This week marks a significant anniversary for UNC Charlotte. On July 15, Chancellor Philip L. Dubois will have been on the job for 10 years.
Dubois was formally named the University’s fourth chancellor on March 18, 2005. He assumed the helm roughly four months later, after concluding his eight-year tenure as president of the University of Wyoming. His return to UNC Charlotte could be characterized as a homecoming, as Dubois first arrived on campus in 1991 as the chief academic officer, a post he held until departing for Wyoming in 1997.
In his first decade as UNC Charlotte chancellor, Dubois has presided during a period of tremendous student growth and campus expansion. Enrollment is up 28 percent to more than 27,200 students, with nearly $1 billion expended on construction and renovation projects completed during this period. Significant facility additions include the Student Union, UNC Charlotte Center City, EPIC, PORTAL, Jerry Richardson Stadium, a number of residence halls and other facilities.
“There are some amazing statistics in our enrollment growth. For example, UNC Charlotte accounts for 46 percent of the growth of the entire UNC system during the last six years. Students from throughout the region and across the state have us on their radar,” said the chancellor in the recent UNC Charlotte magazine article “A Defining Decade.” He added, prospective students and their families “can feel the energy” and see the “University is a very attractive place.”
Beyond the increase in students, many of whom are making UNC Charlotte their first choice, Dubois has guided the development of additional graduate programs and deepened the University’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. He also has built relationships with key stakeholders and friends of the University.
Astute leadership in the face of uncertainty has been another hallmark of the chancellor’s tenure. During the “Great Recession,” Dubois managed campus affairs under the mantra “hope for the best, plan for the worst.” In doing so, UNC Charlotte avoided severe employee layoffs that impacted other UNC system schools.
“Our overall strategy was to protect core academic activities and essential parts of our infrastructure, such as information technology and public safety,” Dubois stated.
According to the chancellor, three major decisions that “really mattered” have marked his first 10 years.
UNC Charlotte Center City, completed in 2011, is considered a defining achievement. Although the University had maintained a modest presence in Center City since the mid-1990s, the $50 million classroom and office building established UNC Charlotte as the anchor institution of a rapidly evolving First Ward district. An adjacent urban park, slated for completion late in 2015, was the result of an innovative public-private partnership involving the University, Mecklenburg County, the city of Charlotte and developer Daniel Levine.
The other two major University milestones were Charlotte 49ers football and the extension of light rail onto campus.
With regard to football, Dubois noted, “We did our homework. We knew exactly how much it was going to cost and where the money was going to be coming from, so there were no surprises.”
After two years as an independent collegiate program, the Charlotte 49ers will debut on the FBS level this fall as a member of Conference USA. The 2015 season will see the initiation of a full marching band "The Pride of Niner Nation," building upon the 49er Drum Line established two years ago.
Work is under way on campus for the UNC Charlotte main station, the final stop for the CATS Blue Line Extension. Transit officials expect the expansion to be finished in 2017. Completion of the line will formally link the main campus to UNC Charlotte Center City located at Ninth and Brevard streets.
“I think light rail is going to be tremendously important in both directions,” stated Dubois. “It will bring people onto campus who otherwise might not think about coming up here. And I think the market for athletics, cultural and artistic activities is going to be better than ever.”
When his day at the office is complete, Dubois journeys home to Bissell House, the official residence of the chancellor. He and his wife Lisa Lewis Dubois are the first couple to live in the home, named for Sara Bissell, late wife of Charlotte business leader and philanthropist Howard “Smoky” Bissell.
Reflecting on his defining decade, Dubois stated the numerous achievements accomplished during his first 10 years were supported by “many talented and dedicated faculty members and staff, all the alums who bleed green and the many donors who have given green and given their time.”
He added, “At the pace UNC Charlotte keeps, the years fly by fast. We intend to keep up that pace.”