General News

At one time, news coverage centered on worries about video games’ negative influence on kids — but these days, they are making headlines because of the ways they are being used to help students learn.  An avalanche of research supporting video games’ ability to encourage academic development has driven momentum on this issue.

Declining civility among higher education faculty was cited as a concern this year by an Inside Higher Education survey of college/university chief academic officers. According to the results, 27 percent of provosts were “very concerned” and 44 percent were “somewhat concerned.”

The 2015 BioEnergy Symposium, scheduled for Thursday, May 14, will center on the topic of beneficial byproducts of bioenergy.

Patrick Serfass, executive director of American Biogas Council, will deliver the keynote address; he will provide insight on the “National Biogas Markets, Policies and Trends Influencing North Carolina.” The luncheon keynote will feature Mary Biddy, senior research engineer of the National Renewables Energy Laboratory, who will discuss “Maximizing Value from Biomass: Developing Pathways for the Production of Fuels and Products.”

 Former Charlotte 49ers defensive back Desmond Cooper has signed a contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars to become the first UNC Charlotte football player to sign an NFL contract.

 Cooper signed the contract shortly after the conclusion of the Jaguars two-day mini-camp.

Members of the UNC Charlotte Retired Faculty and Professional Staff Association recently gathered for lunch, tour and wine tasting at Morgan Ridge Vineyard, located in Gold Hill.

The association organizes three to four events a year; the group participated in a tour of the PORTAL Building recently, too.

The mission of the UNC Charlotte Retired Faculty and Profesusional Staff Association is to provide a way for interested retired faculty and professional staff to continue their relationship with the University.

The UNC Charlotte School of Social Work will host a daylong summit on Tuesday, May 12, on the business and sustainability needs of behavioral health care executives, focusing specifically on women and minority health care leaders.

The program will include health care providers, agency executives, faculty, staff and students currently practicing or planning to practice in North Carolina.  

Rising red-shirt junior defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale High School) will receive the Jon Richardson Football Scholarship. He is the second recipient of the scholarship. Last year, center Thomas La Bianca was named as the inaugural recipient.

The scholarship, donated by Jerry and Rosalind Richardson in tribute to their son, is designated for a 49ers football player from North or South Carolina who best displays five characteristics intrinsic to the development of a successful student-athlete: hard work, harmony, teamwork, listening and respect.

Charlotte 49ers will host Homecoming this fall on Saturday, Oct. 24, in Richardson Stadium, against Conference USA opponent University of Southern Mississippi. This will be the 49ers’ first Homecoming date against a conference rival.

Southern Miss holds the Conference USA record with five league titles. In fact, the Golden Eagles shared the first-ever C-USA title with Houston in 1996. Their most recent league championship came in 2011. Southern Miss has produced such NFL greats as Brett Favre and Ray Guy.

The N.C. Department of Labor recently recognized UNC Charlotte with its Gold Award for providing a safe and healthy workplace, as well as a 2 Million Hour Award for consecutive hours worked without lost time due to employee injury.

Campus safety is a shared responsibility across the University, and these honors underscore our commitment to fostering a culture of safety at UNC Charlotte, said Darius Griffin, director of the Environmental Health and Safety Office; he and Angela Allen, workers’ compensation administrator, accepted the awards on behalf of the University.

UNC Charlotte journalism students won a 2014 Mark of Excellence Award from the Society of Professional Journalists at the SPJ Region 2 conference held at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

The students received “Best Independent Online Student Publication” for a website created from student work for the 2014 course “Covering Poverty in America,” conceptualized and taught by senior lecturer Cheryl Spainhour.