Largest Gift in UNCG History Invests in Generations of Educators
Posted on May 07, 2026
Harriet Shain Evenson ’53 built her legacy around a simple charge: make more teachers. Her lifelong commitment to public education — shared with her husband, Jerome — culminated in the largest gift in UNCG history, which will transform the School of Education beyond her expectations.
UNCG’s advising model reflects a collaborative, campus-wide commitment to student success. Professional advisors in school and college advising centers partner with faculty advisors in academic departments to provide students with both broad guidance and discipline-specific mentorship. Together, these advisors help students navigate important academic decisions while building confidence and clarity about their goals.
Academic advisors at UNCG do far more than assist with course registration. They serve as guides, coaches, and advocates, helping students connect their academic experiences to their personal and professional aspirations. Through ongoing conversations and proactive outreach, advisors play a critical role in helping students persist and thrive.
This work is reflected in the University’s continued progress in student success outcomes. In recent years, UNCG has seen positive momentum in retention and enrollment — trends supported, in part, by the strength of its advising network and the meaningful relationships advisors build with students.
“Advising is at the heart of student success at UNCG,” says Dr. Regina McCoy, Vice Provost for Student Success. “Our advisors are deeply committed to meeting students where they are. Each and every day, they are providing the guidance, encouragement, and support students need to navigate their academic journey and achieve their goals.”
UNCG also recognizes excellence in advising through annual awards that honor both faculty and professional advisors who go above and beyond in their work with students. These recognitions reflect their dedication and impact across the institution and underscore the important role they play in the student experience.
As UNCG celebrates Global Advising Week, Student Success extends its sincere appreciation to the advising community. Through their daily work, they not only support individual students but also strengthen the academic experience and success of the broader Spartan community.
UNCG Groups Invited to Table at Games in Education Summit
Posted on May 01, 2026
The UNCG Scholastic Esports Alliance is looking for groups to table at the upcoming North Carolina Games in Education Summit (NCGIES).
This gaming and STEM education conference provides students and educators with game development workshops to develop valuable technical skills. It will be held at Moran Commons on May 16-17.
Exhibitors will receive a table and two chairs. The tabling times each day will be from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. This is a great opportunity for any departments or groups wanting to advertise to educators.
This year’s summit also serves as the official launch of North Carolina’s new Gameplan Unreal Engine 3D Fundamentals Certification, giving districts and educators a clear entry point into the expectations, resources, and opportunities tied to the NC middle and high school computer science requirement. By connecting the requirement with game design, digital creativity, and hands-on technical learning, NCGIES helps schools see how video games and video game technology can be integrated meaningfully into the student experience.
Anyone interested in tabling can email Sophie Priest at sepriest@uncg.edu.
UNCG Heralds Retiring Faculty With 500+ Combined Years of Service
Posted on April 27, 2026
The UNCG Association of Retired Faculty recognizes, honors, and thanks the 2025-26 retiring faculty for all their years of dedication in providing outstanding instruction to students, conducting excellent research, and serving on various University committees.
Together, these 22 faculties have amassed 590 years of teaching and service to UNCG, making invaluable contributions to the overall quality of this institution.
