General News

The panel discussion “Gone ’Til November: Why the Judicial System Fails the Black American Male” will be at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 23, at UNC Charlotte Center City.

This event is the fifth program in the year-long series of public discussions “Real Talk: A Community Conversation – The Black American Male and Why He Still Matters in the 21st Century,” being presented by UNC Charlotte’s Center for the Study of the New South in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The final installment “I am a Man! Black, Male and Gay” will be presented Thursday, May 21.

Niner Nation Gives, a worldwide celebration of UNC Charlotte, will be Thursday, April 9.

For 24 hours, starting at 8 a.m. on April 9, members of the Niner Nation will have the opportunity to give back to UNC Charlotte.

Golfers will tee off for a good cause at the “On the Green” tournament, which has a 1 p.m. shotgun start Friday, April 24, at the Tradition Club in Charlotte.

All proceeds from this annual event support the P.J. Briggs Scholarship fund. Registration for the tournament is limited to 144 spots and is open through Wednesday, April 15.

Event participants will receive range balls, entry to the putting contest, lunch and a “goody” bag. At the event, there will be prize drawings, contests and raffles.

April is Autism Awareness Month, and in commemoration of World Autism Awareness Day April 2, UNC Charlotte’s Dickson Gate, the campus’s main entrance, was lit blue as part of a global event to raise awareness of autism and celebrate individuals with autism for their unique talents and gifts. Thousands of iconic landmarks, communities, businesses and homes across the globe united by shining bright blue lights in honor of the millions of individuals and families around the world with autism.

The Department of Dance will host the Collegium for African Diaspora Dance (CADD) on Thursday and Friday, April 9-10. CADD is an egalitarian community of scholars and artists committed to exploring, promoting and engaging African diaspora dance as a resource and method of aesthetic identity. CADD was founded at Duke University; UNC Charlotte Assistant Professor of Dance Takiyah Nur Amin is one of the group’s original members.

The UNC Charlotte meeting of CADD includes two free public events.

The Division for University Advancement will host an introduction to campaigns session from 8 to 9 a.m., Friday, April 24, in the Student Union, Multipurpose Room.

A student volunteer venture to help veterans near Camp Lejeune this past fall recently earned the University the Outstanding Community Partner Award from the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP).

This past fall, eight students from the University College/College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Learning Community participated in a SERCAP Volunteers for Communities Alternative Break Program. The volunteers, all freshmen, were Jessica Beavers, Selena Brown, Alyssa Finkelstein, Benjamin Iuliano, Hannah Javidi, Madison McKinnon, Edwin Ogachi and Sarah Payne.

General Graphene, an Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based company, won the grand prize of $20,000 at the 2015 Charlotte Venture Challenge.

The company is developing industrial scale graphene manufacturing capabilities using production methods licensed from the University of Texas and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Each machine will produce 60,000 sheets (square meter) of graphene (a form of carbon described as having “extraordinary” properties) per year.

Bill Ribarsky, the Bank of America Endowed Chair in Information Technology, is the 2015 recipient of the First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal, UNC Charlotte’s most prestigious faculty award in recognition of excellence in research.

Ribarsky’s research has greatly influenced the field of visualization and visual analytics. He has been lauded by peers for advancing the way in which individuals visualize data and approach real-world problems.

Matthew Vines will present “God and the Gay Christian” at 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 8, in the Student Union Theater. The Multicultural Resource Center is sponsoring this free, public event.

Vines is an advocate for the acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people within Christian communities and in society at large. He attended Harvard University from 2008-10, then took a leave of absence in order to research the Bible and homosexuality and work toward LGBT inclusion in the church.