material on campus. On top of that, they have a hand in almost every department here at UNC Asheville; for instance, they worked closely with the Art and Art History Department, supplying them wood for their anagama kiln. UNC Asheville’s focus on interdisciplinary education doesn’t end with academics, but rather it extends into every aspect of campus life, including Campus Operations.

This, Magalski asserts, is no easy feat.

“They don’t make it easy to take the test,” he illustrates. “You have to have a lot years of experience working in the field, so a lot of people get discouraged.”

Magalski says that preparation for the test, however, was far more than just gaining experience. In order to achieve the certification, they studied an official arborist textbook extensively prior to attending a three-day course and taking a certification exam.

Working together is a must for the Campus Operations team, and Acker has nothing but appreciation for her dedicated co-workers. “We’re trying to push more and more towards that sustainable approach,” she says, “and that takes everybody going, wait a minute, are you sure that’s the best thing here? That’s why these guys getting the time to really sit down and study these trees helps the campus as a whole.”

According to Campus Grounds Manager Melissa Acker, the rise in the certifications can be attributed to a continual thirst for knowledge. “We’re continually learning. That, to me, is what’s critical about doing the certifications. We’re always learning what is best, and how we can create these stable little ecosystems, and if we can do that it’s going to create a healthier environment and happier people.”

Arborist certifications are especially important at UNC Asheville, a campus that Acker says has a “commitment and dedication to the notion that this campus is a place graced by trees, that we understand that trees are essential to our human and environmental well-being.”

Acker believes that “the more we can create these environments where all the plants are working together and the more we can relieve the plants of pressure from weeds and toxic herbicides, the less our campus will impact the environment.”

“In a time when climate change is upon us,” says Gottman, “trees are important Arborists Josh Elliott and Ray Magalski because they soak up carbon dioxide. and Campus Grounds Manager They give us oxygen. Plus, I don’t know Melissa Acker anyone that doesn’t like to look up and see trees.”

PHOTOS BY MATTHEW DERSHOWITZ ’20

A typical day in the life of a horticulture or environmental technician involves ensuring that environmental well-being in a variety of ways, including mowing grass, planting,

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By Matthew Dershowitz ’20

As for why proper tree care is important, Magalski says, “it’s almost a spiritual thing... it just brings me comfort to be around trees.”

I N G O O D CO M PA N Y

ENERGIZING CAMPUS Electrical Team Leader Tony Delaurentis Creates One-Of-A-Kind Art Installations for UNC Asheville

By Hannah Epperson ’11

PHOTO BY EMMANUEL FIGARO ‘18

Delaurentis’ artwork can be spied in various places around campus, including a map made of wood and shells depicting currents surrounding the Marshall Islands on display in an art classroom in Owen Hall, and a large hanging mobile in the TD Bank Atrium in Rhoades Hall.

For several days his installation piece made of burlap coffee bags covering his Toyota pick-up truck was parked in front of Owen Hall.

Tony Delaurentis with his sculpture outside of Belk Theatre

Reaching out from the stone wall along the walkway from Owen Hall to Belk Theatre, a large hand constructed of twisted metal bars points visitors toward the theater building. This helping hand was created by Tony Delaurentis, UNC Asheville’s team lead of the electrical department, and current art student.

“That sculpture is a gesture of the campus itself being welcoming,” Delaurentis explained, “the hand coming from the campus, showing the way.”

Delaurentis has been working in UNC Asheville’s campus operations department for just over 10 years, and also is currently working toward his bachelor’s degree in art. Though he initially studied painting, it wasn’t until Megan Wolfe, associate professor of art, suggested he try working in three-dimensional art that he really found his element. With guidance from Department of Art faculty Brent Skidmore, Jackson Martin and Matt West, Delaurentis went from working in ceramics to sculpture in a variety of mediums—steel, plaster and wood.

“I like the presence of it,” Delaurentis said. “You can control the size of the artwork. It can be something that fits in your hand, or it can be as large as this room or a building…plus the freedom of different materials.”

Delaurentis splits his time between work, classes and studio time—some of which is in the studios in Owen Hall, some at his own home studio, and some at UNC Asheville’s STEAM Studio at The RAMP. It’s a balancing act that he’s well accustomed to.

“Being an art student, you have to keep a schedule and be creative, and that’s very much so with my regular work, too,” Delaurentis said. “Actually my electrical job helped immensely with my artwork, because I knew how to maintain a schedule, or how to dedicate time to a project.”

