Gangi earns prestigious Massey Award
April 12, 2018
Gregory J. Gangi, IE’s associate director for education and a teaching associate professor in the Curriculum for Environment and Ecology, was one of six employees at UNC-Chapel Hill to receive a 2018 C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Awards. The Massey award is one of the most coveted distinctions earned by faculty and staff at UNC.
“These amazing people, through their hard work and dedication, day in and day out, create the Carolina we love,” said Chancellor Carol L. Folt. “They are incredible community builders and we thank them for their service and commitment to excellence.”
The late C. Knox Massey of Durham created the awards in 1980 to recognize “unusual, meritorious or superior contributions” by University employees.In 1984, he joined the families of his son, Knox Massey Jr., and daughter, Kay Massey Weatherspoon, to create the Massey-Weatherspoon fund. Income from the fund supports the Massey Awards and Carolina Seminars. The Massey Award winners will each receive a $10,000 stipend.
Chosen from campus-wide nominations, the Massey Award recipients will be honored at a luncheon hosted by Folt on April 14, where they will receive their award citation and stipend.
Gangi is a powerful advocate for the environments that shape life. He joined the faculty in 2000 and, with dual roles as associate director for education in the UNC Institute for the Environment and associate teaching professor in environment and ecology, he connects scientific curiosity to intellectual capital across campus and in the state, nation and world. Gangi is renowned for his dedication to his students. He was previously honored with a Tanner Teaching Award and twice recognized by the National Academic Advising Association for innovative approaches to mentoring. For more than a decade, Gangi has served as faculty mentor and faculty coordinator for the University’s Scholars Program. “He is an agent of institutional change at Carolina,” wrote a colleague. Gangi’s classroom knows no boundaries. He leads environmental field studies around the world, created dual-degree programs in schools across campus and established the UNC Clean Tech Summit to link students, their ideas and energy to industry leaders and potential careers in the environment.
Adapted from the University Gazette.