Dear Hussman faculty and staff colleagues,
Happy New Year! I’m hoping each of you is feeling refreshed and rejuvenated after enjoying some well-deserved restful and relaxing time with family and friends over our holiday break. I wish you all a very happy new year and a fulfilling semester ahead.
Our community will hit the ground running this semester with FDOC this Wednesday and the Undergraduate Hub’s “Grab and Go” breakfast from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. for students, faculty and staff. Please stop by the Hub and the Dean’s Suite Wednesday morning to reconnect.
We are excited about continuing our January tradition with the UNC Hussman MLK Day of Action to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Our main event this year will feature Dr. Charmaine McKissick-Melton, a former NC Central University professor and the daughter of Floyd McKissick Sr., the first African American student in UNC’s law school. Dr. McKissick-Melton is an alumna who has been honored with the UNC Board of Governors’ Teaching Excellence Award. Assistant Professor Shelvia Dancy and Teaching Assistant Professor Carl Kenney will lead our community discussion with Dr. McKissick on January 16 from 6-7 p.m. in the Freedom Forum Conference Center. Please make it a priority to join us for that event if you are able, and please encourage your students to attend as well. A final scheduled for the day will be shared as other activities are confirmed.
It’s also a big month for our school as we host an ACEJMC site team January 22-23 for an accreditation revisit that will evaluate our community’s work related to their Diversity and Inclusiveness standard. This is such an important moment in the life of our school to demonstrate how we are working together to build a community in which everyone feels welcomed, included and respected. I thank each of you for what you are contributing to this effort, and I look forward to talking with the site team about all that we are doing as a community.
Our fall 2023 semester began with tragic and traumatic events that challenged everyone in our community. We have since done much work to better prepare ourselves for lockdown situations.
As this semester gets underway, faculty are asked to review and discuss our security protocols with your students during the first week of class. The Carolina Ready website is the University resource for classroom emergency preparedness. Please consult the information there on Faculty Classroom Preparedness that includes training materials, a faculty classroom preparedness checklist and information on door locks, among other resources. Please make sure to share and review these resources with your students as appropriate.
It’s also a good time to remind our students and ourselves of the mental health resources that the school and the University provide. Our embedded counselor Carolyn Ebeling is available to meet with students in addition the various mental health resources provided by the University. Please be sure to share these resources with students as the semester gets underway.
Thank you again for all that you do for the school. I am honored to work with such a brilliant and committed community of people.
Go Heels!
Dean Raul Reis