Greetings!
It is my pleasure to welcome everyone to the start of the fall term. Campus is bustling with faculty, students, and staff. There are even rumors of a person riding a horse on campus. The UNCG energy is wonderful to experience.
We are delighted to welcome 17 new tenure track/tenured faculty, 30 professional track faculty, and three staff to the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) in academic year 2025-26.
We also welcomed a new department head, Changhee Chun, to lead our Media Studies Department. Professor Chun comes to UNCG from the Department of Art + Art History at The University of Texas at Arlington, where he served as Morgan Woodward Distinguished Professor in Film, leading the Cinematic Arts undergraduate and graduate programs. Professor Chun has traveled to more than 100 countries to create different media content, including K-pop music videos, K-dramas, documentaries, and films. We look forward to seeing Media Studies evolve and grow under his leadership.
As dean, I am committed to creating paid research or creative work experiences for undergraduate students. Students should have many opportunities to gain valuable research and creative work experience while at UNCG. Paid research or creative work opportunities, early and often, is our mantra.
To increase the number of such opportunities, we have launched the College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Undergraduate Scholars: Advancing Knowledge Through Research and Creative Collaboration Program. The CAS Undergraduate Scholars will be paid to work on faculty research or creative work projects in spring and summer 2026. We issued a call for proposals from faculty in August, and we will fund 10 students to participate in faculty-led projects. This is a wonderful opportunity for one-on-one mentoring, and we are delighted to support this effort.
“Paid research or creative work opportunities, early and often, is our mantra.
– Dean Kelly Joyce
A similar initiative that continues to thrive is our Humanities at Work (H@W) paid internship program. After launching its pilot program in spring 2025, H@W enters its first complete academic cycle this year. For 2025–26, nearly 50 UNCG humanities students have committed to a full academic year of real-world paid internship experience integrated with meaningful academic coursework. They will contribute to impactful projects across 12 local internship sites. These experiences are often transformative, helping students build strong foundations for purposeful careers. We are proud, in the College, to continue our commitment to expanding these opportunities.
This year, we are also excited to welcome a new senior director of development, Michael Watson ’11, and a development officer, Dorian Thompson ‘14. Watson and Thompson are champions of the many disciplines and programs in Arts & Sciences and will be an important addition to our leadership team and efforts to support the College going forward.
CAS is the heart of UNCG. All undergraduates, regardless of major, will take classes in the College. Our courses and research are central to the Spartan experience. Our strength is both our breadth (so many different disciplines and ways of knowing the world) and depth (each department and program offers a deep dive into an area of expertise and knowledge).
CAS will have a table at Homecoming 2025 on Sat., Oct. 18, 3 – 6 p.m. We hope that all of you, and especially our treasured alumni, will stop by and say “hello.”
Enjoy the magical autumn that is so special in North Carolina.
With best wishes,
Kelly Joyce, Dean
College of Arts & Sciences
Professor, Sociology, Criminology & Justice Studies
