Program Staff

Victoria L. Rovine, Professor of Art and Art History and Director, vrovine@unc.edu

Victoria (Vicki) Rovine is a professor of African Art History in the Department of Art and Art History. She was thrilled to join the faculty at Carolina in 2014, after holding teaching and curatorial positions at the University of Florida and the University of Iowa. She was previously director of the UNC African Studies Center. Her research focuses on African textiles and dress practices, and more recently she has conducted research on the roles of textiles and weaving in French colonial West Africa. She has published widely on African textiles, fashion designers, contemporary African artists, and the representation of Africa in Europe through visual culture. While she finds academic research and publishing very rewarding, she is equally passionate about making this work accessible to wide audiences, and to fostering public access to academic work across the humanities.

Maximilian Owre, Executive Director, 919-537-3520, owre@unc.edu  

Max Owre started working with Carolina Public Humanities in 2009 when it was the “Program in the Humanities and Human Values.” He served as Associate Director (2010-13) and Interim Director (2013-14) before assuming the position of Executive Director in July 2014.

A graduate of the University of Vermont, Dr. Owre obtained his PhD in Modern European History from UNC-CH in 2008. He is a lecturer in the History Department at Carolina, where he teaches courses in European, world, and French colonial history. Max is a principal organizer, and frequent host and moderator, of CPH Events. He also lectures frequently for CPH on various topics in French and European history.

J. Brian Entzminger, Business Manager, 919-962-1544, entzming@unc.edu  

Beth Gardiner (she/her), Events Manager, 919-962-1546, elizabeth.gardiner@unc.edu

Beth joined Carolina Public Humanities in 2023 from the theatre world where she worked all over the country as a director, producer, and educator focusing on community engagement and creating dynamic productions of classic plays. She founded a New York City theatre company called Three Day Hangover that created fresh, immersive adaptations of classic plays in non-traditional theatre venues. Three Day’s adaptations of work by Shakespeare, Chekhov, Molière, and others garnered the company widespread critical acclaim and an enthusiastic cult following. She earned her BA in Theater at Wesleyan University and her MFA in Drama from the University of California at Irvine. In addition to managing the public programming at CPH, Beth will be devising new types of events, which will extend our work to a broader audience.

Joanna Flynn, Associate Director for State Outreach, 919-962-1544, jsflynn@unc.edu

Joanna first got to know the folks at Carolina Public Humanities when she was awarded an Adams Fellowship in 2018, and she came on board as a staff member in spring 2020. While at CPH, she completed her PhD in Religious Studies at UNC-CH. Her research focuses on 19th- and 20th-century American religion with a particular emphasis on shifting religious sensibilities around nature and animality throughout American history. At CPH, she works to connect the scholars and resources of the university with communities throughout the state, working primarily with community colleges and state historic sites. In addition to organizing CPH’s statewide engagement, she teaches classes in the History Department on American environmental history.

Paul Bonnici (he/him), Special Projects Coordinator, 919-962-1544, bonnici@unc.edu  

Paul Bonnici serves as the Special Projects Coordinator for Carolina K-12, which works to extend the resources of Carolina Public Humanities and the University to North Carolina’s K-12 educators. Paul develops curriculum and designs professional development programs which include access to scholars on key topics and interactive pedagogical training in areas such as history, government, & economics.  He also manages communications, social media, and public relations for Carolina Public Humanities. Prior to joining Carolina K-12 in 2009, Paul taught social studies and served as a testing coordinator for Chatham County Public Schools. He earned his Associates degree in Liberal Arts from Nassau Community College, a Bachelor’s degree in History and a Master’s in Arts and Teaching from UNC-Chapel Hill. Unfortunately, he’s a fan of the NY Mets, Jets, and Islanders.

TJ Mundy (they/them), Public Communications Specialist, 919-962-1544, tjmundy@unc.edu

TJ Mundy started their UNC journey as the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Digital and Lifelong Learning at the Friday Conference Center and joined Carolina Public Humanities in Fall 2024 as Public Communications Specialist. They are passionate about using marketing and social media as a force for good, spreading information about accessible educational and humanities-based resources. As an artist and graphic designer, TJ has been featured in many juried and group exhibitions and worked with the Town of Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Orange County, Raleigh Arts, Duke University, Artspace, and many other local organizations to bring their ideas to life for local events, branding assignments, and murals. Time spent being creative is never wasted.

