Seven Royster Society of Fellows doctoral graduate students from UNC-Chapel Hill traveled to Germany for the 2022 Royster Global Conference, an initiative of The Graduate School designed to increase awareness and understanding of graduate education across international borders.
The sixth annual conference focused on the theme of mis- and disinformation, or how information spreads in a rapidly, increasingly global, communications landscape.
Tori Ekstrand ’03 (PhD), associate professor in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and the Dr. Caroline H. and Thomas S. Royster Distinguished Professor for Graduate Education at Carolina, led the trip.
“Both mis- and disinformation have implications in academia,” Ekstrand said, explaining that both mis- and disinformation can include discounting and backlash of expertise — putting it at odds with expertise found in academia.
“I’m hopeful that our time in Germany will help these young scholars understand that as they enter the academy — they also have tremendous opportunity and agency.”
Royster Global included 17 student participants, with eight from Universität Tübingen and two from King’s College London. Royster Global launched in 2017 between UNC-Chapel Hill and King’s College London. Since then, it has expanded to include the participation of graduate students from three additional institutions: the National University of Singapore, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, and the Universität Tübingen.
Read the complete Carolina Story
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The Writing and Learning Center provides personalized academic coaching and resources to help students succeed. Programs include both writing and academic coaching, peer tutoring, study groups, test prep, online resources, English language support and more. On its oft-visited website, the center offers advice on common writing and studying challenges, such as thesis statements, the use of passive voice and how to deal with procrastination.
Private support for the Writing and Learning Center during the Campaign for Carolina has the potential to impact every student. Donors during the campaign laid the groundwork to relocate the center from the southern end of UNC’s campus to the centrally located Robert B. House Undergraduate Library.
“The Writing and Learning Center provides personalized academic support that matches the rigor of UNC, and we seek to meet students where they are,” said Kim Abels, director of the Writing and Learning Center. “We are grateful to the library for this partnership, which will give students access to services in one convenient spot.”
Mike and Laura Grace gave the first gift to set up a relocation fund in 2018. The Graces became acquainted with the center during their son Patrick’s first-year orientation. Patrick graduated in 2019, but Laura Grace continues to serve on the center’s advisory board.
“A large population of UNC students, no matter their major or level of academic performance, uses these services,” she said in 2019. “We’re in a diverse learning and cultural environment, and there’s nothing more important than improving how we communicate, being open to others and appreciating our strengths and weaknesses.”
Michael Stutts ’02, a donor and member of the center’s advisory board, has also supported the relocation fund and is dedicated to building awareness of the center’s comprehensive services.
“I want every student who goes to UNC to get the same enriching experience that I did,” he said. “I’m passionate about creating that boost for people who need it.”
Read the complete Carolina Story…"
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Chris Hall ’23 took a low point in his life and turned it into something positive, all in memory of his mother, Lynn, who died of triple negative breast cancer in 2018 at age 47. With a head for business and a drive to help others, Hall is working with the North Carolina Basnight Cancer Hospital to help fund a Parenting with Cancer Clinic through the hospital’s Comprehensive Cancer Support Program.
CCSP provides support to patients and their families, from diagnosis to treatment and into survivorship, and its goal is to help families just like Hall’s.
Hall, a business major who graduated in spring, has already put his business savvy to work, amassing more than $1.5 million in sales from his online enterprises, monetizing advertising on his social media channels and selling those for a profit — all to keep a promise he made to his mother when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“She was declared in remission when I was in eighth grade, and it sparked a little fire,” he said. “It made me think a little bit. I promised myself that I’d pay off her mortgage before I’m 25.”
After his mother passed, Hall wanted to find a way to repurpose his goal. He created the Lynn Hall Parenting with Cancer Clinic Fund to honor her.
The clinic’s mission is twofold: 1) to help cancer patients with minor children talk to their children openly and honestly about their cancer; and 2) to help with legal issues that can accompany cancer, such as end-of-life decisions, wills, trusts and custody agreements.
“Putting your affairs in order does not mean giving up hope. It’s a gift to your family to have a plan. Rather than worrying about what might happen, patients can have peace of mind that their families will be taken care of,” said Cindy Rogers, director of patient assistance at CCSP.
Read more about the Parenting with Cancer Clinic…"
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Collards sizzle in a pan on a hot stove before a lid stifles their chorus. Cutting boards, vegetables, and dishes crowd the countertop in a small apartment kitchen. A nearby sweet potato pie exudes the warming aromas of cinnamon, allspice and bourbon, filling the room with its perfume each time the oven door opens.
“If apple pie is the most American pie, then sweet potato pie is the most Black American pie,” said Bailey Benson ’23, a Morehead-Cain Scholar majoring in food studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.
She pulls the pie from the oven to cool, then dons plastic gloves and reaches for a bag of chicken that has been marinating in a sweet-and-spicy peanut sauce. Her roommate, Serenity Bennett, clicks off the stove dial and removes the pan of collards. The mouth-watering meal is accompanied by sweet potato cubes, couscous and a spicy margarita — all recipes included in Benson’s cookbook.
“An Afrofuturist’s Guide to Cooking” is her undergraduate thesis project. Benson’s life experiences thus far culminate in pages that connect the reader to not only food, but also a rich history of Black Americans descended from people displaced by the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This displacement, known as the Black diaspora, occurred throughout the world, but Benson focuses on the borders of the U.S. for her project.
Benson weaves together art, music, recipes, interviews and historical documents to tell the story from the Black perspective, using her own life experiences to inform her process.
“It started as a cookbook,” she said, “but now I describe it as an educational celebration of Black joy.”
Her approach to the cookbook makes the recipes and cultural history more accessible, and she hopes to eventually publish it to help others relearn their past in an inclusive way.
“I want everybody to be able to not only read it and enjoy it, but also cook from it and have a good meal.”
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