His artistic eye has become a benefit to his job as well.

“The other interesting thing that came out of this as a side effect of sculpture is they teach a lot of trades that are not taught much anymore,” Delaurentis said. “We’re taught how to weld and work in wood and metal, and now we’re being taught to work with a program for a water jet metal cutter in STEAM Studio. So you get an education that’s very interdisciplinary.”

Delaurentis has other ideas about projects he’d like to complete for campus in the future. And while he’s not interested in pursuing art as a career—“I already have a job,” he said— he enjoys the opportunity to create artwork that is functional and useful for campus.

“It’s nice when people say, ‘well, what do you do?’” he said of his work on campus. “Well, turn around. Here it is!”

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C R E AT I N G A N

A PP F OR T H AT WRITTEN BY HANNAH EPPERSON ’11 ILLUSTRATION BY HANNA TRUSSLER ’13

UNC Asheville students and alumni are combining knowledge from other fields with computer science know-how to make a real impact in the non-virtual world— whether it’s predicting the weather, allowing visitors to virtually walk through history, or dreaming up new games.

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“I THINK MOST PEOPLE, when they hear computer science, they’re thinking you sit in front of a machine and you madly type code all day,” said Marietta Cameron, chair and associate professor of computer science at UNC Asheville. “And what people forget is that the software that we create is not just software that we create for the sake of the machine. It’s software that we create for each other, to better society.”

Her students and alumni of the Computer Science Department share that philosophy, but even those graduates who have only taken one or two classes in the department gain valuable skills, interdisciplinary and interpersonal, and possibly world-changing, whether that’s on a screen or in real-life.

History in the Modern Era Trevor Cunnien ’14 majored in philosophy and economics at UNC Asheville, but for the past year he’s been working on a cutting-edge app for the Chicago History Museum that brings the ghosts of Chicago’s past to life for modern day audiences.

Thanks in part to Cunnien’s work, modern day visitors to the Chicago Riverwalk can see the sinking of the S.S. Eastland, a giant excursion boat that sank over 100 years ago, as if it was happening right in front of them, using a new app called Chicago 00.

By standing on the Chicago Riverwalk near the Clark Street Bridge—the actual site of the Eastland Disaster—and peering at the Chicago River through an iPad screen, visitors can watch the tragedy unfolding in the Chicago River as if they were there in 1915.

Through the Chicago 00 app, the scene comes alive: the S.S. Eastland, known as “The Speed Queen of the Great Lakes,” has rolled over onto its side with more than 2,500 passengers and crew on board. Men are pulling a child from the river. A professional diver climbs down a ladder from the boardwalk to search the underwater portions of the ship. Welders clamber on the hull of the submerged ship, cutting holes into the ship and freeing survivors trapped in pockets of air.

“It’s a multi-faceted digital experience project,” explained Cunnien, who works as a researcher on the Chicago 00 project. “We’ve got two pieces so far; the first is the Eastland Disaster augmented reality experience, where you take your phone and go down to this one block on

the Chicago Riverwalk downtown, where the Eastland flipped over. From there you can walk around the site, and you point your phone where you’re prompted to, and it overlays photos and videos on the site of the disaster and walks you through the story.”

Cunnien’s majors in philosophy and economics included studies in economic history as part of his coursework. “I thought they were two fields that definitely speak to each other,” Cunnien said. “I felt like philosophy could augment economics’ emphasis on rational analysis with a little bit of more critical thinking; and then economics helped to ground some of the social, political, and philosophical arguments.”

The combination served him well as he worked toward a Master of Humanities at the University of Chicago.

It was during that time that he started working on Chicago 00 as part of an internship, which eventually turned into a full-time job.

The second Chicago 00 project takes a virtual look at the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre, which took place in 1929 and involved the murder of seven gang members during the Prohibition Era. While the massacre is infamous, there is no historical marker denoting the event that took place in what is now a parking lot. But a look through Chicago 00 reveals exactly where the bodies fell, where the police staged a reenactment of the gruesome scene, and where the crowd gathered outside on the steps of buildings that still stand today.

“Part of the project is revealing the history of spots that you just would walk by and you would have no idea,” Cunnien said. “There are tour groups that go by there, but I don’t think anyone who drives by that street on their way to work has any idea or really thinks about it.”

Chicago 00 allows users to experience history outside of the museum, in the very places where the events took place—something that has never been done before, Cunnien said.

“It’s a unique way to experience history.”

