Faculty

Deborah Ryan is a registered landscape architect and a Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at UNC Charlotte, the only woman to achieve that rank in the School of Architecture’s almost 50-year history. She is a former adjunct faculty member in UNC Charlotte’s Master of Science in Real Estate program (MSRE), and a co-instructor of […]

Kaustavi Sarkar is a professional Odissi soloist, performing and touring the eastern Indian traditional art form for the past two decades. In a recent review of a February 2025 performance in New Delhi, India, critic Ashish Mohan Khokar wrote that in her dance “one saw clarity of poses and emotional range.” Sarkar investigates virtuosity in dance-theater […]

Dylan Savage is a Bösendorfer Concert Artist, a Capstone Records Recording Artist, and a winner of the Rome Festival Orchestra Competition. He is author of the book The Transposed Musician: Teaching Universal Skills to Improve Performance and Benefit Life, GIA Publications. It is the first book to present a comprehensive and systematic method for teaching universal […]

Thomas Schmidt received his BA at Loyola University Chicago in 2004, Post-Baccalaureate Certificate at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 2006, and MFA at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 2009.  Upon receiving his MFA, Schmidt worked for four years as a professor of ceramic design at […]

Samira ShiriDevich is an Iranian designer and entrepreneur whose work in graphic, motion, UI/UX, Interaction, and participatory design is focused on exploring and addressing the complexities of freedom, equity, and agency through design. To do this, she uses a human-centered, horizontal approach, emphasizing participatory and community-engaged design with people as they bring their own expertise […]

Christina Singer (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design from Ooltewah, TN. Her design practice and research center on equitable design research methods, illuminating queerness through visual design, human rights, investigating non-Western design and typography, and analyzing her pedagogical practice. Her designs have been exhibited in the USA, France, Spain, Ukraine, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, […]

Joseph Skillen has come to UNC Charlotte after 22 years at Louisiana State University (LSU), where he served in numerous capacities, most recently as the Galante Endowed Professor and associate dean for graduate studies in music and theatre in the College of Music and Dramatic Arts. Skillen is a respected performer, teacher, and scholar. His scholarly work […]

Greg Snyder is an Associate Professor and the Undergraduate Program Director at the School of Architecture at UNC Charlotte. His research interests are in issues that arise out of acts of making and construction, and the phenomena and meaning that accrue in and around these acts. The current set of projects that he is pursuing […]

Fred P. Spano, Associate Professor of Music Education, is the Coordinator of Music Education for the Department of Music at UNC Charlotte. He served the department previously as Interim Chair. Dr. Spano teaches classes in general music methods, choral methods, and supervises student teachers. His areas of research include diversity topics in music education including […]

Kyle Spence is an architect, educator, and researcher dedicated to integrating cultural sustainability and resilient design principles into his work. He is the founding principal of The BAKLab, a concept-driven architectural design practice based in New York City. As an Assistant Professor of Critical Design Futures and Computation at the David R. Ravin School of […]