Designed to support the growth and development of emerging and established leaders across the university, MLPI brings together professionals from a wide range of departments and divisions to engage in leadership development, networking, and collaborative learning. This year’s cohort includes 27 members of the ������Ƶ community representing diverse functional areas across campus.

The program is co-coordinated by Nita Skillman and Vicki Blocker, with facilitation support provided by Charlotte Williams, David Stout, Kelly Reimer, Laura Igaune Hill and Laura Kappert. Throughout the two-day retreat, participants began building relationships, exploring leadership concepts, and establishing a foundation for the year ahead.

Retreat programming featured several campus leaders and subject matter experts. Collier Lumpkin, associate director of career development for graduate school in the Student Professional Development Center, led a session titled Strengths as a Leader, helping participants explore how individual talents can enhance leadership effectiveness and team performance. Rochelle Stojnic, director of the Office of Professional Development, provided an introduction to the office and highlighted opportunities for continued professional growth across the university. Jim Piatt, senior vice president for advancement and external affairs, concluded the retreat presentations with ������Ƶ “from a 50,000-foot view,” offering participants a broad perspective on the university’s history, strategic priorities, and future direction.

Throughout the program year, participants will engage with six core competencies that serve as the foundation of the MLPI experience: inclusive excellence, leadership, building meaningful relationships and mentoring networks, skills development for higher education professionals, wellness and well-being, and understanding university decision-making and culture. These competencies are designed to help participants strengthen their leadership capacity while expanding their understanding of the institution and their impact within it.

As the cohort begins its year-long journey, participants are encouraged to challenge themselves, build meaningful connections, and embrace opportunities for growth that will enhance both their professional development and contributions to the ������Ƶ community.

Jessica Merricks, associate professor of biology, and Kelsey Bitting, assistant professor of environmental studies, recently published the article “” in the Journal of College Science Teaching.

Reflection as a process helps students better understand themselves with respect to content and experiences they encounter in required science courses taken to fulfill distribution requirements, making that content more meaningful and more likely to shape students’ thinking and engagement in science-related topics as citizens. However, students may not arrive in the science classroom with the skills and habits of mind that lead to transformative insights via the reflective process, and tracking that skill development can allow instructors to tailor instruction about reflection according to students’ current understanding and practice. Nonetheless, Merricks and Bitting discovered that existing reflective writing instruments lacked the nuance to detect subtle shifts in students’ development across units in a single semester.

Using a dataset of students’ end-of-unit reflections in an introductory-level environmental science course serving mostly non-majors, Merricks and Bitting developed a refined rubric that recognized and codified incremental differences in student reflective thinking along the path to reflective writing. This analysis revealed that students frequently expressed personal connections to content and noted shifts in their perspective, even as they were still working to master the details of related scientific concepts.

The authors believe this instrument can help science instructors communicate about the goals and levels of reflection to students and allow them to recognize and encourage increasing reflective depth in student work across the progress of a single semester.

Support was provided by ������Ƶ’s Center for Writing Excellence via a CWE Pedagogy Grant to Merricks in 2021 and a writing residency completed by Merricks in 2023.

The J. Paul Melanson Award is NACCU’s highest honor, recognizing individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to the campus card industry and to the professionals who support it.

At ������Ƶ, Rauhe has spent decades guiding the growth of the Phoenix Card program, overseeing its development from an early implementation into a comprehensive system. What began as a functional tool has evolved under her leadership into a core part of the campus experience, supporting everything from accessing residence halls and campus facilities, dining and retail transactions, event participation, library services and more.

Her work has helped create a system that operates reliably and often behind the scenes, allowing students, faculty and staff to move through their day with ease. That consistency reflects both technical expertise and a steady, thoughtful approach to building systems that serve people well.

“Janet’s leadership is defined by a commitment to continuous learning and collaboration,” said Christopher Waters, associate vice president of Information Technology and chief information pfficer. “Through her engagement with colleagues across higher education and her active presence on campus, she brings forward ideas that strengthen and evolve the systems we rely on.”

