Lara Vetter, professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, was presented with the 2020 Thomas L. Reynolds Leadership Award this week in a ceremony postponed from spring. The award honors her many contributions to student success and graduate program management.
As director of graduate studies for the Department of English and advisor to the English Graduate Student Association, Vetter has helped students access resources and find opportunities to present their research and network with graduate students from other universities. She is an advocate for graduate education at UNC Charlotte and an exemplary leader of the Master’s in English program.
“Our Graduate Program Directors are faculty who not only excel in teaching and advising, but take responsibility for making graduate education grow and prosper in their program,” said Associate Provost and Graduate School Dean Tom Reynolds. “This award gives us a way to highlight and acknowledge our very best leaders and their accomplishments.”
Dr. Vetter's intentionality and welcoming personality is what drew me to UNC Charlotte. Almost a year ago now, I called her from a coffee shop in a small town in Alabama, and she remembered me from email exchanges that we had had months before. Since then, she's been an invaluable resource as I've begun to navigate both grad school and UNC Charlotte. She's already gone above and beyond to help me feel equipped to enter the M.A. English program all while during a pandemic. Abigail Olive
Vetter joined UNC Charlotte in 2005 as an assistant professor. Her research and teaching focus on Modernism, Modern and Contemporary Poetry and Life Writing, and Gender and Sexuality. Her books include A Curious Peril: H.D.'s Late Modernist Prose; By Avon River (by H.D.); Approaches to Teaching H.D.’s Poetry and Prose (with Annette Debo); Modernist Writings and Religio-Scientific Discourse: H.D., Loy, and Toomer; and Emily Dickinson’s Correspondences: A Born-Digital Textual Inquiry (with Martha Nell Smith).
Dr. Vetter was integral in my decision to come to UNC Charlotte for the English graduate program. She is personable, dedicated, organized, and extremely helpful. Dr. Vetter is a leader who represents UNC Charlotte well. Ashley Wilson
“Dr. Lara Vetter excels in the full gamut of graduate director responsibilities: from recruitment, to mentorship, to program development, to graduate student success,” adds Dr. Nancy Gutierrez, Dean, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and a Professor of English. “Under her leadership, the graduate program student population has not only grown, but the program itself now offers a transformative international opportunity: in a unique joint degree, students are able to earn a master's in English from UNC Charlotte and an MFA from Kingston University London. Her colleagues and students marvel at Dr. Vetter's tireless dedication to graduate education.”
Vetter earned her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Georgia State University. As the Reynolds Leadership Award recipient, she receives $1,000, an engraved plaque and her name engraved on a perpetual trophy which is on display in the Graduate School.
I am incredibly grateful that the English department has Dr. Vetter as our GPD. Dr. Vetter has provided continual guidance throughout my graduate school experience from before the semester even began. Dr. Vetter consistently reaches out to graduate students within the English program to help connect us with opportunities to learn outside of class, publish or present our research, and participate in events that will further our learning, while also guiding us through any changes that occur in this unusual semester. Dr. Vetter genuinely cares for each student within the program and has made it clear that she is willing to help us at any moment. In a time when it’s easy to feel disconnected, isolated, and lost, Dr. Vetter makes students in her program feel heard, understood, and valued. Catherine Butt
The Reynolds Leadership Award is currently seeking nominations for 2021. Please visit the Graduate School website for information.
Outstanding does not even begin to describe Dr. Vetter and her role as the Graduate Program Director. I met her the summer before my first semester at UNC Charlotte and from that day on, she has been a consistent and dependable resource. Despite challenges caused by the pandemic, she has never failed to reach out and check on her students. For the graduate assistants especially, she devoted her time to making sure we were as safe and well-adjusted as possible. She continued to email and meet with us via WebEx until we had the confidence we needed. Anyone who knows Dr. Vetter knows she can read and respond to an email faster and more efficiently than most people can respond to a quick text message. Whether it is during her office hours or over the weekend, she never fails to communicate with her students in a more than timely manner. Dr. Vetter is considerate, honest, diligent, and very deserving of this award. Our program would not be what it is without her. Mikayla S. Marlow