10–19 years
Michael Crumpton, 19 years, Dean of University Libraries Greg Daniels, 11 years, Department of Kinesiology Kristine Lundgren, 19 years, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Michael Perko, 18 years, Department of Public Health Education Pamela Rowsey, 10 years, School of Nursing
20-29 years
Amy Lynn Adamson, 26 years, Department of Biology and Associate Dean for Research Beverly Faircloth, 26 years, Department of Teacher Education and Higher Education Nancy J. Hodges, 28 years, Department of Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies Venkataraman Iyer, 27 years, Department of Accounting and Finance Jennifer Keith, 28 years, Department of English Hamid Nemati, 29 years, Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management Harper Roehm, 27 years, Department of Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Hospitality, and Tourism Jonathan Zarecki, 20 years, Department of Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Archaeology
30-39 years
Timothy Bucknall, 32 years, University Libraries Brett Carter, 31 years, Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students Alice Haddy, 32 years, Department of Chemistry Edward Hellen, 32 years, Department of Physics and Astronomy Promod Pratap, 32 years, Department of Physics and Astronomy Paige Hall Smith, 31 years, Department of Public Health Education Lisa Tolbert, 32 years, Department of History David Wharton, 37 years, Department of Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Archaeology
40-49 years
Rebecca Adams, 43 years, Department of Sociology and Gerontology
UNCG Celebrates Undergraduate Researchers and Their Mentors
Posted on April 14, 2026
On April 7, 2026, students across campus gathered in Cone Ballroom for the Thomas Undergraduate Research and Creativity Expo. At this annual event, students engaged in faculty-mentored research, scholarship, and creative activity share the results of their projects, celebrate their accomplishments, and compete for prizes in seven categories.
The event also recognizes the faculty whose guidance makes the expo possible, honoring recipients of the 2026 Undergraduate Research Mentor Awards.
Visual Arts Exhibition Cole Smith, Senior (Media Studies) Faculty Mentor: Paula Damasceno (Media Studies) Community Hub: Entrepreneurship and Black Los Angeles
Mathematics, Life, and Physical Sciences Janae Wofford, Senior (Biochemistry) Faculty Mentor: Nadja Cech (Chemistry and Biochemistry) Addressing the Global Antibiotic Resistance Crisis: Isolation and Characterization of Antibacterial Metabolites from Fagus grandifolia
Humanities Sheza Khurram, Senior (Archaeology) Faculty Mentor: Geoffrey Hughes (Anthropology) The Write Way: Re-Evaluating Writing Systems on Palm Leaves
Business, Economics, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences Ellie Acree, Senior (Political Science) and Ramon Almeida, Senior (Political Science) Faculty Mentor: Michael Broache (Political Science) Cold War Alignments and Constitutional Design in Post-Independence African State Formation: Liberia, Angola, Tanzania
Performing Arts Ainsley Goodyear, Junior (Drama) and Caleb Van-Doornewaard, Junior (Drama) Faculty Mentor: Mya Brown (Theater)
Mentor award, Tenured category
Dr. Jennifer Toller Erausquin, associate professor in the Department of Public Health Education, has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award in the tenured faculty category.
An epidemiologist whose work centers on HIV prevention, sexual and reproductive health, and health disparities among marginalized populations, Erausquin is known for the rigor of her research and the depth of her mentoring relationships.
Visual Arts Exhibition Shayla Scales, Senior (Art) Faculty Mentor: Jennifer Meanley (Art) A Southern Love Letter
Mathematics, Life, and Physical Sciences Sydney Jones, Senior (Biochemistry) Faculty Mentor: Mitchell Croatt (Chemistry & Biochemistry) Towards the Total Synthesis of the Novel Antifungal Natural Product Jesterone
Humanities Alex Parsons, Senior (Nursing) Faculty Mentors: Tiffany Gibson (Nursing) and Sarah Apel (Nursing) Minerva Mobile Health Unit (MMHU): Sustainable Mobile Health Care Delivery
Business, Economics, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences (tie) Kennedy Strong, Post-Baccalaureate (Human Health Sciences) Faculty Mentors: Andrea Lewis (Public Health Education) and Jeannette Wade (Public Health Education) Created for Us, by Us: The Construction of Sexual Health Education [SHE Rises] Intervention for Sexual Violence among Black Women
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Nikolai Tassin, Senior (Psychology) Faculty Mentor: Kari Eddington (Psychology) Testing the Impact of a Self-Regulation-Based Micro Intervention on Depression and Subjective Well-Being
Mentor award, Tenure-Track category
Dr. Eric Drollette, assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology, has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award in the tenure-track faculty category.