Waters continued, “She doesn’t stand still; she listens, learns and adapts, always with a focus on serving our community well. This recognition reflects both her influence within the profession and the meaningful impact of her work at ������Ƶ.”

Beyond ������Ƶ, Rauhe has contributed to the broader campus card community for nearly 30 years through NACCU. Her service has included committee work, mentoring, conference leadership and time on the Board of Directors, including a term as Board President.

Colleagues across the industry recognize her for her leadership, expertise, generosity, humility and commitment to supporting others. These qualities are consistent markers that shape both her work at ������Ƶ and her impact nationwide.

The article is titled “Kindness, Compassion, Love, and Generosity at a Time of Mass Killing: The Musar Teachings of Rabbi Amy Eilberg.”

In the article, Claussen analyzes the musar (virtue/character-focused) teachings of Rabbi Amy Eilberg, the first woman ordained as a rabbi within Conservative Judaism. He focuses on how Eilberg’s work has emphasized kindness, compassion, love and generosity and how her writing has developed in response to extreme violence and suffering in Israel/Palestine since Oct. 7, 2023.

The foundation is the charitable arm of the Mecklenburg Bar Association, dedicated to service, access to justice and community engagement in the Charlotte region.

The appointment reflects ������Ƶ Law’s growing engagement with Charlotte’s legal community and the law school’s emphasis on service and experiential learning through its existing part-time Flex Program and proposed full-time, 2.5-year J.D. program, which plans to enroll its first class in fall 2027.

Since the launch of the Flex Program in 2024, Butterworth has helped cultivate partnerships between ������Ƶ Law and nonprofit organizations across the Charlotte area, connecting students with volunteer opportunities, nonprofit organizations and community service initiatives. Those efforts have included collaborations with organizations such as Safe Alliance, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy and the Guardian ad Litem Program, as well as campus supply drives and events hosted by area agencies.

Many of those organizations have also met with Flex Program students during weekly Evening Docket events, providing students the opportunity to meet with and learn from legal professionals in the community.

Dean Zak Kramer said Butterworth has played an important role in establishing the Flex Program’s presence and growing the law school’s presence in Charlotte.

“Emma has invested herself in the life of the Flex Program and the Charlotte community,” Kramer said. “She has made a real difference for ������Ƶ Law, our students, and our neighbors in Charlotte.”

Vice Dean and Professor of Law Alan D. Woodlief said Butterworth’s appointment reflects both her commitment to community engagement and ������Ƶ Law’s broader mission in Charlotte.

“The Mecklenburg Bar Foundation does important work throughout the Charlotte area, and Emma has been deeply committed to connecting our students with opportunities to serve and learn,” Woodlief said. “Her leadership has strengthened ������Ƶ Law’s ties to Charlotte’s legal and nonprofit communities, and advanced our students’ professional lives.”

Butterworth said the role aligns closely with ������Ƶ Law’s mission and will create additional ways for students to engage with the legal profession in Charlotte.

“I’m honored to serve alongside members of the Mecklenburg Bar Association in support of the Foundation’s mission of giving back to the Charlotte community,” Butterworth said. “The Charlotte legal community has warmly welcomed both the Flex Program and me personally, and that support has created opportunities for meaningful partnerships and collaboration. I look forward to continuing to build connections with local nonprofits while expanding opportunities for our students to engage in service and professional development.”

In 2023, Associate Professor of Religious Studies Andrew Monteith was at the Chicago Historical Society, hoping to find material related to the eugenics movement in the records of the Juvenile Psychopathic Institute. Much to his surprise, one of the folders contained nearly 150 pages of autobiographical text addressing sex between men in the 1910s-20s, authored by an inmate at Pontiac Prison. Homosexuality was illegal in this era, and in the late 1920s the Chicago police ran sting operations against gay men. “Henry” was caught in one of these raids.

