What human relations looks like at UNC Charlotte

Human relations is about people, and at UNC Charlotte, our people are one reason our University is a great place to learn, live and work.

Each year, as part of the Staff Employee of the Year Program, UNC Charlotte recognizes a staff member who makes outstanding contributions toward enhancing the quality and morale of the workplace or creating a better public image of the University. These characteristics fall under the “Human Relations” category, one of five categories of awards .

The category of human relations isn’t only about managing employee interactions, but reflecting what’s already on the inside of our workforce, such as positive personal interaction with other employees, public awareness and working on relations internally within an institution or collaboration between different institutions.

Sarah Watson, Dawn Tench, Phillip Brown and Cole Carter are a few of the well-deserving past recipients.

Sara Watson, business service coordinator in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, was awarded in the “human relations” category in 2019. She assisted students with event logistics, secured funding and mediated disagreements. Watson was also responsible for improving the overall experience between students and their departments and between students and their peers.

Pairing her vault of institutional knowledge with her care for those around her, Dawn Tench, faculty personal manager for Academic Affairs, was selected as the Employee of the Year in this category in 2018. Tench oversaw actions for more than 1,750 full and part-time faculty, which included processes for annual appointment, promotions and tenures, raises and off-cycle increase requests, to name a few.

Phillip Brown, a member of University Communications, earned the award in 2017 for his work transforming the former weekly Campus New into its successful, current digital form. Through this effort, Brown has built bridges to tell stories around campus that might not otherwise be told and shared. He even participated in every New Employee session that year.

Honored with the 2015 human relations award, office manager and assistant to the chair of the Department of Aerospace Studies, Cole Carter, was described by a nominator as being “the face of this department since August 2000,” and as someone who “wears many hats.” She was noted as a strong relationship builder with University personal and military staff at the Air Force ROTC headquarters.

With the pandemic making human relations challenging, there are many employees who stepped up, going above and beyond, to create human connection and deepen relationships. If there’s a colleague you’d like to nominate or would like to know more about nominating, additional information can be found on the Human Resources website.