Digital is the Future of History In their own work to bring the past to life, students in UNC Asheville’s Digital History and Games Programming classes teamed up across disciplines in the

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Michael Kuczkuda ’17 created the infinite runner game, DreamRush, which is now available in the Apple and Android app stores.

spring semester to create interactive games based on the local history of Western North Carolina.

Computer science major Sophia Krieg ’17 and her team spent the semester working with colleagues in the history department to create a virtual representation of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Asheville with a 3-D game that invited players to navigate the church building by answering questions about the Unitarian Universalist faith and history.

“This is the first time I think we’ve worked with another class trying to build something, which is a cool experience because they have all the background for it, and we have to build it,” Krieg said. “It has a lot of substance when we come together.”

Kristen Walden ’18, a history major whose team created a 3-D game based on the history of Black Mountain College during WWII, found collaborating with game programmers was valuable to her work, as well.

“Digital is very much the future of history,” said Walden, who plans to get a masters degree in library science, “so for any aspiring historian, they would well to get comfortable with this kind of stuff.”

The cross-course collaboration has been an exercise in “learning each other’s language,” according to Professor of History Ellen Holmes Pearson, who teaches the Digital History course.

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“We have students who are very much open to connections,” said Cameron, who teaches the Games Programming class.

“We’re at a liberal arts institution, so they’re already inclined to be open to connections that they don’t think of initially, but that make sense.”

The connection between history and computer science is an especially apt one, Pearson said, as “technology is the low hanging fruit; it’s everywhere and we’re all going to have to learn how to work with it, even those of us who are ‘humanists.’

“To have a better understanding of how we can work with one another across disciplines is truly what we’re all about,” Pearson said.

An Online Finish Line Michael Kuczkuda ’17 had just completed his senior presentation during UNC Asheville’s Undergraduate Research Symposium in December 2016, when he got the news. His game, DreamRush—the same one he had just presented— had been accepted to the Apple App Store. He had submitted it less than a week earlier.

DreamRush is an infinite runner game, Kuczkuda said, where a player is running in his sleep, trying to stop nightmares from waking him up. It’s his preferred game-style.

“It’s something you can always go back to and do again,” he said.

Kuczkuda submitted the game to Android next, where it was quickly approved and is also available for download.

And he’s got more plans for the game in the future, such as adding Facebook integration, which will allow players to share and compare scores with their friends.

After graduating in May, Kuczkuda headed to New Jersey to start a job as an associate at Infosys, with a UNC Asheville degree in his pocket and professional game developer on his resume.

Forecasting the Weather

(when there’s not an app for that) As an atmospheric sciences major, Kyle Noel ’17 has to know his way around some pretty complicated computer programs in order to predict the weather. After all, when Noel and his fellow members of the UNC Asheville student chapter of the American Meteorological Society share their weather forecasts with the world via Twitter, they want to make sure they are as accurate as possible.

“People like to joke that we’re right about 50 percent of the time,” Noel said. “The truth is we’re probably right about 90 percent of the days of the year.”

“That’s why you still need meteorologists,” Noel said, “to interpret the computer models, to watch out for the trends, and to bring in local knowledge of climatology.”

Without the perfect “app for that,” Noel and other meteorologists must rely on human ability to develop an accurate weather prediction.

“Mostly it has to do with local knowledge, actually,” Noel said.

“You have to know of the ridges in the area, and you actually apply meteorology knowledge to the computer models. If we know that the snow is trying to climb over the mountain to get into the valley, the snow will probably disappear.”

It’s that kind of understanding that a computer just can’t generate at this point, according to Noel. It takes a combination of computer models and human understanding to really break down the details of an upcoming weather event, such as how much snow a storm will bring, or the severity of a thunderstorm.

“Personally,” Noel said, “I probably should delete the weather app from my phone.”

Noel said that the next big challenge for meteorology is finding effective ways to quickly communicate dangerous weather events to the public—a vital step in forecasting that can keep a storm from turning into a disaster. As he begins applying for forecasting jobs after graduation, it’s a challenge Noel is prepared for—with or without an app. 4

Their Twitter account, @UNCAweather, has garnered just under 700 followers since the first tweet in 2015. The idea was to make information about the local weather available to students on campus, but Noel noted the following is much larger, from athletics and coaches to school officers and the community.

Getting accurate predictions to those followers is tricky— especially because of Asheville’s geography.

“The challenge with the mountains has mostly to do with the computer models,” Noel explained. “For weather forecasting to work on computer models, it has to be on the most powerful computer in the whole world... called a super computer.”

