University Operations

Gina Ramoz recently joined UNC Charlotte as biosafety director in the Office of Research and Economic Development.
With nearly 30 years of scientific experience working in clinical, research and academic laboratories, Ramoz will manage the biosafety program for the University’s rapidly growing and evolving research and academic environment.

Fall semester always is an exciting time as a new academic year gets under way at UNC Charlotte. More than 30,000 students, faculty and staff will be on campus engaged in research, scholarly or life-enriching pursuits. This includes an incoming freshman class of about 3,350 and roughly 2,700 transfer students.

Staff members from UNC Charlotte are working with community partners to soften the disruption for students whose off-campus apartments near the University will be delayed.
Several new high-end apartment complexes designed specifically for UNC Charlotte students are running behind schedule, with most of them able to accommodate only a portion of the 1,500 students who have leases. Most of those students had expected to move in around Friday, Aug. 15, but construction delays have pushed back move-in for many by up to three weeks.

South Village Crossing, the University’s new dining/gathering facility, will open in mid-October due to construction delays.
“South Village Crossing will be different from anything we’ve ever had at UNC Charlotte,” said Keith Wassum, associate vice chancellor for business services in the Division for Business Affairs. “The combination of state-of-the-art kitchen equipment and building systems, green building features and site considerations, added a significant level of complexity to the project.”

University Convocation, which traditionally marks the start of the academic year, will begin at 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, Aug. 19, in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall. This annual event is an opportunity for the campus community to learn more about the University’s short- and long-term goals and plans.
Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and Provost Joan Lorden will address faculty, staff and students.
In addition, Jim Kay, chair of the Staff Council, will give remarks; Greg Starrett from the Department of Anthropology will present the faculty agenda for the 2014-15 academic year.

The UNC Campus Security Initiative report that was provided Thursday, July 31, to the UNC Board of Governors by President Tom Ross was developed by a team of individuals focused on different aspects of safety from each of the 17 campuses.  UNC Charlotte was actively engaged in developing the report, which will be blueprint for the University system to further strengthen its protection of our students.  The entire report is online.

UNC Charlotte police, business continuity, communication, and facilities personnel will participate in a limited, emergency response simulation on campus Wednesday, Aug. 6. The activity is another example of the University working closely with local first responders to enhance campus safety and security.

During the past fiscal year, the campus community recycled more than 100,000 pounds of paper, with even more in glass, plastic and aluminum. In fact, the University’s waste diversion rate was approximately 40 percent, which means more than 2.3 million pounds of recyclables avoided being sent to landfills.
The Office of Waste Recycling and Reduction spearheads the University’s efforts to control the campus’ ecological footprint, and it can provide departments/offices/units to make recycling easier.

University Policy 317 sets the standards and conditions for requesting and authorizing an allowance for business use of an employee’s personal mobile communication device (MCD).  This practice is part of a growing trend termed “Bring Your Own Device” (BYOD) environment.
According to Tom York, director of internal audit, promoting a BYOD environment can have positive implications for an organization including:

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.