Faculty Awards

Faculty Awards

The Provost’s Office accepts applications each year for competitive Senior Faculty Research and Scholarly Leaves funded by Kenan, Pogue, William R. Kenan, Jr., William N. Reynolds, and Reynolds Industries, Inc. Award recipients receive one semester of scholarly leave and a $4,000 research fund.

The Junior Faculty Development Awards are funded by IBM and R. J. Reynolds Industries, Inc. and are typically announced in the late fall. This award grants $10,000 to support scholarly pursuits over one calendar year.

Junior Faculty Development Awards - Application Process for 2025-2026 Awards

JUNIOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AWARDS FOR 2025-2026 Academic Year

At this time, the application to apply for the Junior Faculty Development Awards for the 2025-2026 Academic Year is now closed. Faculty members interested in applying for the awards should check back in during the Fall 2025 semester.

Please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs atfacultyaffairs@unc.eduif you have any questions about the nomination process.   

2025-2026 Junior Faculty Development Awards Recipients

NameHome Department Name
Caitlin Andrews-LeeCollege of Arts and Science (Political Science)
Tierra BoboSchool of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Allison BurbankSchool of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Shinjini ChattopadhyayCollege of Arts and Sciences (English and Comparative Literature)
Lorinda CoombsSchool of Nursing
Marco DuarteCollege of Arts and Sciences (Economics)
Bryce DuncanSchool of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Patrick EllsworthSchool of Medicine (Medicine)
Anna GatdulaCollege of Arts and Sciences (Music)
William GoldsmithCollege of Arts and Sciences (Public Policy)
Lisa GralinskiGillings School of Global Public Health (Epidemiology)
Katharine HarwoodCollege of Arts and Sciences (City and Regional Planning)
Antwain HunterCollege of Arts and Sciences (History)
Christopher JensenSchool of Medicine (Medicine)
Huong KratochvilCollege of Arts and Sciences (Chemistry)
Olivia LaraSchool of Medicine (Obstetrics and Gynecology)
Heather McCauleySchool of Medicine (Cell Biology and Physiology)
Lee McGuiganHussman School of Journalism and Media
Ali Mohammad NezhadCollege of Arts and Sciences (Statistics and Operations Research)
Caroline MoosmuellerCollege of Arts and Sciences (Mathematics)
Michael O’NeillCollege of Arts and Sciences (Statistics and Operations Research)
Rohan PatelSchool of Medicine (Pediatrics)
Elisa PieriCollege of Arts and Sciences (Chemistry)
Courtney RivardCollege of Arts and Sciences (English and Comparative Literature)
Michael SandbankSchool of Medicine (Health Sciences)
Stephen SchworerSchool of Medicine (Medicine)
Hillary SpanglerSchool of Medicine (Medicine)
Kevin SunDepartment of Computer Science
Yurika TamuraCollege of Arts and Sciences (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies)
Minzhi XingGillings School of Global Public Health (Public Health Leadership and Practice)
Huaxiu YaoCollege of Arts and Sciences (Computer Science)
Sami YousifCollege of Arts and Sciences (Psychology and Neuroscience)
Wei ZhangCollege of Arts and Sciences (Physics and Astronomy)

Senior Faculty Research and Scholarly Leaves - Application Process for 2025-2026

SENIOR FACULTY RESEARCH AND SCHOLARLY LEAVES FOR ACADEMIC YEAR 2025-2026

Each year, theOffice of the Executive Vice Chancellor andProvost acceptsapplicationsforcompetitiveSenior Faculty Research and Scholarly Leaves paid from Kenan, Pogue, William R. Kenan, Jr., William N. Reynolds, and R.J. Reynolds Industries funds. 

At this time, the application to apply for the Senior Faculty Research and Scholarly Leaves for the 2025-2026 Academic Year is now closed.

Please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs atfacultyaffairs@unc.edu if you have any questions about the nomination process.

2025-2026 Senior Faculty Research and Scholarly Leave Award Recipients

NameHome Department/School
Sara AlgoeCollege of Arts and Science (Psychology and Neuroscience)
Delesha CarpenterEshelman School of Pharmacy (Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy)
Taylor CowderyCollege of Arts and Sciences (English and Comparative Literature)
Mark CrescenziCollege of Arts and Science (Political Science)
Nianbo DongSchool of Education
Mary Floyd-WilsonCollege of Arts and Sciences (English and Comparative Literature)
Donald HaggisCollege of Arts and Science (Classics)
Peter HalpinSchool of Education
Heidi KimCollege of Arts and Science (English and Comparative Literature)
Nicolas LawCollege of Arts and Science (Physics and Astronomy)
Jeremy MarzuolaCollege of Arts and Science (Mathematics)
Torin MonahanCollege of Arts and Science (Communication)
Morgan PitelkaCollege of Arts and Science (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies)
Megan PlengeCollege of Arts and Science (Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences)
Nora RosenbergGillings School of Global Public Health (Health Behavior)
Patricia RosenmeyerCollege of Arts and Science (Classics)
Harvey SeimCollege of Arts and Science (Earth, Marine, and Environmental Sciences)
Jay SmithCollege of Arts and Science (History)
Ariana VigilCollege of Arts and Science (Women’s and Gender Studies)
Jessica Zegre-HemseySchool of Nursing

ELEVATE Fixed-Term Faculty Development Awards for 2025-2026

ELEVATE FIXED-TERM FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AWARDS FOR 2025-2026

At this time, the application to apply for the Elevate Fixed-Term Faculty Development Award for the 2025-2026 Academic Year is now closed. Faculty members interested in applying for the awards should check back in during the Fall 2025 semester.

Please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs atfacultyaffairs@unc.eduif you have any questions about the nomination process.   

2025-2026 ELEVATE Fixed-Term Faculty Development Awards Recipients

NameHome Department Name
Andriana BeltranSchool of Medicine (Genetics)
Ximena Bustamante MarinGillings School of Public Global Health (Nutrition)
Sandra Paola Cadena PardoCollege of Arts and Sciences (Romance Studies)
Gaurav DaveSchool of Medicine (Medicine)
Jemilia DavisSchool of Education
Mara EvansCollege of Arts and Sciences (Biology)
Michael GutierrezCollege of Arts and Sciences (English and Comparative Literature)
Jenna HaugenKenan-Flagler Business School
Jacqueline TileyEshelman School of Pharmacy (Pharmacotherapy and Experimental Therapeutics)
Michael VazquezCollege of Arts and Sciences (Philosophy)
M. Andrea Azcarate-PerilSchool of Medicine (Medicine)
William Oscar FlemingGillings School of Global Public Health (Public Health Leadership and Practice)
Helyne FrederickSchool of Education
Anna Krome-LukensCollege of Arts and Sciences (Public Policy)
Søren PalmerCollege of Arts and Sciences (English and Comparative Literature)
Morgan ParlierCarolina Institute for Development Disabilities
Xianming TanGillings School of Global Public Health (Biostatistics)

University Distinguished Professorships

UNIVERSITY DISTINGUISHED PROFESSORSHIPS

At this time, the application to apply for the University Distinguished Professorships for the 2025-2026 Academic Year is now closed. Faculty members interested in applying for the awards should check back in during the Fall 2025 semester.

Please contact the Office of Faculty Affairs atfacultyaffairs@unc.eduif you have any questions about the nomination process.