Noel said he doubts that “truly perfect weather prediction machines” will ever exist, as that computer would have to be a hundred times more powerful than even today’s super computers.

LEARN MORE Interested in a career in Computer Science or Atmospheric Sciences?

UNC Asheville’s Atmospheric and Computer Science Exploratory Scholars (ACES) program provides support for 10 students in the Atmospheric Sciences and Computer Science Departments. Scholarship awards are approximately $6,000 per year, per student, and are sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Learn more at aces.unca.edu.

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GO, BULLDOGS!

BASKETBALL CHAMPS Bulldogs Top the Big South

By Alex Peoples ’17

Men’s basketball had what head coach Nick McDevitt called a fun year with

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PHOTO BY ADRIAN ETHERIDGE ‘15

Seniors Chatori Major and KJ Weaver were recognized with all-conference honors. Major earned her second first-team plaudit in as many years and was named to the All-Academic Team. Weaver was named an honorable mention selection. And the Bulldogs took three spots on the 2017 Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Championship All-Tournament Team with sophomore guard Sonora Dengokl, junior center Bronaza Fitzgerald and senior guard Major all earning a spot on the team. Dengokl was chosen as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Coach Mock also earned the Coach of the Year honors at UNC Asheville’s ASHPYS.

PHOTO BY BIGSOUTHPHOTOS

The UNC Asheville women’s basketball team won their second straight Big South Conference championship in 2016-17. But doing so was just about as hard as you could possibly imagine. The season was filled with searches for team identity and players who were injury-free. And come tournament time, they had to do something that had never been done before in the conference: win four games in four days to win the conference championship and earn a bid to the NCAA tournament. They were the first seven seed to ever do so in the Big South. Head coach Brenda Mock Kirkpatrick and her team fought through the adversity and improbable odds to become back-toback champions and live up to the expectations, starting the season as the reigning Big South Champion and ending it with the title once again.

the Bulldogs closing the regularseason as co-champions in the Big South where they earned the No. 2 seed in the Big South Tournament.

The Bulldogs finished out the year in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament where they were awarded the overall No. 1 seed in the annual event. The Bulldogs did not lose a conference home game during the 2016-17 regular season en route to a 15-3 overall record in the league. The 15 wins in Big South play marked the 10th

straight year that the UNC Asheville men’s basketball program had won at least 10 games in league play, which is a new conference record.

McDevitt was chosen as a finalist for the 2017 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award. The award is presented annually to those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but also display moral integrity off of it.

GO, BULLDOGS!

A MAJOR HIT Maybin Mission Youth Camp Comes to Campus PHOTO BY MILLEDGE AUSTIN

By Alex Peoples ’17

2017 BULLDOG CHALLENGE

$106,000 RAISED IN THIS YEAR’S BULLDOG CHALLENGE Cameron Maybin at the first camp

Major League Baseball player and Asheville native Cameron Maybin held his inaugural community baseball program at UNC Asheville on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017. More than 175 local Asheville kids from ages 8-13 were treated to a day of fun and fundamentals at Greenwood Field.

Maybin was assisted by the UNC Asheville baseball team, and the college players had as much fun as the kids.

“I’ve worked multiple kid’s baseball camps before with my high school back home and I absolutely love working with younger kids. Their passion and love for the game is unreal,” said freshman Jake Madole. Freshman Brandon Lankford had a similar reaction, saying, “As I saw all the kids running around having fun it took me back to when I was a kid and it made me realize how fun baseball truly is and what it can do for someone.”

Maybin shared some nostalgia too.

“Asheville will always be a special place for me—it’s where I grew up, it’s where I got my start, and it’s where my wife and I have chosen to raise our family,” said Maybin. “I want to provide something to the youth of this community and I love being around baseball and teaching the fundamentals of baseball. And letting the community know that I want to help these kids build and develop as well as develop these relationships with UNC Asheville and put on more things in the community. This is just the beginning of it all and it’s going really well.”

265% PAST ITS ORIGINAL GOAL OF $40,000

571 OVERALL GIFTS WITH 442 UNIQUE DONORS, INCLUDING 200 ALUMNI

The gifts directly impact today’s scholar-athletes by providing scholarships, tutoring, and essential academic support that allow the Bulldogs to compete at the highest level.

For the latest news, rosters and schedules for all of UNC Asheville’s Division I teams, visit uncabulldogs.com.

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class notes DROP US A LINE!

