PhD student Jason Combs was recently awarded the Tanner Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching by Graduate Teaching Assistants. On February 11th, during half-time of the UNC-Virginia basketball game, Jason and four other graduate students were honored before an audience of students, alumni, and fans.

According to UNC: “The awards were created in 1952 with a bequest by Kenneth Spencer Tanner, class of 1911, and his sister, Sara Tanner Crawford (and by them on behalf of their deceased brothers, Simpson Bobo Tanner, Jr. and Jesse Spencer Tanner), establishing an endowment fund in memory of their parents, Lola Spencer and Simpson Bobo Tanner. The award was established to recognize excellence in inspirational teaching of undergraduate students, particularly first- and second-year students.”

Congratulations to Jason on this well-deserved recognition!

Michael Muhammad Knight, UNC graduate student in Religious Studies, is profiled in the New York Times for his research and engagement with Islam, hip-hop, and the Five Percenters, a small but culturally influential offshoot of the Nation of Islam.