Drollette’s Exercise and Neurocognitive Health Laboratory uses neuroimaging to explore the relationship between physical activity behaviors and cognition and brain function in children and young adults.
Visual Arts Exhibition Summer Null, Senior (Interior Architecture) Faculty Mentor: Asha Kutty (Interior Architecture) The Hour of Bloom Birth Center
Mathematics, Life, and Physical Sciences Keesha Jazzlyn Go, Junior (Computer Science) Faculty Mentor: Sarah McClymont (Biology) Computational Prioritization of Schizophrenia Risk Variants via Integration of GWAS and Open Chromatin Annotations
Humanities (tie) Victoria Charles, Senior (Liberal & Interdisciplinary Studies) Faculty Mentor: Robyn Le Blanc (Classical Studies) How It’s Made: The Craftsmanship and Daily Use of the Etruscan Bronze Mirror
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Lila Thomas, Junior (Arts Administration) Faculty Mentor: Marian Taylor-Brown (Art) The Value of The Nutcracker: An Exploration of the Value That the Asheville Ballet’s Nutcracker Creates & Captures
Business, Economics, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences Daijah Elliott, Senior (Public Health Education) Faculty Mentor: Andrea Lewis (Public Health Education) The Burden of Being the ‘Only One’: Hyper-Visibility and Invisibility in the Career Trajectories of Black Women Physician Assistants with Doctoral Degrees
Mentor award, Professional-Track category
Dr. Jessica Caporaso in the Department of Psychology has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Thomas Undergraduate Research Mentor Award in the professional track faculty category.
Caporaso, who is an academic professional assistant professor, serves as co-primary investigator of the Development and Understanding of Children’s Knowledge Lab in collaboration with Dr. Stuart Marcovitch and Dr. Janet Boseovski. She specializes in experimental research with young children, studying the development of children’s regulatory capacities and how it relates to peer conflict resolution, moral reasoning, and temperament.
UNCG is continuing its work to improve digital accessibility following a one-year extension to the ADA Title II compliance deadline announced by the U.S. Department of Justice. While the timeline has shifted, the University’s commitment remains the same.
Rewriting nightmares: Bringing evidence-based dreamwork to counseling
Posted on April 23, 2026
Young leads a counseling and educational development class.
For most people, dreams are fleeting — strange stories that fade with the morning alarm. For Dr. Scott Young, UNC Greensboro counseling and educational development professor, dreams can offer powerful insight into emotional well-being and clinical care.
Dr. Scott Young, UNCG counseling and educational development professor, is working to bring dream research back into practical counseling.
Young and his former student Dr. Alwin Wagener are working to bring dream research back into practical counseling conversations. Their recent publication, “Nightmare Relief: Implementing Image Rehearsal Therapy in Counseling,” promotes a research-supported intervention to help clients reduce the frequency and severity of nightmares — including those related to trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Image rehearsal therapy (IRT) is a behavior technique that invites clients to intentionally revise distressing dreams. Rather than remaining passive recipients of recurring nightmares, clients rescript troubling elements of the dream narrative and mentally rehearse the new version before going to sleep.
“People don’t think about dreams as something that can be shaped or modified, but they can be,” Young explains. “When people learn to do that, they often stop having the same repetitive nightmare.”
Citing research previously published in the field, the counselors say IRT not only reduces nightmare frequency but also decreases broader negative mental health symptoms associated with trauma. In their article, published in the Journal of Mental Health Counseling, Young and Wagener provide clear, step-by-step guidance, so counselors can confidently implement the technique in everyday practice.
Wagener, who graduated with his doctorate from UNCG in 2015, is Young’s former mentee and frequent collaborator and is now director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Farleigh Dickinson University.
“One of the things Alwin and I have tried to do is keep up with the research that’s happening in different places and then communicate it in ways that are helpful to people sitting in front of clients trying to bring about change,” Young says.
