The McCullough Fellowship
The McCullough Fellows program at UNC Asheville was launched in the summer of 2015. Through this competitive program, undergraduates complete an applied research project in collaboration with a faculty advisor and local partner organization. Each fellowship includes funding for students, materials support, and a faculty and community partner stipend. The projects address one or more of the following areas: land use and conservation; urban planning; sustainable agriculture; resilience and environmental sustainability.
2024 Fellows
Ava Bjorkman-Tracy
Project: “Composting in Asheville: Assessing Current Practices and Exploring New Sustainable Solutions”
Community Partner: Casi Lohmeyer, Buncombe County Government
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dee Eggers, Environmental Studies
Phoebe Carnes
Project: “ Population Genomic Analysis of the Oconaluftee Manitoban Elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park”
Community Partner: Natrieifia Miller, Great Smokey Mountains National Park
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Graham Reynolds, Biology
Jane Jeffery
Project: “Elohi Dinigatiyi: Exploring Co-Land Management in Sustainable Communities Amongst the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians”
Community Partner: Tommy Cabe, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Department of Natural Resources
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Trey Adcock, American Indian and Indigenous Studies
Kari Kvittem
Project: “Water quality monitoring on the French Broad: near real-time E. Coli estimators relative to turbidity, streamflow and season”
Community Partner: Anna Alsobrook, MountainTrue
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Gillette, Environmental Studies
Nicole Mooradian
Project: “Bird Community Responses to Eastern Hemlock Mortality in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park”
Community Partner: Clayton Gibb, Blue Ridge Audubon
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrew Laughlin, Environmental Studies
Edwin Salas Acosta
Project: “The Last Chair of the Forest and the Plastic Bottle”
Community Partner: Jessica Orzulak, Asheville Art Museum
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Victoria Bradbury, New Media