Kylie Seltzer (she/her), Zietlow Postdoctoral Fellow, kseltz@unc.edu

Kylie Seltzer is a researcher, educator, digital enthusiast, and community builder whose work focuses on fostering collective liberation and creating a more world. An architectural historian by trade, Kylie’s dissertation research focused on the intersection of race theory and the built environment, specifically the ways that architecture became a tool for visualizing and dissemination ideas about white supremacy. Her innovative research has been recognized by the Graham Foundation, the Council for European Studies, and The American Council of Learned Societies. After finishing her PhD in 2020, she worked at a racial and social justice-focused consulting firm as the lead research strategist, where she analyzed and synthesized qualitative and quantitative data she is responsible for developing and leading a new branch of work that blends civic engagement and the public humanities. In her free time, she can be found doting on her Shih Tzus, George Michael and Phil Collins, training for her first marathon, and nagging her husband to take her to plant shops.

Katherine Stein (she/her), Zietlow Graduate Fellow

Katherine Stein is a PhD Candidate and instructor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature. Katherine’s dissertation project focuses on imaginative iterations of historiography in the Victorian novel, studying how the figure of the child serves as a lens for thinking about history.  In addition to her academic research, Katherine is also a committed teacher and public humanist who is passionate about bringing humanistic thought and inquiry to the world outside the academy.  In 2020, Katherine was awarded an Adams Fellowship for the Public Humanities and has since worked for the Jane Austen Summer Program, UNC Global Affairs, and the Digital Literacy and Communications Lab on a variety of public-facing projects and programs.

Emeritus Staff

Lloyd Kramer, Professor of History and Director Emeritus

Lloyd Kramer served as Director of Carolina Public Humanities from 2014 to 2024. He joined the UNC faculty in 1986 and often presented lectures on historical subjects at seminars for “Adventures in Ideas.” He also served on the CPH Faculty Advisory Board, participated in Carolina Public Humanities’ long-range strategic planning, led Executive Seminars on the Humanities at off-campus venues, and directed the History Department’s “Project for Historical Education”—a longtime program of seminars for history teachers in the public schools.  

Professor Kramer’s teaching and research focus on Modern European History with an emphasis on nineteenth-century France. He is particularly interested in historical processes that shape cultural identities, including the experiences of cross-cultural exchange and the emergence of modern nationalism. Other research and teaching interests deal with the roles of intellectuals in modern societies and the theoretical foundations of historical knowledge. One recurring theme in all of his research and teaching stresses the importance of cross-cultural exchanges in modern world history.

Click here to read about some of Professor Kramer’s ideas for the continuing development of Carolina Public Humanities.

Susan Betts Landstrom

Susan Landstrom claims the title of longest-serving staff member of Carolina Public Humanities, having joined up as a temporary program assistant in 1985 while she was finishing her Ph.D. in American literature at UNC-Chapel Hill, and become a permanent employee in 1987. Since 1989, she has been the Business Manager of CPH. In that role, she pays the bills, offers unsolicited advice and historical perspective, keeps CPH on the right side of the UNC-Chapel Hill administrative bureaucracy, and attends as many CPH programs as she can. She is also a Fine Arts and Humanities representative to AMAC (Administrative Managers Advisory Council) in the College of Arts & Sciences. She and her husband live in the woods of northern Chatham County with Helen, the cat who bits the hand that feeds her, where she watches professional bicycle races, sews, and attempts to garden. Susan retired in 2021.

Christie Norris, Director, Carolina K-12

Christie Norris served as the Director of Carolina K-12 (formerly the NC Civic Education Consortium) from 2006 to 2024. Carolina K-12 works to extend the resources of Carolina Public Humanities and the University to North Carolina’s K-12 educators. Christie designs and facilitates professional development programs for teachers in each of North Carolina’s 100 counties, as well as writes middle and high school curriculum. She is a strong advocate of K-12 educators and promotes appreciation for the difficult work of teachers and the challenges they face. She previously served as an Education Policy Fellow with the NC Public School Forum, is the 2020 Recipient of the Bryan Public Service Award, and is committed to issues of equity in education, culturally responsive teaching and socio emotional learning. Prior to joining Carolina K-12 in 2006, Christie taught social studies in Durham Public Schools, and previously served as the assistant director of an educational nonprofit in New York City’s PS38. Christie is now the Director of Education for the NC Department of Natural and Cultural resources.