UNCWFALL/WINTER • 2016 n e d l o G Seahawk r e GOLDEN v Carol Ellis celebrates 50 years 16 o as a UNCW employee c Fall/Winter 2016 Volume 26 Number 2 2 FROM THE CHANCELLOR SEAHAWK SNIPPETS 5 Short stories with big impact. FEATURES 27 14 BUILDING A LIVING SHORELINE Volunteers and Center for Marine Science 14 researchers work to stop erosion. SENSATIONAL SEAHAWKS 18 Quite simply, UNCW students are extraordinary. GROWING TURNIPS, DEVELOPING MINDS Becoming a student again turned Sarah Ritter 26 8 6 into a teacher. GOALTENDING Former All-American Paul Cairney has high 27 hopes for the UNCW women’s soccer program. INVESTING IN THE VISION Planned giving donors Steve Reilly ’89 and Larri Short believe education and 28 philanthropy go hand in hand. MISSION POSSIBLE 18 A Cameron School of Business professor proves shared cognition and Mars travel are 30 not the stuff of sci-fi. 32 CLASS NOTES 37 THE POWER OF AN IDEA Cover: Carol Ellis, circa 1967 Inside cover: Carol Ellis, November 2016 DEAR FRIENDS, Produced by the Office of University Relations As you make your way through the latest issue of UNCW Magazine, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Janine Iamunno I believe you’ll see three themes emerge: excellence, engagement EDITOR and joy. Jennifer Glatt Our excellence as Seahawks is represented in our classrooms and CREATIVE DIRECTOR Marybeth Bianchi other learning environments; in countless areas of faculty and GRAPHIC DESIGN student research; by our student-athletes and those who coach them; Shirl Modlin New and by our alumni who so passionately support UNCW with their PHOTOGRAPHY gifts and campus involvement. In fact, our excellence is evident Jeff Janowski around the world, from the Nile to Mars (read on for those stories!). CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Joshua Crafts Our engagement with communities stretches beyond work Anne Glass with nonprofit agencies, civic groups and those in need; we are Bonnie Monteleone Bradley Pearce also engaged with the economy via entrepreneurial endeavors, The Nile Project the environment with various sustainability efforts, and the UNCW University Archives advancement of higher education with work that is both innovative CONTRIBUTING WRITERS and imaginative. Kristen Brogdon Caroline Cropp ’99, ’06M Venita Jenkins I don’t think I need to elaborate on all the ways we find joy – because Chad Lovette ’15 so many of the photos in this issue tell that story. It is clear from the Caitlin Taylor ’18M faces you’ll see here that Seahawks seem to be happiest when we are Tricia Vance making a difference: academically, in our community or by giving CLASS NOTES Breanna Tenda ’16 back to UNCW. EDITORIAL ADVISORS As we have begun to implement our 2016-2021 strategic plan, which Thomas Cone Kyle Prey you’ll read about inside, we have continued to build upon our legacy Claire Stanley and expand our thinking on what the coming years will bring for Eddie Stuart UNCW. With students, faculty, staff and alumni so committed to their work and improving the world around them, I believe our future is in very good hands. Yours at UNCW, UNC Wilmington is committed to and will provide equal educational and employment opportunity. Questions regarding program access may be directed to the Dr. Jose V. “Zito” Sartarelli Compliance Officer, UNCW Chancellor’s Office, 910.962.3000, Chancellor Fax 910.962.3483. UNCW does not discriminate on the basis of sex. Questions regarding UNCW’s Title IX compliance should be directed to [email protected]. 83,000 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $38,020 or $0.4580 per copy (G.S. 143-170.1). Printed by PBM Graphics. S F h eahawkS lying igh UNCW continues to garner accolades from national publications for stellar programs, our attractive campus and commitment to teaching, research and service. UNCW ranked UNCW highlighted Watson College of Education listed 5th among the nation’s 14th Best and best public university in NC, Best College for Elementary 15th among private Most Interesting Education, 20th Best College and public colleges for Special Education colleges and universities USA Today and College Factual Teacher.org Fiske Guide to Colleges 2017 UNCW named Best Cameron School of Business Rated one of the nation’s named one of the 200 Cool Schools Southeastern Best Undergraduate 2016 College Business Programs Sierra Magazine, 2017 U.S. News and World Report a publication of the Sierra Club The Princeton Review www.uncw.edu/rankings compiled by Caroline Cropp ’99, ’06M 3 UNCW MAGAZINE Strategic Priorities In collaboration with the campus ATTRACT ✦ RETAIN community, including faculty and staff, Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli has laid 1 Attract and retain high-quality students, faculty out a strategic plan that will serve as and staff providing for an educational experience a blueprint for the university’s future that is accessible and inclusive to all. through 2021. The plan reaffirms our commitment EDUCATE ✦ ADVANCE RESEARCH to advance the university’s vision and mission collaboratively to the benefit of students, the community and the state of 2 Enhance and advance research, learning and North Carolina. It envisions a university academic programs to best prepare students for continually recognized for excellence and the global world they will enter after graduation. its global focus, as well as dedication to community engagement, diversity and ENABLE ✦ PLACE innovation. Above