Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Two UNCW Seahawks are winners of WILMA Magazine’s 2022 Women to Watch Awards, an annual list of females that WILMA editors describe as “movers and shakers in our region” who are making an impact in the following categories: arts, business, education, health, nonprofit/volunteer, public service and rising stars.
 
Assistant Professor of Creative Writing Sayantani Dasgupta (arts) and Deputy Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator Tiffany Tucker (education) each won in their respective category.

Born in Calcutta and raised in New Delhi, Sayantani Dasgupta is an accomplished author, editor and researcher who has also taught in India, Italy and Mexico. Her most recent book is the short story collection “Women Who Misbehave.” Her essay collection “Fire Girl” was a finalist for the Foreword Indies Awards for Creative Nonfiction. Dasgupta’s essays and stories have appeared in “The Rumpus,” “Hunger Mountain,” “The Bellingham Review,” “The Southern Humanities Review,” “The Hindu” and others. She serves as a contributing editor for “Assay: A Journal of Creative Nonfiction” and is the founder of Write Wilmington, a supportive online community for local writers.

Tiffany Tucker, a former basketball standout at UNC-Chapel Hill, has extensive experience in college athletics as a student-athlete, coach and administrator. Most recently, she is the recipient of the Nell Jackson Nike Executive of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports for her many contributions to the profession. Tucker has played a key role in the overall operations of UNCW Athletics, while also participating in numerous local, state and national athletics efforts. Beyond campus, Tucker is a participant in the UNC System Executive Leadership Institute and serves on the NCAA Women's Basketball Rules Committee and the Colonial Athletic Association Family: United for Change Committee (chair). In 2021, she organized the National Girls & Women in Sports Day Leadership Summit to celebrate the successes and achievements of female athletes.

All 35 finalists are featured in the October issue of WILMA.

-- Krissy Vick

Sayantani Dasgupta, Creative Writing Assistant Professor

Tiffany Tucker, Deputy Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator