Dr. Ann C. Carver Essay Contest

Do you have a WGST paper that you are particularly proud of? Consider submitting it to the 2022 WGST Ann C. Carver essay contest! The winners will receive a prize of $500!

The essay contest is open to WGST minors and graduate certificate students. Attached is a poster for the contest, and a list of the requirements. Essays are due March 13th, 2023 to wgstcarveraward@gmail.com.

This contest is named after the first Coordinator of UNC Charlotte’s Women’s Studies Program. A faculty member of the English Department since 1969, Dr. Carver was also the former chair of the Black Studies Committee, who selected Dr. Bertha Maxwell-Roddey to be the first director of UNC Charlotte’s Black Studies Program, later renamed the African American and African Studies Department, (AAAS).

Dr. Carver worked side by side with Dr. Maxwell-Roddey to teach, advise, and help students as a faculty member of the AAAS Department, now called the Africana Studies Department. After teaching in the English and AAAS Departments for several years, she responded to the demands of female students to offer Women’s Studies courses at the University. In the spring of 1984, after years of negotiations, the Concentration in Women’s Studies, an interdisciplinary program, was approved by the UNC administration. While the program began with a small offering of courses, today it offers over 100 courses and has over 350 minors.

Please click here for eligibility, essay criteria, and submission instructions. Any questions may be directed to:

Elisabeth Paquette, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Women’s and Gender Studies
Phone: 704-687-5210
Email: epaquet1@charlotte.edu

Congratulations to the 2023 Ann C. Carver Essay Contest winners and honorable mentions!

Undergraduate Essay Winner- Amanda Hassard

Honorable mention- Keirsten Alderidge Graduate Essay Winner-Steve Muir Honorable mention-Emely Reyes

Previous winners:
Chloe Lanham and Everet Smith, 2021
Margaret Phipps, 2020
Meenakshi Sathish, 2019
Jakob Breunig, 2018
Jessica Rojas, 2017