all, it puts the success of students at the core of all research, Nurture a sense of place by fostering collaboration teaching and service efforts. between faculty, staff and students. Enhance “Our challenge, as the current academic advising, student support programs and 3 invest in career placement and post-secondary keepers of UNCW’s legacy, is education efforts so that the UNCW experience simple yet profound. We must doesn’t end at graduation. champion our values, stand behind a unified vision for ORGANIZE ✦ ENGAGE the university, and guide this institution to impressive new Organize for success and engagement with the 4 community and world at large. Measure and heights in the years to come,” leverage UNCW’s resources for broad economic said Sartarelli. “We must do enhancement. this not for ourselves, but for the generations to follow, so FUND ✦ BUILD that they will always have the opportunity to pursue their Fund strategic initiatives through meaningful engagement with university stakeholders. Build dreams at UNCW.” on those relationships so that philanthropic 5 support is in line with strategic priorities, The entire 2016-21 Strategic Plan and programs are in compliance and enrollment is related materials are available at steadily growing. www.uncw.edu/strategicplan. – Caroline Cropp ’99, ’06M SEAHAWK SNIPPETS Sitting No classroom could possibly contain what Michelle Britt ’00, ’03M, has crafted: an English literature course that is constantly on the in Settings move. With each class, Britt, a lecturer of English literature, tries to give her students a real-life literary adventure. From the streets of 1789 post-revolutionary France in Victor the outdoors, travel and adventure. She asserts that this class Hugo’s Les Misérables to the deep thicket of the Congo in format has brought out the literature lover in even the most Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the importance of setting nonchalant students. in literature is stressed by any good English professor. Britt The basis for the class comes from the book Literature to Go has taken this vital aspect of literary analysis to the extreme by Michael Meyer. Three years ago, Britt was awarded a grant in her undergraduate “English in Motion” course. Her class from the UNCW Center for Teaching Excellence to conduct helps students understand setting in literature by enhancing the class, and since then, “English in Motion” has been on critical thinking and the students’ ability to connect to the the go. world outside of the page. She and her students meet at a different location for each class, which has convened on “We meet outside in rain, sun, snow, and only go inside if public buses, atop parking decks, on basketball courts, near there is thunder or lightning,” she said. “The requirements for fountains, verandas and atriums, and in gardens. the class are the textbook, a hammock or chair, a journal and a good attitude.” – Caitlin Taylor ’18M According to Britt, the class fosters a sense of community among students. She has seen countless students of all To follow the wandering adventures of Britt’s “English in Motion” backgrounds and varied majors bond through the love of class, visit their Instagram page @travelingwithclass. 5 UNCW MAGAZINE SEAHAWK SNIPPETS Approximately 2,000 artifacts: A Global Gallery A ceremonial axe from Zaire, a witch dance mask One of these cohort institutions is the Wake from Indonesia and an intricately woven red basket Forest University Museum of Anthropology. The from Saudi Arabia: all of these rare items carry museums continuously loan one another artifacts stories from another century. They are portals to the for specific exhibits. These kinds of partnerships past brimming with the rich history of the people lend to the Museum of World Cultures’ goal of who crafted them. And though they come from promoting anthropological enrichment for the different times and different civilizations, these academic community. artifacts have one thing in common: they can all be The museum’s staff has invested in new display found in the UNCW Museum of World Cultures. cases to bring the collection out of the museum Housed in Randall Library, the museum was and into the workspace of UNCW students. Parnell founded in 1981 by the late Gerald H. Shinn, and Sarah Watstein, university librarian, want to professor emeritus of philosophy and religion, see the museum continue to grow, but they know in an effort to show students how previous it’s going to take something more than just their civilizations from around the world influence dedication to education. present-day lives and societies. Since its inception, “University and donor support are key to the the museum has acquired approximately 2,000 museum’s future,” Parnell said. “Resources will artifacts. An extensive website outlines the museum’s position the library to hire dedicated staff to support history and includes an in-depth virtual tour of the the collection and perform necessary tasks like artifacts broken down by country and artifact artifact research, display preparation, collection type (http://library.uncw.edu/museum). promotion, artifact preservation and outreach “The museum is an abundant intellectual and to the university community. We look forward physical resource with tremendous potential,” to the museum being more public-friendly and said Jerry Parnell, coordinator of library special offering a range of public programs, and we would collections. “Other