General News

Jeff Gillman, director of the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens, will teach a course on proper tree planting from 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesday, March 22, at the McMillan Greenhouse.

According to Gillman, trees can spend a hundred years or more growing in the spot where planted, so it is important to give them a strong foundation.

UNC President Margaret Spellings, during a visit to campus Monday and Tuesday, touted Charlotte as a great place to invest and get an education.

On Monday, Spellings visited the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, had lunch with the chancellor’s executive team and toured campus – with stops at EPIC and the Data Visualization Center.

Buddy Aldridge worked in facilities management for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2000. He passed away in 2015, but his legacy of service to the University will be enshrined forever as part of the Niner Walk Brick Program.

Crowdfund UNC Charlotte, an online platform to generate financial support for various campus ventures, returns this month with three new initiatives.

The fundraising projects are student- and alumni-driven initiatives with guidance from faculty or staff members; proposals are submitted to the Division of University Advancement before being promoted through Crowdfund UNC Charlotte.

Spring 2016 Crowdfund UNC Charlotte projects are “Operation SAA Uniforms,” “Women’s Soccer Team Europe Trip” and the “Burkhalter-Rassel Scholarship.”

North Carolina voters displayed wide-ranging bipartisan support for higher education on Tuesday by approving $2 billion in bonds for public universities, community colleges, state parks and other projects across the Tar Heel state. Statewide, voters approved the Connect NC bonds with 66 percent voting in favor of the package, according to the latest figures.

UNC Charlotte is one of nine institutions to receive a $50,000 national micro-grant to fund a pilot program to prevent low-income college students from dropping out prior to graduation.

The Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU) awarded $450,000 to nine public urban research institutions. Each college received $50,000.

Margaret Spellings, the new president of the University of North Carolina system, is concluding a two-day visit to UNC Charlotte and the Charlotte area with events on campus March 15. As she makes visits to the various UNC campuses, Spellings has been active in supporting the Connect NC bond issue on the March 15 statewide ballot.

Christy Jackson recently joined UNC Charlotte as the first director of communications for the Division of Business Affairs.

State appropriations and tuition and fees are among the funding sources for the University; however, the “extras” that add to academic and research opportunities and enhance campus facilities often result from the generosity of donors.

“Green with Gratitude” is a campus-wide initiative to inform students about the importance of philanthropy and to create the chance for them to express their appreciation to donors to the Chancellor’s Fund.

A pair of UNC Charlotte social work master’s students recently unveiled a plan to help provide mental health services to Charlotte’s underserved Latino population.

Graduate students Laura Pierce and Cameron Rifkin presented the plan at the UNC Social Entrepreneurship Conference after being selected as UNC Charlotte’s participants.