Appearing in the most recent edition of QTR: Trans and Queer Studies in Religion, Monteith’s article focuses on a critical section of Henry’s autobiography in which Henry explains a polyamorous marriage with two other boys at a Christian boarding school. Henry’s strict, religious parents boarded him at the Todd Seminary for Boys in Woodstock, Illinois, hoping the experience would “straighten him out.” Single-sex institutions (schools, prisons, etc.) have often had generative spaces for queer relationships, and boys at Todd Seminary were no different. Henry found a romantic triad with “Will” and “Junior,” although Junior’s role in the marriage leaned asexual.

Monteith employs religious studies methodologies to make sense of the wedding. Rather than assuming the ceremony was satire simply because of the boys’ age, Monteith points to Henry’s own description of the wedding as serious business. The ritual objects involved—particularly a homemade wedding license that named all three boys—helped them define and validate their union. Henry’s account is tragic, however, since graduation meant separation, and Henry was never able to recover another union like it. The irony is that for someone with Henry’s personality, the Christian boarding school offered a more stable environment for queer romance than the more freewheeling life of gay Chicago did.

Henry’s imprisonment took a psychological toll, and his autobiography expresses ambivalence about his sexual orientation. On one hand, he defends his queer marriage as beautiful, but on the other, he explains that he wishes to undergo conversion therapy at an asylum. After leaving Pontiac Prison, Henry married a woman and raised multiple children.

The full open-access article can be found online:

Emergency and Crisis Response

• As a reminder, Campus Safety & Police will operate as normal, 24-hours per day, and can be reached at 336-278-5555.  They can also assist with connections to the Student Life on-call administrators, who are available 24/7 throughout the summer.
• SAFEline is always available at 336-278-3333 for confidential support with sexual and relationship violence response – it can also be a confidential resource to access on-call violence responders.
• For urgent mental health needs, the Counselor On-Call is available at 336-278-2222.
• For any life-threatening emergency, call 9-1-1.

TimelyCare Virtual Medical and Mental Health Care – available all summer

• Telemedicine and telemental health services through TimelyCare will be available to all ������Ƶ students, regardless of whether they are enrolled in summer classes, as long as they are in the United States.
• Information is available on the TimelyCare page of the Division of Student Life website, and can also be accessed through the appointments pages of the Counseling Services and Student Health Services websites.

Campus services available during Summer Break

Below are the hours for student service operations during Summer Break.

Belk Library

• Belk Library will be open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26, through Thursday, May 28.
• Summer hours begin Saturday, June 1, and are as follows:
  • Mondays – Thursdays: 8 a.m.  – 9 p.m.
  • Fridays: 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Saturdays: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Sundays: 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
• Visit the for current library hours.

Campus Bookstore

• Starting Tuesday, May 26, the bookstore will be open weekdays from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. It will be closed on Sundays and holidays coinciding with university closures.
• Visit the for information about hours or online shopping.

Campus Recreation

• Koury will be closed for an operations reset on Thursday, May 21, starting at 2 p.m., and will reopen on Monday, June 1, at 11 a.m. Summer hours for Campus Recreation facilities are the following:
  • Koury Center
    • Mondays – Fridays:  11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
  • Driving Range
    • Mondays – Fridays: noon – 7 p.m.
    • Saturdays and Sundays: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
    • Last bucket at 6 p.m.
• Visit the Campus Recreation website for more information.

Counseling Services

• No clinical appointments are available Monday, May 26, through Friday, May 30. Starting Monday, June 2, hours will include the following:
  • Administrative Office Hours: weekdays, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Clinical Hours: Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. –  4 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Closed weekends and holidays
• Call 336-278-7280 during administrative office hours or visit the Counseling Services website to schedule an appointment.
• Important updates on available services and online scheduling are available on the Counseling Services website.
• On-demand mental health support is available 24/7 throughout the summer using TimelyCare’s “TalkNow” service. For information about how to access the service, visit TalkNow on the Counseling Services website.