We love to hear from

alumni—and so do your classmates!

So be sure to send us your accomplishments, career moves, family news and celebrations.

Visit alumni.unca.edu or send an e-mail to alumni@unca.edu

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UNC ASHEVILLE MAGAZINE

1969

1981

1995

Roy Shipman retired after a 40+ year career in law enforcement and related activities. He most recently served 14 years as a senior field investigator in North Carolina, conducting national security background investigations including individuals being cleared for assignment to the White House. He also has authored three books covering the history of High Point, North Carolina, served as the chairman of the 125th Anniversary Celebration for the City of High Point, chaired the Historic Preservation Commission, and served for seven years on the local Board of Education.

Karen Brown is a full-time artist, showing her art at the Asheville Gallery of Art and Woolworth Walk in downtown Asheville.

Shawn Gallaher received his doctorate in physical oceanography from the Naval Postgraduate School on Sept.

23, 2016. He is now teaching at the Naval Academy.

1979 Marcus Kindley served as an alternate elector for the North Carolina Electoral College casting votes for President of the United States on Dec. 19, 2016 in the Old State House in Raleigh. There are only two alternates for North Carolina. He was also recently elected vice president of the N.C. Federation of Republican Men.

1988 Beverly Rudolph was accepted into the University of Virginia’s Doctor of Education (Ed.D) ExSel program.

1991 Dr. Lee Pearson has been named associate dean for operations and accreditation at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health.

George Pruitt recently published his latest book, The Ultimate Algorithmic Trading System Toolbox + Website: Using Today’s Technology To Help You Become A Better Trader.

1993 Melody Eppler is now an office administrator for Medallion Pool.

David Kornegay was recently promoted to director of client community and content at Dude Solutions.

1996 Karen Bell married Patrick Bell on Nov. 19, 2016. Also, on Oct. 1, 2016, Bell became an elections administration project consultant for FairVote and the development of RankedChoiceVoting.Org. Lt. Darrell Keller Jr. recently became an 11th-grade AP and Honors History teacher at Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy.

1997 Matt Schneider and Carla Schneider ’97 had a baby girl, Quinn, on Oct. 29, 2016.

C L A S S N OT E S

1998 Scott Clark is now working as a senior infrastructure engineer with Asurion.

Tracy Wilson married Patrick Clapp in April 2016 and is now host of the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast and editorial advisor at HowStuffWorks.com.

1999 James Wallace recently completed a doctorate in organizational leadership from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

2000 Robyn Bacon married Eric Zickerman on Dec. 9, 2016.

Marcus Dover and Grace Wang had a baby girl, Ellis, on March 21, 2017.

Tonisha Jackson married Ferdarian Lewis on Nov. 12, 2016.

Sonsera Kiger began a new position as development director for the Hispanic League, a nonprofit organization dedicated to multicultural academic outreach.

Tara Sanders and Michael Sanders recently had a baby boy, Jacob, on March 26, 2017.

2005 Winslow Dean and Matthew Dean had a baby boy, Newman, on March 20, 2017.

Ariesto WidyaGuna is now the CEO of PT Aston Energy International.

2006 Ashley Collins Fay was hired as the new HR consultant for the City of Asheville and is now in charge of all recruitment efforts.

2001

Tarik Glenn and Sara Glenn had a baby girl, Dakota, on Nov. 28, 2016.

Jason Boyles and Kristy Boyles had a baby girl, Sadie, on Oct. 12, 2016.

Stacia Jumper and Chris Jumper ’03 had a baby girl, Jaela, on Dec. 16, 2016.

2002

Joseph Pellington married Amber Lilia Pellington on Dec. 14, 2016.

Ryan Southern and Terese Southern ’01 had a baby girl, Evangeline, on Feb. 14, 2017.

2003 Letisha Trescott and Adam Trescott had a baby girl, Ansley, on Feb. 11, 2017.

2004 Julie Barber and Thomas Barber ’04 had another little girl, Esme, on Oct. 17, 2016.

Clinton Barden and Victoria Barden ’08 recently had a baby boy, Henry, on March 25, 2017.

Jennifer Dintsch became the technical manager in the Peer Review Department at AICPA.

Megan Pippitt and Charles Pippitt had a baby boy, Tyson, on Jan. 24, 2017.

Emily Sharples recently accepted a new job at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. She is the assistant director of graduate career services and alumni relations.

2007

Joshua O’Conner and Lexi Binns-Craven recently had a baby boy, Cullen, on March 27, 2017.