university anthropology like to involve students more in research and museums provide a cohort from which we can administration. They are our lifeblood!” – C.T. derive best practices.” Travel of Literary Proportions Source/Thinkstock mage Standing on a high plateau in Switzerland one day mages/I in 1980, Charles F. Green III ’71 breathed in the Hampton Court Getty I cool mountain air and let the sights and sounds distinguished UNCW professors of English. Student applicants of a foreign country wash over him. work with faculty sponsors to craft the proposition of a journey connected to some type of literature. Most trips take “I tossed my head back and looked up to see the place during holiday breaks. Students are awarded between beautiful, awe-inspiring, snow-capped peaks of $750 and $1,500 to cover travel and lodging expenses. the mountains towering above me,” said Green.  Liza Carrasquillo ’17 traveled to Jamaica to study the literature “I could take no picture that would even begin to of Claude McKay. She spent time in the National Library of capture what it was like to be there, and no words Jamaica with full access to McKay’s poetry, something not could truly transport the reader to that wonderful possible had she studied only in the United States. place. The experience was ineffable.” Kaneisha De Vega ’17 became immersed in the intricate politics and shifting religious atmosphere of England in the He knew the experience would never be accurately captured time of King Henry VIII. She traveled to London and visited by stateside study or scholarly database searches. A significant Westminster Abbey, the Tower of London and Hampton donor to UNCW scholarships, Green established the Court. Her travels inspired her to continue researching history Wentworth Travel Fellowship in 2000 to connect undergraduate during the Tudor period and to forge ahead; she hopes to study English students with places of literary distinction and women’s and Elizabethan literature in graduate school. inspiration. Each year, the Department of English sends 15-25 “I have been told that these trips have amounted to life- intrepid students to locations around the globe. changing experiences, allowing some students to travel Named after Michael Wentworth, former UNCW Distinguished outside of America for the first time,” said Green. “Of all the Teaching Professor of English, the fellowship was created endowments I created at UNCW, this is the one about which with the help of Chris Gould and Richard Veit, also former I am the most excited.” – C.T. The Lure of the Bluefish Society Funds raised via the Bluefish Society, an annual giving program, help keep the UNCW Center for Marine Science’s research, education and outreach efforts “afloat.” An integral part of both the campus and coastal community at large, CMS provides information and research services on issues that affect the environment on both the local and global scales. Part of CREST Research Park, CMS is home to various classrooms and labs, docking facilities, an 11,000-square-foot Shellfish Research Hatchery, and is outfitted with a greenhouse and running seawater system, which provides purified seawater. Its facilities can be toured virtually by anyone in the world via www.uncw.edu/CMS. In addition to the opportunity to interact with world-renowned scientists, Bluefish Membership in the Bluefish Society ranges from Society members receive preferred seating at the popular Planet Ocean Seminars $75 to $200 per year. Join today and get hooked at and invitations to select events. – C.C. www.uncw.edu/CMS. 7 UNCW MAGAZINE SEAHAWK SNIPPETS Cross-Culture Connection The Nile Project musicians are a tight- knit performing ensemble. Their music weaves sounds from all 11 countries along the path of the Nile. Vocalists, percussionists and string players write songs collaboratively, converging for two weeks at a time to prepare for concerts in their own countries, as well as the U.S. and Europe. Their creative process is based on shared leadership, Open hearts lead to open minds. with each member of the ensemble writing songs while supporting other This is the founding principle of The Nile Project, a collective of members’ musical explorations. musicians from the Nile River basin whose music inspires Nile The group’s creative process was citizens to work together for the sustainability of their river. designed as a model for cross-boundary water collaboration. These musicians by Kristen Brogdon make brilliant music together despite their differences in language, I first met The Nile Project’s founder and CEO Mina Girgis at a meeting of North instruments, melodic and harmonic Carolina arts leaders in the summer of 2015. My colleagues and I were intrigued structure, and rhythmic patterns. The by the intricate beauty of The Nile Project’s music, the learning opportunities for only thing they all have in common university communities, and the similarities between the Nile and the network is the Nile. Our expectation is that if of rivers that runs through North Carolina. Since that summer we’ve assembled these disparate artists can make music an NC tour that spans six cities and will bring The Nile Project to our state for a together, politicians and diplomats can month in 2017; the artists will be in residence at UNCW March 25-29, 2017, surely come together to address the thanks in part to a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council. Nile’s water conflict.