Alumni

Three degrees, one vision: Natarajan Ravikumar blends technical depth, business acumen and data mastery Since he was a kid in Chennai, India, relentlessly solving a Rubik’s Cube, Natarajan Ravikumar sought solutions – and he was good at it.   Today, he is a three-time Charlotte master’s alumnus and a technology executive at Honeywell, where he is […]

Qamaria Yemeni Coffee Co., which opened recently in the J.W. Clay Parking Deck near campus, is among the latest design creations from A.B. Group. This Charlotte-based architecture, interior design and building engineering firm is led by alumnus Alaa Bou Ghanem ’18, ’20. With an office East Boulevard,  A.B. Group has a 12-member staff, including three Charlotte graduates, […]

KoKo Thornton ’97 is the 2025 recipient of the Inspiring Teacher Award, presented at the National High School Musical Theatre Awards, known as the Jimmy Awards. Thornton was nominated by her former student Conor Kruger, who participated in the 2024 Jimmy Awards. He is her fifth student to go to the national competition from Enloe Magnet […]

UNC Charlotte is the acceleration point of racing innovation.  This May, UNC Charlotte is putting the pedal down. And the racing world is taking notice. From the banks of NASCAR’s fiercest tracks to the sharp turns of real-world data analytics, Charlotte students and alumni are proving that the future of racing doesn’t happen by chance. […]

UNC Charlotte’s Black Alumni Chapter presented its Excellence in Leadership Awards to 10 outstanding alumni at a ceremony in the Popp Martin Student Union Saturday, Feb. 1. The Excellence in Leadership Awards, founded in 2011 under the leadership of the first BAC president and former faculty member Gregory Davis ’76, recognize and celebrate the accomplishments […]

Hannah Javidi ’18 is on the 2025 Forbes 30 under 30 list for notable achievements in health care in North America. The magazine recognized her for the creation of a digital program to teach teens about sexual consent and skills. A postdoctoral fellow at Indiana University’s School of Public Health, Javidi earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology […]

Courtney Hunt ’18 recently was named a recipient of Delta Zeta Sorority’s 35 Under 35 Award, which recognizes outstanding young professionals who have achieved success by making a significant impact in their industry, before the age of 35. Hunt is the event and venue manager for The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City. She is […]

UNC Charlotte Chancellor Sharon L. Gaber and several University alumni and board members have been named to the 2024 Business North Carolina Power List.
Gaber was recognized for the fourth consecutive year in the education category. The publication noted Gaber’s push to expand research and Charlotte’s projection to receive Carnegie R1, or top-tier, research classification in early 2025.

Distinguished alumna Caridad Svich ’85 was awarded a 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Svich, appointed in the field of Drama and Performance Art, is one of 188 international recipients chosen from more than 3,000 applicants through a rigorous application and peer review process.

Guggenheim Fellows are named because of prior career achievement and exceptional promise. Each fellow receives a monetary stipend to pursue independent work at the highest level under “the freest possible conditions.”

On March 8, Michael Whatley ’91 was elected co-chair of the Republican National Committee ahead of November’s national election. Whatley previously served as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party since 2019.

Whatley, who earned a bachelor’s degree in history from UNC Charlotte, attended Wake Forest University, where he completed a master’s degree in religion. He also earned a master’s in theology and a law degree from the University of Notre Dame.