“We’ve been arguing that you can empower the dreamer and let them take more of the lead on what’s important to them,” Young says.
Dream meaning, they emphasize, is deeply embedded in cultural, religious, and personal context. For example, some individuals may view dreams as neurologically random, while others interpret them through spiritual or cultural frameworks.
“The real question is what it means to them,” Young says. “If somebody grew up in a very religious context, the same imagery could be very comforting for one person and very distressing for another.”
Their model encourages counselors to begin by exploring clients’ own beliefs and associations before offering interpretations or interventions. Even structured techniques like IRT, they note, should be delivered with sensitivity to cultural frameworks and personal meaning-making.
A practical tool for everyday clinicians
Across both recent publications, Young and Wagener aim to demystify dreamwork.
They outline a streamlined process that counselors can use without specialized dream-analysis training. The collaborative approach guides therapists to:
Explore the dream narrative with the client
Identify emotionally significant moments
Notice key images and feelings
Invite the dreamer’s own meaning-making
Consider possible revisions or insights
They hope their work will help restore dreams as a meaningful tool in mental health care.
“Most people are curious about their dreams if they pay attention at all,” he says. “Often, they’ll say, ‘I don’t know what that was about, but it was really powerful.’”
Young is helping counselors respond to that curiosity, not with rigid interpretations, but with cultural awareness and practical strategies that support healing.
By Sierra Collins, Division of Research and Engagement Photography by University Communications
Therapy dogs make regular visits to give students a boost of positive energy.
University Libraries will host free events for students, staff, and faculty to celebrate the end of another successful semester. They are also sharing important end-of-year reminders.
Non-linear Educational Path Leads to Right Place, Right Time for Fox Brown
Posted on April 08, 2026
Fox Brown may represent all UNC Greensboro students as president of the Student Government Association (SGA), but he couldn’t be further from the stereotype of a typical college student. Between his family responsibilities, the multiple degrees he’s earning, and the commitments he’s made to make UNC Greensboro better during his time here, Brown keeps lots of balls in the air. Life experiences have driven his educational choices and molded the UNCG pre-law student we see today.
A Path Diverged
Being a non-traditional student is nothing new for Brown. Although he attended public school until fifth grade, his mother’s love for the Montessori method shaped the way Brown learned. He was homeschooled in later years as his family moved from Southern Pines to Kernersville, NC to be closer to family after the death of a grandparent.
His family’s hardworking Quaker values shaped Brown’s goals, but he received little guidance from his parents about higher education. His mother attended college briefly, and his father earned an associate’s degree in applied science for automotive technology. Brown tested into Forsyth Technical Community College and began taking courses for an applied science degree with plans to work in computer engineering.
“I actually started college when I was 15 and finished my first degree at 17,” says Brown. “At Forsyth Tech, I found it easy to blend in with students from all stages of life.”
Even as the youngest on campus, Brown thrived in a collegiate atmosphere. He joined a service fraternity, got his first taste of student government as treasurer and public information officer, and excelled in his classes — which made him curious about different degrees and his transfer options.
He considered Guilford College but wasn’t able to get the scholarship support he needed. UNCG offered a more reasonable tuition, but Brown hit a roadblock because he didn’t have the associate’s degree in arts needed to transfer as a junior. Instead, he decided to join the workforce, taking jobs in retail and hospitality management.
Mind for Politics
Even during his break from college, Brown’s interest in service and civic engagement continued. Voting rights struck a chord with him from the time he reached voting age.
“I started to really take a deeper interest in politics and the law when I was involved in a gerrymandering case in my voting district,” he explains. “They picked me to be one of only two voter plaintiffs from the state to go to Raleigh and testify before three judges.”
The experience gave Brown a passion for representing citizens and exposed him to the many career paths in political science. Around that time, he lost both parents within a couple of years of each other, which meant care for his grandmother and disabled brother now rested on his shoulders.
