University strengthens relationships in Lincoln County

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Chancellor Philip L. Dubois paid a visit to Lincoln County on Monday, March 11, where he delivered the keynote address at the Lincoln County Rotary meeting.

In his presentation, Dubois talked about the strong connection between Lincoln County and UNC Charlotte, which promises to grow even deeper in the future. Currently, more than 350 undergraduate students at the University hail from Lincoln County, including 52 new freshmen in the fall of 2012 and a similar number of transfer students. Another 10 master’s and doctoral students from Lincoln County also attend UNC Charlotte.

“Of all the students from Lincoln County who attend UNC System schools, 31 percent attend UNC Charlotte,” he said. “That is more than any other UNC System campus.”

Roughly 1,400 of the University’s 60,000 alums who reside in the region live in Lincoln County, he said. They include Lincolnton Mayor John Gilleland Jr. (’82), Lincoln Times-News publisher Jerry Leedy (’77), retired Judge Tom Bowen( ’66)  and Sherry Hoyle (’05), superintendent of Lincoln County Schools. In addition, some 30 UNC Charlotte employees live in the county.

During the chancellor’s visit, UNC Charlotte officials demonstrated a mobile application for emergency response to a group of first-responders. Called the Effective Emergency Response Communication (EERC) System, the app operates via wireless Internet and allows a “command center” to see where each officer is, tells officers where the suspect is, and sends three-dimensional directions – and shortest routes – in buildings. The purpose is to give police a high-tech device to find suspects and keep people safe faster.

The app is the brainchild of Bill Ribarsky, chair of UNC Charlotte’s Computer Science Department and director of the Charlotte Visualization Center. Ribarsky developed the app along with associate professor K.R. Subramanian, graduate students and a research scientist.

In his presentation at the Rotary luncheon, Dubois discussed educational and health care partnerships between the University and Lincoln County schools and human services facilities and agencies. The day concluded with an alumni reception at the Court Street Grille, which featured head football coach Brad Lambert.

As part of the day-long outreach initiative, the chancellor also met with business and industry partners and civic and governmental leaders.

 This focused visit is part of a series of stops to the 12 counties that comprise the greater Charlotte region in an effort to strengthen relationships within the communities UNC Charlotte serves.