������Ƶ Dining

• Starting Tuesday, May 26, Lakeside Dining Hall will be open weekdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be closed on most weekends and holidays coinciding with university closures.
• Additional hours may be available based on the camps and conference schedule.
• Menus and hours are always available .

������Ƶ Express and Campus Transportation

• All ������Ƶ Express routes will stop service at the end of Wednesday, May 20 at 10 a.m. ������Ƶ Express will resume routes in August with the start of the Fall semester.
• ������Ƶ Express schedules and routes and E-Ride Services are available online.

Moseley Center

• Starting Tuesday, May 26, the Moseley Center’s hours of operation are as follows:
  • Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
  • Saturdays, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
  • Closed on Sundays
• Irazu Coffee will be open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – noon.
• Updated building hours of operation are available on the Moseley Center website.

Mail Services

• Weekdays: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
• Closed weekends and holidays coinciding with University closures
• If you are in ������Ƶ for the summer (June & July) and would like to continue receiving mail and packages, you MUST complete the Summer Address Notification Form in .
• Visit the Summer Mail page for more information. This only applies to returning students, not students who have graduated.

Student Health Services

• Starting Tuesday, May 26, 2026:
  • Appointments with a provider are available every Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. and every other Wednesday beginning June 3 from 9 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. in the office and in Francis Center for SHS grads only from 12:40–4:30 p.m.
  • Closed weekends and holidays.
  • Administrative staff will be available by phone Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.; closed for lunch from noon – 1 p.m.
• Call 336-278-7230 during operational hours to schedule an appointment or make an appointment online through the PhoenixHealth portal (instructions online).
• TimelyCare medical telehealth service is available 24/7 throughout the summer.
• For information about how to access the service, visit the appointments page of the Student Health Services website.

“Grievous Entanglement” explores the most common way that people in the Atlantic world came to understand their personal connection to, and complicity with, slavery in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries: consumption. It exemplifies the interdisciplinary approach of American Studies by examining a wide variety of media, including poetry, political cartoons, blackface minstrelsy, slave narratives, and novels produced from the late eighteenth to mid-nineteenth centuries.

According to the prize committee, “Grievous Entanglement” “brings new insights to well-trodden topics — from abolitionism to blackface minstrelsy. The new insights may well shape the way that we teach this period of history…”  The committee praised the book’s “rigorous research, creation of a new methodological approach, and the connections it draws between multiple different fields of study” as well as its “clear and engaging prose.”

Pearson is grateful for the many ways ������Ƶ has made this work possible, including financial support from the Department of English, Faculty Research & Development, and the Dean’s Office in ������Ƶ College, the College of Arts and Sciences.

Patrick Murphy G’01

Assistant vice president for financial aid

Patrick Murphy joined ������Ƶ at the beginning of 1994 as bursar for ������Ƶ College to find a career that would, as he put it, add positivity to his day. Retiring at the end of the month, Murphy has served in a myriad of roles at ������Ƶ, including director of financial aid, senior associate dean and director of financial aid and assistant vice president for financial aid.

During the Faculty/Staff Awards Luncheon, Greg Zaiser, vice president for enrollment, credited Murphy with quietly and deliberately supporting ������Ƶ’s growth from a regional college to national and international distinction.

“What I know now is because of Pat’s patience, accessibility and strong desire for success,” added Zaiser.

After retirement, Murphy looks forward to spending more time with his wife and his five grandchildren, who are all under the age of six. He says his favorite memory at ������Ƶ was picking up astronaut and former senator John Glenn and his wife from the airport and guiding them across campus to multiple events.

“I will miss the people I work with,” he said. “������Ƶ has been the only place I worked where my friends are also people I work with.”

Beth McCain

Assistant teaching professor of accounting

Beth McCain joined ������Ƶ in 2016 teaching part-time as an adjunct after teaching at a community college. She was hired permanently in 2021 as a lecturer and also served as the director of the Master of Science accounting program. She retired on December 31, 2025.

