Dear Carolinas Communication Association Colleagues,

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. His impact was similarly felt across the Carolinas, the South and throughout the Communication Studies community.  Unfortunately, Shawn’s untimely passing still leaves a void in our lives today.

To commemorate his passing a little over a year ago, we are establishing an endowed fund. This fund will allow Shawn’s memory to live on through two undergraduate and the graduate programs that he founded and nurtured during his time as faculty member, department chair, and then associate dean. These include the Organizational Science Summer Institute, which focuses on expanding diversity among students pursuing doctorates in the field, and the Multicultural Pre-Doctoral Summer Teaching Fellowship Program, which provide professional development 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 Shawn Long Legacy Fund and grow these two programs, we are seeking 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 go to the Shawn Long Legacy Fund.  You may also wish to contact Judy Lekoski (jlekoski@uncc.edu) or Tanner Greaves (Tanner.Greaves@uncc.edu) in the UNC Charlotte Advancement Office. 

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

Dr. Jason Black                        Dr. Jurgen Buchenau                Dr. Akin Ogundiran

Department of                          Department of History              Department of Africana Studies

Communications Studies          

Dr. Steven Rogelberg                Dr. Ashli Stokes                       Dr. Richard Leeman

Organizational Science             Department of                         Senior Associate Dean

Communications Studies           College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Dr. Nancy Gutierrez

Dean

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences