News & Events

Eden Briley '23 is among nine students awarded a competitive DeJoy-Woś Family Foundation Scholarship. The recipients, all with ties to North Carolina or Estonia, received tuition and housing scholarships to attend The Fund for American Studies programs held this summer in Washington, D.C. (more...)

Two teams at the University of North Carolina Wilmington were named among humanities projects nationwide to receive grant funding from the National Endowment of the Humanities. In total, the university received $177,639 in grant funding from NEH.

The grant program, which provided $41.3 million to 280 projects nationwide this cycle, aims to support humanities education, research, preservation and public programs.

Among the award recipients was the project “Wilmington 1898: Geographies of Rage, Resistance, and Resilience,” directed by Watson College of Education Assistant Professor Cara Ward; Department of English Chair Tiffany Gilbert; and Department of History Associate Professor Lynn Mollenauer. (more...)

During Alison Loftis’s final year as a UNCW undergraduate, she was tuning into her virtual marine mammal biology course when marine mammal stranding research caught her eye. Little did she know that in two short years, she would be back at her alma mater, heading a position as Assistant Stranding Coordinator of the University of North Carolina Wilmington's (UNCW) Marine Mammal Stranding Program.

Loftis graduated from UNCW in 2021 with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Music. Upon graduation, she utilized her recently piqued interest in the marine mammal stranding field to pursue two consecutive internships with hopes to gain hands-on experience in the field. As a result, Loftis's work with the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Rescue Team and the International Fund for Animal Welfare Marine Mammal Rescue and Research team exposed her to many stranding response experiences, preparing her for a full-time position in the field.

When asked what led her back to UNCW to continue her career in marine mammal stranding research, Loftis highlighted the 28-year history of the university's Marine Mammal Stranding Program (MMSP). Initially created and led by Dr. Ann Pabst and Mr. William McLellan, the program has made a shift into new leadership.

"I was very excited to potentially be part of a program with such a history and reputation as the UNCW MMSP. As Dr. Pabst and Mr. William McLellan transition to retirement and entrust program leadership to a new set of leaders, I hope to learn all that I can from their foundation and help continue the important work of the MMSP," said Loftis.

UNCW MMSP serves as a part of the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program, working in a network of regional stranding response teams to protect NC's marine mammal community. Now led by director Dr. Michael Tift and stranding coordinator Dr. Tiffany Keenan of UNCW's Department of Biology and Marine Biology, the university's MMSP coordinates responses to sick, injured, distressed, or deceased marine mammals stranded on our local beaches.

Through this role, not only does the program save marine mammal lives, but staff and student volunteers can conduct and participate in valuable research that can better help humans understand the lives and behaviors, and overall ecology of these creatures.

"The stranding program here at UNCW is unique in that it is directly tied to a university. This creates so many opportunities to be directly involved in research projects with our stranding cases and learn about the health and life history of species in our area, which is vital for their protection and conservation," said Loftis when discussing what she hopes to learn at MMSP.

In early March of 2023, Loftis began her role as Assistant Stranding Coordinator of UNCW MMSP and has already hit the ground running. Taking on many different roles, her duties range from stranding response and necropsy, to operating the program's 24/7 stranding hotline and ensuring the readiness ofresponse equipment and lab facilities, to developing training events for the 200+ student volunteers, along with facilitating outreach within the community. Loftis also manages the program's social media accounts to keep followers up to date with news and events held by the program.

“Though I did not expect to be back at UNCW in a professional capacity so soon, I have absolutely enjoyed my time back here so far, and I am excited to continue to learn and grow in this position,” said Loftis.

- Arden Lumpkin

Dr. Daniel Johnson, professor and music education coordinator in the UNCW Department of Music, is leading a team of researchers and teachers to provide innovative professional development for K-12 rural music teachers state-wide. Administered by the North Carolina Music Educators Association and sponsored by an Advocacy Grant from the Country Music Association, this year-long project is the first Professional Learning Community of its kind and involves colleagues from the Pennsylvania State University, East Carolina University, and Rocky Point Elementary School.

The UNCW Department of Film Studies recently hosted the 2023 Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image (SCSMI) Conference May 31-June 3. The event featured presentations, panels, posters, and talks from leading scholars from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and South America, as well as a screening and keynote from acclaimed filmmaker Kirsten Johnson. (more...)