Honors College Dean Kanipes Receives Friday Lifetime Achievement Award

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (April 28, 2023) – Margaret I. Kanipes ‘90, Ph.D., dean of the new Honors College at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, has received the William C. Friday Lifetime Achievement Award from the University of North Carolina Association of Student Governments.

The Friday Award, established in the association’s 35^th session, is named for William C. “Bill” Friday, first president of the consolidated University of North Carolina and legend in higher education.

The prestigious award is not conferred annually; rather, the Council of Student Body Presidents may decide during an association session that it is appropriate to honor one public figure who has demonstrated a lifetime of exemplary service to students in the UNC System.

“I am honored and humbled to receive the William C. Friday Award,” said Kanipes. “I will cherish this award and continue to work tirelessly to advance the ideals it represents: to support and empower our students to achieve their full potential.”

Kanipes is the second person from N.C. A&T to earn the Friday Award, joining Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr., who received it during the association’s 2020-21 session.

A&T’s Honors College was established in October 2022 with Kanipes as its inaugural dean. It evolved from the University Honors Program (UHP), where she served as director.

As a proponent of creating a nurturing and inclusive academic environment that fosters student success, Kanipes’ leadership is characterized by a focus on providing students with the necessary resources and opportunities to excel academically, personally and professionally. As a result, the Honors College has seen a significant increase in the number of honors students at the university, the college’s endowments, corporate funding and grants. She also implemented a tracking management system for students’ participation in required lecture series and cultural events and increased both the enrollment of Honors students for travel abroad and student engagement overall.

Kanipes began her career in academia as an assistant biology professor at Fayetteville State University where she served for three years. She returned to her alma mater as an associate chemistry professor in 2004, and several years later served as interim chair of the Department of Chemistry for four years. She went on to serve as director of the STEM Center of Excellence for Active Learning for a year and as a professor of chemistry, continuing to hold the latter position as UHP director.

During her career, Kanipes has secured an external portfolio of more than $13.1 million in grants from agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation as principal investigator or co-principal investigator to support broadening participation and STEM student success.

Kanipes earned the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University College of Science and Technology Merit Teaching Award and the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University Department of Chemistry Teaching Excellence Award in 2017, A&T’s Young Investigator of the Year Award in 2007 and Summer Faculty Fellowship from A&T’s Division of Research and Economic Development in 2006. She also received the Faculty Mentor-Minority Access National Role Model Award and American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education Fellow in 2016, along with many other professional and academic accolades.

Kanipes holds a B.S. in chemistry from A&T and Ph.D. in biological sciences from Carnegie Mellon University. She also was a Duke University Postdoctoral Fellow in biochemistry.