A message from the interim chancellor: Celebrating faculty excellence

Dear Carolina Community,

Great universities are driven by the talent and curiosity of their faculty. Carolina’s role in the world, at its simplest, is to be a place where brilliant scholars have the resources, freedom and encouragement to do their best work.

When we succeed at that mission, the results are extraordinary. Over the last two months, I have enjoyed an up-close view of our world-class faculty in action. As March Madness begins and we look forward to cheering on our beloved Tar Heels, let’s make some noise for some of our faculty MVPs.

Just in the few weeks since I last wrote to you:

• Chemists Abigail Knight and Sidney Wilkerson-Hill were awarded 2024 Sloan Research Fellowships, among the most prestigious awards given to early-career scientists.
• A team of researchers, led by pharmacology professor Juan Song and Wubin Bai, assistant professor in the applied physical sciences department, just released a cutting-edge device that offers people with chronic illness a wearable, wireless option for drug-delivery.
• Teaching associate professor Marc Cohen offered a new experience to his writing and rhetoric students who interviewed members of indie band Hotel Fiction and then packed into a venue to watch their show.
• Computer science professor Mohit Bansal and his student Zineng Tang, a Microsoft intern, recently created the CoDi AI system — a breakthrough model in artificial intelligence.
• I was present when Dean Emeritus Mike Smith was honored with the Governor James E. Holshouser, Jr. Award for Excellence in Public Service for his decades of leadership at the School of Government, upholding a commitment to nonpartisan expertise that has benefited every community in North Carolina. Later that same day, I also had the honor of presenting him with the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest recognition for state service granted by the North Carolina Office of the Governor.

This is by no means a comprehensive list; those are just a few of the accomplishments that made it to the top of my inbox. You could make a list like this every week and still barely scratch the surface of all the creative, innovative and meaningful work that our scholars take on. Every day, we know a little bit more about the world because of what’s happening at Carolina.

It’s a joy to serve that cause. I hope everyone had an excellent spring break.

Sincerely,

Lee H. Roberts
Interim Chancellor