While at ������Ƶ, McCain led January Term study abroad courses to Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam and was the inaugural faculty member for the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business study abroad program in Singapore.

At the Faculty/Staff Awards Luncheon, Catherine Chiang, professor of accounting and chair of the department of accounting, described McCain as one of the most dedicated and student-centered educators she had the privilege of knowing. “Your decade of service has shaped careers, strengthened our programs and raised the standards for what it means to be an ������Ƶ educator,” said Chiang.

McCain returned the compliments to her department chair and gave a shoutout to Linda Poulson, who gave McCain “a chance” and also to her husband, who was in attendance.

Now retired, McCain is volunteering for Guilford County Animal Services in Greensboro and taking a French course at ������Ƶ in preparation for a three-month trip to France in the fall. Reflecting on her time at ������Ƶ, McCain said, “I will greatly miss the amazing faculty and staff that I worked with as well as relationships that I developed with my students over the years.”

Linda Niedziela

Associate professor of biology and chair of the Department of Biology

Linda Niedziela joined ������Ƶ in 2001 excited to teach courses in genetics and biotechnology. She was attracted to the university’s strengths in undergraduate education and undergraduate research. She will retire at the end of May after serving in a myriad of roles, including biology department chair, assistant professor, associate professor, director of the science branch of ������Ƶ College Fellows and the Japheth E. Rawls chair for undergraduate research in science.

Niedziela said she will miss what she calls the “daily therapy sessions.” She shared that every day during the semester, whoever is able will meet for lunch on the first floor of McMichael and discuss wide-ranging topics, including teaching tips, research reports, personal stories about families and pets and anything else that is on the mind of lunch attendees.

She said, “I will miss the wonderful faculty and staff colleagues in the biology department who have become like family to me.”

After retirement, Niedziela and her husband, Carl, an adjunct assistant professor of biology at ������Ƶ, who will also be retiring, will travel with their dogs in an airstream travel trailer and spend time in their woodworking shop. She will also be devoting more time training and competing with her Shetland sheepdog in performance dog sports.

Anthony Hatcher

Professor of journalism and chair of the Journalism Department

Anthony Hatcher joined ������Ƶ in 2002 and has served as associate professor of journalism, full professor of journalism and the inaugural chair of the Department of Journalism.

Hatcher said he did not have a passport until he joined ������Ƶ in his early 40’s. “Since 2004, I have taken students to Hong Kong, South Africa and multiple European countries,” he reflected. Hatcher also created a religion and media course in his first year, which he taught every year since.

One of those colleagues, Harlen Makemson, professor of communication design, praised Hatcher at the Faculty/Staff Luncheon for Hatcher’s empathy and humanity during what he described as a time of upheaval in the media world, brought on by new technologies. “And while it’s true that Anthony Hatcher serves on virtually every major standing committee at ������Ƶ, it’s his humanity, his warmth and his care, that is his most impactful service to his university.”

“I will miss being with students, and I will miss seeing my colleagues – my friends – daily or weekly,” said Hatcher. During the ceremony, he added, “I hope in addition to teaching all those wonderful students I’ve had over the past nearly quarter century, I hope in some small way, I made their lives a little better because God knows they helped me be better.

After retirement, Hatcher looks forward to biking, hiking, travel and spending time with his granddaughter. “Writing will be part of retirement as well, since I can’t sing or paint,” he added.

Robert Moorman

Frank S. Holt, Jr. professor of business leadership and professor of organizational behavior

Robert Moorman joined ������Ƶ as the Frank Holt Jr professor of business leadership in 2011, a title he held throughout his time at ������Ƶ. Retiring in May, Moorman has also served as the department chair for the Department of Management, Entrepreneurship and International Business.

During the Faculty, Staff Awards Luncheon, Haya Ajjan, dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and professor of management information systems, shared that Moorman has a gift few others do – the ability to ask the types of questions that “make you stop walking, look around at where you actually are and suddenly see it…a question that stays with you for the rest of your life.” Ajjan offered Moorman a golf club afterwards in the spirit of his retirement.

During the ceremony, Moorman shared that education is so much more than reading books and looking at stats. “It’s really about the relationships we have,” he said. “It’s the relationships with our students and the utter joy of seeing people cycle through during this really important time of their lives, you know, touching you and stepping in and stepping out and then seeing them grow as they go.”

Moorman said his favorite memories are those involving friendships with colleagues and partnerships with students. “I have fond memories of a few colleagues congregating in my office talking about the joys and frustrations of the day,” he said.  “I also have fond memories of holding classes that just seemed to ‘work’ that day and then talking with students afterward about how they continued thinking about our discussions.”

After retiring at the end of this month, Moorman looks forward to what he calls unstructured adventure. “I am looking forward to a time of boredom that then grows into something new, unplanned and adventurous. What fun!”

Charity Johansson

Professor of physical therapy education and chair of the Doctor of Physical Therapy Department.

In 1999, Charity Johnsson joined what would become the Doctor of Physical Therapy program as one of its first faculty. She retired in December 2025 after decades of service in which she held positions of associate professor, full professor, faculty administrative fellow, interim associate department chair, interim department chair and program director, department chair and program director and university parliamentarian.

Johansson said she is already missing the “daily exchanges with colleagues whose brilliant minds and genuinely kind hearts” have shaped her over nearly three decades. Likewise, she will miss the students, and their “infectious enthusiasm, their compassion and the joy of watching them transform in ways they hadn’t even imagined possible.”

During the Faculty/Staff Awards Luncheon, Crystal Ramsey praised Johansson as a “cornerstone of the ������Ƶ academic community, whose legacy is defined not just by the position she has held, but by the enduring way she has nurtured the hearts, minds and professional identities of future healthcare providers.” Ramsey is an associate professor of physical therapy education and a former student of Johansson’s.

At the ceremony, Johansson reflected on the retirement of Gerry Francis, who served as professor emeritus of mathematics and provost emeritus.

“Gerry Francis told me he doesn’t miss the work, but he really misses the people – and I get that,” she said.

She also said it was a privilege working with so many in the ������Ƶ community who have encouraged her, challenged her and made her laugh to help her be a better a human. “Fred Rubeck, you’re among those,” Johansson added, honoring the late professor of performing arts and chair of the Department of Performing Arts.

Now retired, Johansson said she is enjoying time outdoors with family and close friends, planning travel and trying new ventures, including fiction writing.

Marcia Dodson

Program assistant for the Station at Mill Point Neighborhood

Marcia Dodson joined ������Ƶ in 2015 and is the proud mother of three sons who graduated from ������Ƶ. She will be retiring at the end of May and has served as a service desk analyst for facilities management, program assistant in the Danieley Neighborhood and Station at Mill Point.

A favorite memory of Dodson’s while at ������Ƶ is joining the London Experience for staff, where she built relationships with colleagues she had not yet had the opportunity to meet while working at ������Ƶ. “What an awesome experience!” she reflected.

After retirement, Dodson looks forward to being a traveling grandparent with her husband.

Rosemary Haskell

Professor of English

Rosemary Haskell joined ������Ƶ in 1985 and will be retiring in August. She has held the roles of temporary instructor and assistant, associate and later, full professor of English.

Haskell said she will most miss her kind and interesting colleagues, as well as the “energizing power of the new class of bright-eyed and bushy-tailed first-years each August.”

One of Haskell’s favorite memories at ������Ƶ is during the transition of the Fighting Christians to the Phoenix. She enjoyed the papier-mache birds and eggs in trees around campus that offered a clue to the new mascot.

After retirement, Haskell said she plans to spend time with her family and do some home improvement work.

Cheryl Riley

Custodian

Cheryl Riley joined ������Ƶ in 2013 as a custodian and will retire at the end of May. “I will miss the people I work with,” she said. “And I look forward to spending time with my grandkids.”