2008 Stacy Clore and Nathan Bauer ’07 had a baby girl, Lilah, on Nov. 25, 2016.

Greg Cutrell and Erin Cutrell welcomed their first child, Gracelyn, into the world in December.

WELCOMING ELIZABETH UNDERWOOD UNC Asheville Names Senior Director of Alumni Relations

2009 Rachel Ann Brothers and Nathan Brothers recently had a second son, James.

Jessica Johnson recently became the sales coordinator for Alliance AutoGas. Michelle Barbeau Magee married Joseph Magee on Oct. 1, 2016.

Stephani Vick and her husband, Brian, had their first baby, Olson, on Aug. 26, 2016.

2010 Jessika Bond and Brandon Bond ’12 welcomed baby girl, Hadley, on June 22, 2016.

Nathaniel Speier recently became the noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the Hohenfels Law Center, Germany.

2011 Aaron Edwards and Elizabeth Edwards had a baby girl, Ella, on Oct. 21, 2016.

Anna Hodan, a registered nurse at Spartanburg Regional Hospital, was recently profiled by Clemson University as an alum taking an accelerated path to new careers in healthcare.

Root Kirbach married Leigha Dickens on Sept. 10, 2016.

Abby Krug married Alex Krug in Sept. 2016.

John Noor and Caroline Noor welcomed their first child, John, on Jan. 19, 2017.

Aaron Patton is engaged to be married to Kellsie Cowart in Sept. 2017.

UNC Asheville welcomes Elizabeth Saxman Underwood ’01 back to campus—she joins us in July as the university’s new senior director of alumni relations.

Underwood had served as associate vice chancellor for government and university relations at University of Arkansas-Fort Smith (UAFS) for the past two years, culminating more than a decade of service to the University of Arkansas system that included leading the UAFS alumni affairs office.

Underwood’s prior positions include associate director of the Arkansas Alumni Association at the University of Arkansas and executive director of alumni affairs for UAFS, where she later assumed government and university relations duties and was promoted to associate vice chancellor. She has an M.A. in higher education and Ph.D. in public policy, both from the University of Arkansas.

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RACING ACROSS THE ARCTIC WRITTEN BY HANNAH EPPERSON ’11

DRE LANGEFELD ’14 likes to joke that she double majored

in both biology and in the Outdoor Programs division of Campus Rec. “If I wasn’t in the lab, you could find me outside leading trips or prepping for the next one,” she said.

It was perhaps inevitable, then, that Langefeld found her career in the great outdoors. What started as an extra animal-care responsibility tacked on to a summer ranger internship at Gates of the Arctic National Park has evolved into a full-time occupation as a professional dog-sled racer and trainer with Vidda Runners in Langfjordbotn, Norway.

It’s a dream come true, Langefeld said, although the job is definitely not easy.

“Arguably everything is challenging about dog-sled racing,” Langefeld said. “You are responsible for the care and well-being of eight to 16 of the most extreme athletes on the planet and you don’t even speak the same language as them.”

A typical race involves racing the Alaskan huskies up to 100-mile legs across the snow before stopping at a check point, where the dogs have a chance to rest while Langefeld prepares a hot meal for them, makes them beds from straw, massages any sore muscles they may have, and repairs the sled. It’s difficult, but worth it.

It’s a job in which Langefeld must play a host of different roles, she said. “To the dogs I am the nurse, I’m the cook, I’m mom, I’m coach, I’m the teacher, I’m their massage therapist, I’m the human GPS, I’m the janitor, and most importantly I’m the best friend to the dogs.”

It’s the kind of job that her studies at UNC Asheville were built for.

“I think of this career a lot like a liberal arts degree,” she said.

“Believe it or not, critical thinking, creativity, and global citizenship are essential to living this crazy dog musher lifestyle.

UNC Asheville really inspired me to take what I know and suit it to the adventure.”

Someday, Langefeld hopes to return to her roots in scientific study—involving the dogs, of course. Until then, you’ll find her working year-round to train her dog team, educating others about the history and tradition of dog-sled racing, speeding across the snow in a week-long race, and resting in the straw with the dogs at night, watching the northern lights dance in the dark sky above them.

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UNC ASHEVILLE MAGAZINE

C L A S S N OT E S

Jacob Rowley was recently promoted to research scientist at Tripod Education Partners.

James Shelton is currently working for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in New York City.

Miranda Wilson is now an occupational therapist living in Boston, Massachusetts, after about a year living abroad in Russia with Patrick Brown ’11.

