Assistant Professor of Acting Kaja Dunn is one of three early-career faculty members who have received the inaugural James H. Woodward Faculty Research Award in recognition of their promising programs of research, scholarship, or creative practice.
Established in 2021, this award is given annually to an untenured member of the faculty who was reappointed to a tenure-earning position in the preceding academic year. The award supports the career development of junior faculty in tenure-track positions by facilitating their development and growth as educators and scholars.
The award is made possible by a fund created in honor of Chancellor Emeritus James Woodward upon his retirement. Woodward led UNC Charlotte from 1989-2005 and was successful in reclassifying the university as a doctoral research institution.
Awardees are named James H. Woodward Faculty Research Fellows and receive a one-time award of discretionary funds that may be used to support research development including, but not limited to travel, publications, research expenses and conference participation.
As this is the inaugural year of awarding monies for the Woodward Faculty Research Award, selected faculty members were granted reappointment in the academic years of 2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021. Appointees are:
- 2020-2021: Jun Xu, Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science
- 2019-2020: Kaja Dunn, Theatre
- 2018-2019: Way Sung, Bioinformatics and Genomics
Dunn’s research focuses on equity, diversity, and inclusion issues in relation to the decolonization of the theater profession. She is also affiliate faculty for Theatrical Intimacy Education and is currently Associate Intimacy Director for the Broadway production of A Strange Loop.