Realizing the limited wage possibilities for the jobs he was working, he decided to go back to school full-time. “I’m so thankful I broke out of that rut,” Brown remembers. “I just didn’t feel like I was making a meaningful impact with anything I was doing.”
Ironically, after much life experience, Brown had finally landed on a four-year college campus but was still a non-traditional student: “I felt the same way I did when I was 15 in community college. UNCG’s diversity, with a broad array of people at different stages of life and different ages, helped me to blend in.”
Fox Brown at NAV1GATE on his first day at UNCG.
He joined Theta Delta Chi fraternity, took up fencing, and became the transfer representative for SGA. He also found himself drawn to the University’s motto of service. As a regular at UNCG’s service days, Brown loves volunteering in the Greensboro community. “It gives me a taste for how things work in life and the need for things to get better.”
At UNCG, he could be a fully involved college student while caring for his family and pursuing his dreams. He began a pre-law professional track and then added another major in business.
Brown loved how his classes complemented each other. Political science classes taught the judicial process, international law, and environmental law, all of which applied to his service work. Business classes focused on organization, management, and matching skill sets to workflows.
He credits professors for helping him to find practical applications of his studies: “You can learn theory in textbooks, but you need a professor to help you work through examples of how you’ll use what you’re learning in real life.”
When he ran for SGA president and won in 2025, he applied the theory he’d learned in both fields of study.
“My class about the American presidency helped me understand how my position would work and how power works,” Brown explains. “It matters who you pick for your cabinet because you’re working through people so much. And I use my business classes when I’m managing my cabinet and trying to get my ideas across.”
Practicing Politician
This year, Brown has used both his studies and life experiences in his role as SGA president.
“I have learned to meet people where they are and always start by listening,” he says. This helps him relate to students he represents and work with professionals he serves with on UNCG’s Board of Trustees. “I’d have a hard time finding an internship that could match working with the experience around that table,” he adds.
Another highlight of Brown’s presidency was writing a constitutional amendment — the first one UNCG had seen in many years. “It was very simple. It just made sure we were compensating our director of sustainability the same way we were the other directors,” he says. “I wrote it up, got it on the ballot, and it was passed.”
In the process, Brown realized the importance of understanding the process and governing documents: “That’s where my pre-law training came in. I understood where there was a problem and knew how to fix it.”
He praises the diverse group that works with him in SGA and the successes they’ve enjoyed together. “Our delegation consistently shows up and works hard,” he says. “We’ve had better attendance than UNC-Chapel Hill, which has a much larger SGA, in our system-wide Student Government Association meetings this year.”
Brown is wrapping up his term as the 112th president this spring, which will allow him to focus on academics before graduating in May 2027. He’s decided to take an extra year so he can graduate with honors with double majors in political science and business and a minor in history. After that, he’s already identified some Ivy League schools where he can dual-enroll as a law and MBA student.
The opportunities he’s taken advantage of at UNCG should certainly help him achieve these lofty goals, but serving others is always top of mind for Fox Brown: “I hope I’ve made a difference on this campus as I kind of practice to make an even bigger difference in the world.”
Story by Becky Deakins, University Communications. Photos by Sean Norona, University Communications.
Commitment to Spartan Service Exemplified By 2026 Gladys Strawn Bullard Winners
Posted on April 16, 2026
Please join the UNCG community in congratulating this year’s winners of the 2026 Gladys Strawn Bullard Award.
The Bullard Award is given in recognition of those faculty, staff and students members who have shown commendable initiative and perseverance in their leadership or service roles at UNCG. In addition, award winners have demonstrated their ability to conceive and develop creative ideas and programs that advance the University.
Faculty awardee: Dr. Jennifer Feather, professor and department head of English; cross-appointed faculty, women’s gender and sexuality studies program.
Follow along Johnson’s day in the life as a student in the “Follow Me” video series, including his role in the Public Health Impact Network, and hear how he feels his leadership skills have developed during his time at UNCG.