Linda Dunn

Adjunct assistant professor of Peace and Conflict Studies

Linda Dunn joined ������Ƶ in 1998 as the director of the Alamance County Dispute Settlement Center, where she trained a group of students and returned to train several faculty members in mediation skills, who later became volunteer mediators for the center. Dunn’s official start date on record is 2001, when she taught a two-credit mediation and conflict resolution skills course as part of a new minor called Nonviolent Studies. She retired at the end of December, 2025.

Federico Pous spoke on behalf of Dunn during the Faculty/Staff Awards luncheon, praising Dunn’s ability to teach hands-on peaceful conflict resolution skills and strategies across different social backgrounds.

“Linda’s way of teaching and interacting with students, staff and professors, makes you feel that you are equal to her in the same community space,” he shared.

“I will miss the students and their passion the things I teach,” said Dunn. Two of her students attended the luncheon.

After retirement, she plans to attend cultural events on campus and potentially assist in future facilitated discussions on campus. She will also continue to volunteer as a mediator at the Alamance County District court, continue restorative circle skills and mediation and training skills with Restorative Justice Durham and the Orange County District County District court.

“I will continue to be an activist for restorative justice and peacemaking organizations as we navigate the chaos and violence in our world,” she added.

Elizabeth Bailey

Assistant teaching professor of exercise science

Elizabeth Bailey began her career at ������Ƶ in 2004 and, enjoying the vibe of the community, wanted to be “part of it all.” She started as a lecturer for the required wellness course, lectured for the School of Education before joining Exercise Science.

Retiring at the end of Spring semester, Bailey said she will most miss her colleagues and all the “friends among the faculty and staff” she has made while at ������Ƶ.

“I will also miss the opportunities to continue to learn that are available at ������Ƶ, whether it be through taking classes or participating in workshops or going abroad,” she added. She said, while at ������Ƶ, he has learned a lot.

Bailey said her retirement plans continue to evolve, and she still intends to exercise classes and do some research on the side.

Kim Giles, ’11 G’16

Associate director of communications for the Student Professional Development Center

Since her first role in 1995, Kim Giles has served in various roles at the university, including data entry in admissions and accounting, budget clerk in the physical plant, program assistant for Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Studies, Engineering, Chemistry, and Physics, and assistant director of communications in the Student Professional Development Center.

Giles retired during the summer of 2025. She said she cherishes the opportunity to earn an MBA at ������Ƶ along with her daughter. She said about the experience, “what an unforgettable experience that was in crossing the stage along with my daughter to get our MBA’s together – it was quite surreal.”

Giles also reflected on traveling with peers and faculty to Vietnam and Singapore, the many evolutions of Staff Appreciation Day, and being honored as the staff member of the year – an experience she said she will cherish forever.

Since retiring, Giles has taken nine cruises and has done kayaking, camping and gardening. She looks forward to continuing to spend time with family.

Sharon Moss LaRocco

University accompanist and instructor in music

Sharon Moss LaRocco was recognized at the Faculty/Staff Awards Luncheon by Hallie Hogan, associate professor of music. LaRocco joined the ������Ƶ Music Department in 1988 as a pianist for musical theater productions, music ensembles and student recitals.

Hogan shared, “Although she kept a very low profile, there was never any doubt about this, because she never missed a beat, much less a note, and maintained high quality for every performance she gave,” Hogan said.

She shared that students developed a strong admiration for LaRocco’s talent and a deep love for her kind and understanding nature.

Beyond ������Ƶ, Sharon has devoted herself to advocating for people with autism, through her work as a leader in the Office of Society of North Carolina, notably promoting autism awareness for the Native American communities of Western North Carolina.

At the awards ceremony, LaRocco shared that one of her favorite memories was the construction of Rhodes Stadium, which signaled to her the emergence of a marching band.

“Who doesn’t love a marching band?” asked LaRocco to the audience. “And the spirit and the energy it creates walking through the campus, en route to the games.”

