Places in Time

The Dale F. Halton Arena opened Dec. 2, 1996, as a state-of-the-art facility intended to showcase sporting events and major functions. It honors a generous University supporter whose name also graces a reading room in Atkins Library and the tennis complex.

Halton is the granddaughter of Henry Barksdale Fowler, the founder of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Charlotte, which was established in 1905 as the nation’s first Pepsi franchise. At the time, Charlotte had a population of about 15,000.

UNC Charlotte’s evolution from a commuter campus primarily serving undergraduate students to a research institution offering doctoral programs resulted from the drive of Chancellor Emeritus James Woodward.

To recognize the strong foundation laid by Woodward and his wife Martha, the University designated Woodward Hall in their honor.

Dorothy McMillan was known for her love of exotic flowers and her philanthropy, and the University benefited greatly from her largesse. A loyal backer of UNC Charlotte, McMillan donated her collection of 3,000 orchids to campus. This gift blossomed and led to the creation of a permanent campus facility that attracts thousands of visitors annually.

Bissell House is the official residence of UNC Charlotte’s chancellor, and its namesake, Sara Bissell, was devoted not only to her business and family but to the greater Charlotte community.

Dedicated on Nov. 18, 2004, Bissell House has been the venue for hundreds of campus and community events, with Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and his wife Lisa Lewis Dubois offering a gracious welcome to UNC Charlotte students, faculty, staff and visitors. Named the University’s fourth chancellor in early 2005, Dubois and his family became Bissell House’s first occupants.

Duke Centennial Hall provides state-of-the-art teaching facilities and research laboratories for one of the most highly regarded engineering colleges in the Southeastern United States.

The 106,786-square-foot facility houses the Office of the Dean of the William States Lee College of Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science. It was dedicated Friday, Sept. 8, 2006, along with the adjacent William Grigg Hall, whose namesake is chairman emeritus of Duke Energy. Grigg served the company for 35 years prior to his retirement in 1997.

The North Carolina Humanities Council (NCHC) will move its administrative offices to Charlotte in early 2015, to take advantage of what its leaders believe are new and exciting opportunities for organizational development and collaborations in the state’s largest city.

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.

The Sheldon Phelps Smith Building honors an individual whose foresight helped to chart UNC Charlotte’s educational course.
Smith, vice president and general manager of the Douglas Aircraft Company’s Charlotte Division, served as a trustee of Charlotte College from 1958 to 1965. He is credited with bringing an engineering program to the institution. Through his generosity, Douglas Aircraft Co. engineers taught at Charlotte College on a released time basis; as many as nine part-time instructors from Douglas were in service at one time.