Shawn Long Legacy Fund

Leader, visionary, scholar, teacher, mentor, communicator, friend. There aren’t enough words to describe the late Dr. Shawn Long. Shawn had the biggest heart. As Dean Nancy Gutierrez stated, “this human dynamo was a completely joyous person – he loved his work, he was absolutely committed to students and absolutely committed to doing good in the world.” His enthusiasm for life and his caring and compassion for his students, colleagues, and UNC Charlotte have left a lasting legacy in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the university. Unfortunately, Shawn’s untimely passing still leaves a void in our lives today.

To commemorate his passing over a year ago, we are establishing an endowed fund. This fund will allow Shawn’s memory to live on through two of the undergraduate and the graduate programs he founded and stewarded during his time as both a faculty member, department chair, and then associate dean. These include the Organizational Science Summer Institute, which focuses on expanding diversity among students in the field, and the Multicultural Doctoral Summer Teaching Fellowship Program, which provide professional training workshops and teaching experience for doctoral candidates from the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Both programs recruit students from across the nation in an effort to support their scholarly success when they return to their home institution. To establish this fund, we will need to raise a minimum of $100,000 over the next two years.

As some of his closest friends here in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, we have each stepped forward to honor our friend, Shawn, by making a gift in his memory. Many of you were also touched by Shawn during his time at the campus. We ask that you join us in paying tribute to Shawn by helping us create this legacy that will allow future students and faculty to recognize the many contributions that our friend left behind.

If you wish to make a gift, please contact Judy Lekoski or Tanner Greaves in the University Advancement Office. They are available to discuss options for giving.

Thank you in advance for honoring this amazing leader and friend.

Dr. Jason Black
Department of Communication Studies

Dr. Jurgen Buchenau
Department of History

Dr. Akin Ogundiran
Department of Africana Studies

Dr. Steven Rogelberg
Organizational Science

Dr. Ashli Stokes
Department of Communication Studies

Dr. Richard Leeman
Senior Associate Dean College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

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Links

Shawn Long Remembered For A Joyous Life Of Leadership, Service, Friendship
Shawn Long, a beloved colleague who served UNC Charlotte and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS) for almost two decades as a faculty member and administrator, passed away on Jan. 14, 2021 following a serious illness. Long joined Kennesaw State University in Georgia as Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in July 2019.

The Shawn Long Organizational Science Summer Institute is an inclusion-based program initiative seeking to diversify the field of organizational science through relationships and professional development of advanced undergraduates aspiring for a doctoral degree in organizational science or a related field of study. OSSI specifically targets undergraduate students from populations underrepresented in the field of organizational science to participate in a research-driven institute for a week during the summer. The program recruits students from across the nation in an effort to support their scholarly success when they return to their home institution.

The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Multicultural Pre-doctoral Summer Teaching Fellowship Program provides rising doctoral candidates from underrepresented groups within their fields with professional training workshops and teaching experience for candidates from the humanities, social sciences and sciences. Three fellowships are awarded each year. The program recruits students from across the nation in an effort to support their scholarly success when they return to their home institution.