Jana Lynn Patterson

Associate vice president for Student Life/dean of student health & well-being/assistant professor

During the Faculty/Staff Awards Luncheon, Jon Dooley, vice president for Student Life and associate professor of education, described Patterson as someone who is consistent in how she shows up for others, patient when a young leader makes a mistake, honest with students and colleagues even when it is hard and someone who not only believes in others, and one who helps others believe in themselves.

“She supported students in college through tragedy, advised student organizations, and celebrated their success,” said Dooley. “She has created spaces of welcome and belonging, and met the students in their darkest hours, helping them piece together on plans to move forward.”

Patterson was also recognized for her 40 years of service and held back tears while addressing the audience. A first-generation student from Hope Mills, North Carolina, Patterson said her parents could have never dreamed where she is today.

“To my staff and colleagues, you are the A-Team,” she shared. “But to everyone in this community, I want you to know that every day has been an honor and a pleasure to be a part of this community and to have worked with you.”

Also retiring

Retiring staff members will be recognized on May 29 as part of Staff Appreciation Day.

• Joan Barnatt
• Mona DeVries
• Chris Dockrill, head women’s golf coach
• Sharon Hodge
• John Chinnici, community service officer
• David “DD” Donohue, painter
• Kelly Elliston
• Gloria Graves, custodian
• William “Tom” Hall, telecommunications technician
• Rhonda Kosusko, associate director of career services, education and ������Ƶ
• Katherine Rodriguez, assistant director for application processing
• Michelle Stephens, custodian
• Ed Williams, service desk analyst
• Donna Wood , electronic services/ acquisitions librarian

������Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book offered her insight on the implications of artificial intelligence during an expert panel hosted by The Conference Board, a global, nonprofit think tank and business membership organization.

The virtual panel on May 21 featured Book; Anand Eswaran, chief executive officer of Veeam; and Joe Sutherland, director of the Center for AI Learning at Emory University, and it focused on five issues:

1. How leading companies are prioritizing AI use cases that deliver measurable ROI
2. How organizations are building AI governance – risk management, privacy, security and compliance – without slowing innovation
3. What “scaling AI” looks like in practice across key functions
4. How policy can support an AI innovation ecosystem while managing potential risks
5. How policymakers could help prepare employees to succeed in firms using AI

All of the panelists were asked about one development they think people underestimate about the way AI may reshape business, work or daily life. For Book, it’s the “deepening value of humanness.”

“Most people are asking this question … about which jobs AI will replace, but the bigger story is what human capabilities will become newly scarce and newly valuable,” she said. “I think of those as judgments, and the ability to build trust, mentor, and ask better questions are all human capabilities. The institutions and organizations that invest in that are going to be the leaders in five years.”

Book was asked about ������Ƶ’s research on AI in higher education, including a November 2025 survey of 1,057 faculty by the American Association of Colleges and Universities and ������Ƶ’s Imagining the Digital Future Center. The survey found widespread concern and skepticism about generative artificial intelligence affecting their teaching and student performance across academic disciplines.

“Faculty are not, by majority, anti-AI. They are deeply concerned that we get it right, that we get it right in our universe, and they’re looking for leadership on that,” Book said. “A majority of faculty already said they’re teaching AI literacy … They’re teaching things about bias, hallucinations, ethics and integrity. You see this unfold across universities.”

The survey also found concern over the over-reliance on AI by students. Book noted that it’s important to differentiate “over-reliance” from cheating.

“This is an over-reliance where they’re diminishing critical thinking,” she said. “They’re ‘AI dependent’ on what the answer is, rather than ‘human dominant,’ which is where we want them to take all of those liberal arts and learning skills, and really be human dominant through the technology.”

Eswaran said that adaptability to AI will be key for the workforce, and Book said that AI could even lead to more room for a liberal arts education and better workforce preparation for students.

“I think it creates even more demand for a liberal arts background,” she said. “We tend to think of ‘either or’ – either you’re a technical skills person, a STEM person, or a liberal arts person. I do think the ‘and’ is going to be even more critical in our understanding.”