2012 Matthew Dickey and Rachel Dickey ’11 had a baby boy, Levi, on Nov. 14, 2016.

Ashley Hayes graduated with a Master of Science in Social Work from University of Tennessee and is now employed as a social worker at The Mental Health Cooperative in Nashville, Tennessee.

Phillip Michael Vaughn married Abigail Walker Williams on Sept. 17, 2016.

Katie Wise married Travis Shulenburger on Oct. 15, 2016.

2013 Katelyn Ehle graduated in May 2017 with her master’s in social work from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Staci Thomas became the recruitment and employment specialist at UTC in the HR Department in June 2016 and married Gene Lee in Oct. 2016.

2014 Taylor Bell recently joined Colton Groome & Company as an operations specialist.

Ian Graham is now an HR generalist for the San Diego Padres and currently enrolled in Penn State’s graduate program in human resource management and employment relations.

Cassandra Harvey now works as a water resources specialist with Spokane County Environmental Services.

Kimberly Howard Noble married Christian Noble in Sept.

2016.

Hannah Pollard recently started a new position as health sciences librarian at Pacific Northwest University.

Margaret Swearingen recently left BMW for a position as accountant at Rödl & Partner.

2015 Braethun Bharathae-Lane released a self-titled album with

other music technology alumni under the band name Bendy Cat. Hunter Bryant was recently appointed as assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator at Mars Hills University.

Hayes Pierson is the owner and entrepreneur of CommanderSociety.com, a site that provides content and networks in the gaming industry.

Alexandra Reynolds married Jarrett McGinnis on Oct. 15, 2016.

Davanna Saunders married Caleb Suttles on Dec. 16, 2016.

John Schubel is now the senior internet marketing analyst at ROI Revolution Inc.

Emil Gonsalvez was recently promoted at Northwest Mutual to a recruitment and development coordinator position after initially working as a financial representative intern.

Corey Lea recently became a meteorologist for KSWO, a Raycom Media TV station.

Delaney Ryder accepted a position with Myers and Stauffer in Austin, Texas, a large national firm that specializes in consulting and auditing work for governmental health care entities.

2017

2016

Harrison Johnston is now band manager for an international touring jazz act (Jonathan Scales Fourchestra).

John Browning was recently recruited by KPMG in their Deal Advisory Group in New York City.

Joshua Norvell recently accepted a position as director of operations at Mount Inspiration.

Bethany Coomes recently accepted the position as membership associate for Open Path Psychotherapy.

Dana Schlanger won the 2017 Appalachian Studies Association Carl A. Ross student paper award for her senior thesis, “‘It Was The Writing Of Them, That Signified:’ Reshaping Reader Perceptions of Appalachian and Disabled Identities in Lee Smith’s Fair and Tender Ladies.”

Anna Gelbach relocated to Tokyo, Japan after accepting a position teaching preschool and after-school at an English Immersion Academy.

HOMECOMING & FAMILY WEEKEND brings together Bulldogs of all ages for a weekend filled with fun and UNC Asheville spirit!

Mark your calendars!

H F W.U N C A.EDU

SUMMER 2017

37

C L A S S N OT E S

alumni events ALUMNI IN SAN FRANCISCO

Chancellor Grant, her husband Jim Canavan, and Vice Chancellor for Advancement Carla Willis hosted a group of alumni for brunch on Jan. 29. Alumni were able to reconnect and share stories about their careers and lives since graduation.

ALUMNI BASKETBALL GAME

Alumni gathered on a cold afternoon on Jan. 21 for a basketball doubleheader. In between games, the Alumni Association hosted a special reception just for alumni and their guests. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams won!

ALUMNI CAREER PANELS

The Career Center hosts numerous panel discussions throughout the year, where alumni come back to share their stories with current students. In this discussion, former student-athletes gathered to talk about their careers off the courts and the fields.

Pictured left to right: Derek Allen ’93, Ashley Wrightenberry Kamiya ’08, Kate Barrow ’08, Amanda Elder ’07, Patrick Tate ’09, and Steven Cook ’04.

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UNC ASHEVILLE MAGAZINE

C L A S S N OT E S

HOMECOMING 2016

It was a weekend to celebrate all things UNC Asheville. As the men’s soccer team defeated Big South rival Winthrop, alumni gathered on Greenwood Field to cheer on the team and enjoy refreshments from the Alumni Association.

