General News

First was football, and starting in fall 2015 the UNC Charlotte Marching Band will take the field. UNC Charlotte alumni Vickie and Gene Johnson have been the driving force behind the band, and they are donating $2 million to support the endeavor.

The most recent edition of the UNC Charlotte magazine features stories that depict the University’s global reach.
The cover story is a tale of a young man cast out of his African homeland who found a haven and a college education in Charlotte; he then returned home to help his compatriots.

New audiences became aware of UNC Charlotte’s International Festival through a collaborative effort between the Office of International Programs and the Office of University Communications.

Community was the theme for speakers at the 2014 Giving Green kickoff Wednesday, Oct. 1, at the Barnhardt Student Activity Plaza.

The Rowe Galleries will feature four artists in three shows during October.

The lower gallery will display “Evergreen: Vespiary,” featuring work by two guest ceramic artists: Valery Zimany and Daniel Bare, professors from Clemson University. The upper gallery will exhibit two independent shows “Heritage” by photographer and University of Virginia professor Pamela Pecchio and “Into the Screen: Still-Life Moving Image,” oil “still-life portraiture” paintings by artist Andrew Leventis.

The UNC CAUSE conference will be from Wednesday, Oct. 29, through Friday, Oct. 31, at the Sheraton Charlotte on McDowell Street. UNC Charlotte is the official host of this year’s annual event.

UNC CAUSE was established to help higher education information technology professionals in the UNC system to gather for networking, collaboration and professional development opportunities. The event is open to all UNC system faculty and staff. A number of UNC Charlotte personnel are among the conference speakers this year.

The CATS Blue Line Extension project, managed by the City of Charlotte Public Transportation Department, continues around campus and toward Center City. Recently, preparations for the light rail to swing onto campus have begun.

Trees across from Miltimore Hall are being removed to accommodate rail tracks and the station that will serve the University community, when it opens in mid-2017 (based upon the current construction schedule).

Once the campus station opens, University leaders anticipate re-planting trees where possible, without obstructing the rail lines.

Yele Aluko, senior vice president of Novant Health and medical director of the Novant Health Heart and Vascular Institute, will present “North Carolina’s Rejection of Medicaid Expansion: Politicizing the Health of Our Society” at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22, in the Rowe Arts Building, Room 130. A reception will follow Aluko’s presentation, which is free and open to the public.

Scholarships help to ease the financial burdens associated with college, and, sometimes, they enable students to better focus on their studies.
The UNC Charlotte Scholarship Office, under the direction of Mark Walter, is a new campus resource that will guide and support all colleges and departments that award endowed and annual scholarships.

Susan Burgess is director of University compliance, a new position that is responsible for the development, implementation, operation and oversight of an enterprise-wide program to ensure the institution’s adherence to its legal, ethical and regulatory obligations.