General News

Recently a painting of an SR-71 Mach 3 jet was added to the stairwell in Duke Centennial Hall. It is the latest creation by Peter Tkacik, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and engineering science in the William States Lee College of Engineering.

Dedicated on Sept. 8, 2006, William H. Grigg Hall is home to a number of Charlotte Research Institute offices and facilities, including the Center for Optoelectronics and Optical Communications.

During the past academic year, the Department of Music has had access to first-class standard and digital pianos through an association with the Rockley Family Foundation.
To perpetuate this program, these instruments, along with those provided other institutions, will be sold Friday through Sunday, Aug. 8-10, at the Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts.
Individuals can schedule appointments to attend a “pre-sale” on Friday and Saturday; a final day sale will be from noon to 5 p.m., Sunday.

Conference USA announced Wednesday that a new television partner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, will produce and distribute more than 100 events during the next two years.  Those games will be part of the newly launched American Sports Network (ASN). A pair of UNC Charlotte home games will be among those aired on ASN – the Sept. 6 contest against Johnson C. Smith and the Nov. 15 one versus Wesley College. Both games kick off at noon.

UNC Charlotte’s Police and Public Safety Department (PPS) has launched a new initiative to equip all campus officers with an iPad for use in the field. It is an effort to increase police proficiency through cost-effective measures.
“We are a research-based police department,” said Jeffrey Baker, UNC Charlotte chief of police.  “We continually strive to stay out in front by researching methods of policing that can help ensure that we are doing the best in providing a safe and secure environment.

UNC Charlotte freshman Jack Bretz Jr. was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia this past August. At the time, the 20-year-old was weeks from attempting to obtain a black belt in the martial art form Tang Soo Do.
After months of treatment, staff members at Novant Health Blume Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, inspired by Bretz’s “courage, resolve, determination and discipline,” contacted the Dream On 3 organization to help Bretz realize his sports dream to meet Chuck Norris.

College of Computing and Informatics alumnus Hakim Touati and graduate students Fadi Mohsen, Saeed Al-haj and Mohammed Al-saleh finished second in “The Money Event (TME) Charlotte Challenge Hackathon.” 
This regional event, held in the PORTAL Building, was one of several competitions sponsored around the world.  The CCI team created a mobile solution called “SkipLine” that helps customers skip checkout lines at busy bakeries or coffee shops.  The winning team was comprised of professional developers with three to four years of experience.

Olin Broadway, executive-in-residence in the UNC Charlotte College of Computing and Informatics (CCI), will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award during Charlotte Business Journal’s second annual Chief Information Officer of the Year reception Thursday, July 17. The event honors Charlotte’s top technology leaders.
Broadway joined CCI in 2000; during the past 14 years, he has organized or directed a number of college initiatives, including the Charlotte Informatics Conference, Software as a Service Conference and the eBusiness Technology Institute.

UNC Charlotte has been granted associate membership in the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).
Founded in 1924, NASM is an organization of schools, conservatories, colleges and universities with approximately 650 accredited institutional members. It establishes national standards for undergraduate and graduate degrees in music.