VISITING THE GANTT CENTER

Alumni were invited for a special tour of the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture in Charlotte on Feb. 18. The Center serves as a community resource for music, dance, theater, film, and more.

ALUMNI REUNION WEEKEND 2016

Reunion attendees got to choose from three Asheville Adventures that led them through our beautiful mountain city: a walking tour, tubing on the French Broad River, or a LaZoom Tour (pictured left). Alumni who hopped on the purple bus were treated to a comedy tour of downtown.

To find out how you can connect with Bulldogs in your area at upcoming alumni events, visit alumni.unca.edu/events.

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W H AT W I LL

UNC ASHEVILLE

“

I expect that our campus will look a lot like it does now, because of its special characteristics.

The fact that it’s small, the fact that it’s personal, the fact that we get together in a real space and have conversations; those are going to be even more valued 90 years from now.

LO O K L I K E I N

I think a lot of education is going to be happening remotely, but

”

the things that make UNC Asheville a place to come to today will be the things that make it the place to come to in 90 years.

— DON D I E FE N BACH, CH A I R A N D PROFE SSOR OF M A S S C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

“

YEARS

?

The overcoming of anthropocentrism should be accompanied by the overcoming of cordoned off academic disciplines and fields of studies. In 90 years, sooner preferably,

it would be exciting to see courses in biological computing, quantum dancing, tadpole poetry, weather economics.

These disciplines are all already grossly entangled anyway. It was only modernism that fooled us into believing they weren’t, and that the world ever separated

”

out so neatly. In 90 years, hopefully we will be a bit more over these separations.

BY MATTHEW DERSHOWITZ ’20

— C U R T C L O N I N G E R , A S S O C I AT E PROFESSOR OF NEW MEDIA

Student writer Matthew Dershowitz ’20 asks our faculty and staff their thoughts.

“

I would hope to see a more truly diverse campus, although it’s hard to say exactly what that will mean in 90 years. The population should mostly be mixed race by then, so race may be less of an issue.

Hopefully we will be seeing much less gender and sexuality prejudice as well.

”

— M E L I S S A B U R C H A R D, PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY 40

UNC ASHEVILLE MAGAZINE

“

“

I couldn’t imagine the changes in my almost 40 years here, let alone another 90.

the liberal arts and sciences will be considered a universal right; its fostering of creativity the cornerstone of a vital democracy.

All throughout the nation there will be public liberal arts centers, laboratories and galleries, where citizens will drop in to be revitalized by current thinking and demonstrations in the arts and sciences.

In my lab for example, I have an oscilloscope, a spectrograph, all this equipment that’s online. The lab I’m having now isn’t in a traditional engineering lab, we’re in a computer lab. For that reason, I think buildings

The demand for the broadly educated resource

won’t be as important.

I mean they’re already flipping the classroom now.

(lately known as ideation coaches) will grow rapidly as greater attention is allotted to culti-

”

vating the human capacity to think, rethink, and

My guess is we would be moving more with technology and more online interaction.

collaborate. Public liberal arts universities will be

In 90 years UNC Asheville will be a hub in a global educational network that extends today’s distance learning and online classes to include augmented reality.

The subject matters of these experiences would be endless: students could “witness” Lincoln’s Gettysburg address, participate in 1963’s March on Washington, climb Mount Fuji, sing Bach with Bach, conduct chemical experiments that are unsafe in the physical world, explore

”

the surface of the sun, surf functions to their relative minima and maxima, etc.

— M A R I E T TA C A M E R O N , C H A I R & A S S O C I AT E P R O F E S S O R OF COMPUTER SCIENCE

”

at the vanguard of this social development, with UNC Asheville a leading civic resource.

— MICHAEL RUIZ, PROFESSOR OF PHYSICS

“

In 90 years we’ll find that higher education in

— J O S E P H U R G O, PROVOS T AND VICE CHANCELLOR F O R A C A D E M I C A F FA I R S

“

Well to be honest, I really don’t think our campus is going to look much different. The majority of what we faculty do,

the most important work that we do, is creating the opportunities for students to learn how to learn.

It is through creating opportunities for inquiry and critical thinking inside of the classroom, for experimenting in the lab, for doing research out in the field. It is creating the opportunities for students to connect to the community... the heartfelt and sincere recommendations we are able to send to graduate schools and potential employers. Technology makes it

”

easier for us to do some of these things, but none of these things can be replaced by technology.

— ELIZABETH PORTER, LEC TURER IN ECONOMICS

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