Belk College of Business

John Connaughton, a faculty member in the Belk College of Business, talks about interest rates; his comments were made earlier this month following his quarterly economic forecast.

The North Carolina economy will continue modest growth in 2016, UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton reported today in the Babson Capital Management/UNC Charlotte Economic Forecast.

“Signs are pointing to a stable new year for the N.C. economy. In 2016, the North Carolina economy is expected to increase by an inflation-adjusted rate of 2.5 percent over the 2015 level,” Connaughton said. “This growth in 2016 follows four years of steady growth in North Carolina Gross State Product.”

UNC Charlotte economist John Connaughton will give his quarterly forecast for the North Carolina economy at a luncheon and press conference Tuesday, Dec. 8, at UNC Charlotte Center City. Connaughton’s presentation begins at noon in the auditorium. Lunch will be available beginning at 11:30 a.m.                               

UNC Charlotte’s Master of Science in Mathematical Finance program ranked No. 20 in the 2016 Master of Financial Engineering Program Rankings.

This is the third national ranking for the Mathematical Finance program, which is an improvement from last year’s ranking at No. 25. The rankings are calculated based on a series of factors, including average GRE scores, starting salaries and bonuses, undergraduate GPA, acceptance rates and the number of employed graduates.

UNC Charlotte’s part-time MBA ranked 20th among 74 programs profiled in the Bloomberg Businessweek biennial rankings.

“I am so proud to see our part-time MBA ranked as one of the top 20 programs in the nation. This significant recognition is representative of the caliber of students, faculty and graduate programs staff that embody our program,” said Belk College of Business Dean Steve Ott.

Alumnus Robert Niblock, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Lowe’s Companies Inc., is donating $2.5 million to UNC Charlotte’s Belk College of Business. His gift will support the Student Center for Professional Development in the Belk College, which will be named the Robert A. Niblock Student Center for Professional Development.

UNC Charlotte’s Master of Science in Mathematical Finance is ranked No. 24 in the QuantNet 2015 Rankings of Best Financial Engineering Program.

This is the second national ranking for the Mathematical Finance program, which currently enrolls more than 100 students.  The rankings are calculated based on a series of factors, including placement success, student selectivity, an employer survey score, as well as a peer assessment score.

UNC Charlotte student Matt Tifft will make his NASCAR XFINITY Series debut on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Kentucky Speedway driving the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry. The car will be bedecked in UNC Charlotte logos and colors.

The 19-year-old business management major from Hinckley, Ohio, currently runs a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series for Kyle Busch Motorsports. He also competes in a limited amount of ARCA Series events throughout the year.

Childress Klein is donating $2.5 million to UNC Charlotte’s Center for Real Estate, which is being named the Childress Klein Center for Real Estate. The gift will fund a new endowed professorship, master’s student professional training programs and faculty fellowships related to research on real estate and urban economics topics. With an expected match from the State of North Carolina for the professorship, the total impact of the gift will be $3.2 million.

Susan DeVore, a UNC Charlotte alumna and trustee, is among the inaugural group of “Influential Leaders” named by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the global accrediting body and membership association for business schools.