UNC Charlotte The magazine of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte for Alumni and Friends • v18 q3 • 2011
Staking
our Claim in center CITY
A new era of connectivity begins
UNC CHARLOTTE |
c h a n c e l l o r ’s l e t te r
Making History: UNC Charlotte Center City
As important and valuable as our main campus has been to UNC Charlotte, its distance from the heart of the community we serve sometimes seems greater than a mere 10 miles.
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
As important and valuable as our main campus has been to UNC Charlotte, its distance from the heart of the community we serve sometimes seems greater than a mere 10 miles. We recently took a bold, historic step to bridge that perceived gap. With the August opening of the Center City Building we marked the University’s new presence in the Center City, and began a new chapter in our ongoing commitment to the business and cultural hub of our region. Although UNC Charlotte has taught classes in the Center City since the mid-1990s, our new facility creates a much more substantial presence, allowing the community far greater access to our resources that support education, research and community service. The 11-story Center City Building, situated on the corner of Ninth and Brevard streets, provides 143,000 total square feet for offices and academic programs in graduate, professional and continuing education. The building houses graduate-level programs, including the Belk College of Business MBA and the School of Architecture’s Master of Urban Design graduate program and the Design + Society Research Center. The University’s Office of Continuing Education is also located there and is expected to schedule many of its offerings in the beautiful new classrooms. More than a classroom building, Center City includes a number of public spaces, including an art gallery, Barnes and Noble Bookstore, Einstein Brothers Bagel café and 100- and 300-seat auditoriums for lectures and performances. The facility also includes a full catering kitchen to support receptions and other events scheduled in Center City. The lineup of Center City events and exhibits slated for the 2011-2012 academic year has shaped up nicely to include some of our state’s most thoughtful public servants, distinguished artists and an internationally renowned project that will bring world-wide recognition to Charlotte. On November 16, we will host our signature lecture series as part of the formal ceremonial opening of the Center City Building. The inaugural event of the “Chancellor’s Speaker Series” will be an invitation-only evening with former U.S. Senator Alan Simpson and former UNC President Erskine Bowles, co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility
and Reform. Chris William, the host of Carolina Business Review, will moderate their conversation about their recent work on federal deficit reduction and their extensive careers in government and politics. At the start of the New Year, Center City will welcome its first gallery exhibit, commissioned by the College of Arts + Architecture. German video installation artist Anna von Gwinner uses the projection of moving images to expose the characteristics of surrounding architecture in urban settings. She is creating a special piece for the exhibit. In the spring, the Violins of Hope initiative will provide to the community a number of spectacular cultural and educational opportunities. The Violins of Hope consists of 18 violins that survived the events of the Holocaust and were restored by master violinmaker Amnon Weinstein. First played publicly in September 2008 in Jerusalem, the Violins of Hope have never before been exhibited or played together in North America; their debut will culminate in an April exhibition in the Center City gallery. Many individuals and events have collaborated to bring the Violins of Hope to Charlotte, but we ultimately credit the professional relationship and friendship shared by Weinstein and David Russell, the University’s Anne R. Belk Distinguished Professor of Music, for this unique opportunity. We are honored to host the exhibit and to partner with a number of community organizations and educational institutions to bring the violins to Charlotte. Special thanks is due to the Wells Fargo Private Bank, which has provided the lead gift to make the exhibit and associated programs possible. This year promises to be both meaningful and memorable, as we celebrate our expanded presence in Charlotte. I invite you to connect with the University and all it has to offer in Center City. Cordially,
Philip L. Dubois, Chancellor
www.UNCC.edu
contents
| UNC CHARLOTTE
32
14
18
features
12
10
49ers Notebook
22 Center Stage
Citizen Schools
39 Class Notes
Through a national program aimed at extending the school day, UNC Charlotte student volunteers are making a difference in the lives of students who attend low-performing schools in the Charlotte region.
40 Building Blocks
14
Staking Our Claim to Center City
Classes began this fall in UNC Charlotte’s new, urban location, which serves as an important connector between the community and all of the cultural and educational experiences UNC Charlotte offers.
18
Man vs. Microbe
departments 3 News Briefs
Professor of biology James Oliver has spent 35 years digging into the particulars of a very vicious microbe. Oliver discusses what he’s learned about the most fatal food-borne pathogen in the world.
28 Urban Education Guru
Chance Lewis arrived on campus this fall as the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair of Urban Education. He arrives with high expectations, unfettered opinions and an impressive research agenda.
32 Just the Facts
Resources that pull data together and make it easily accessible are few and far between; but the Urban Institute’s Charlotte Regional Indicators website has done just that. The new resource is available to help organizations and policy makers make informed decisions.
On the Cover: The gleaming Center City Building, located in the heart of Charlotte’s First Ward, opened its doors to students in August. On the horizon is an exciting array of cultural and educational events, to be held in the University’s new Center City location. Photo by Wade Bruton.
www.UNCC.edu
41
Perspective
stake your claim profiles 8 Passion for Coaching: Brad Lambert Charlotte 49ers head football coach Brad Lambert is working tirelessly to get the University’s fledgling program off the ground. What motivates Lambert is a love of coaching. 24 Reaping What She Sows: Robin Emmons, ’00 When Robin Emmons quit her job, she had no idea that she’d soon embark on a quest to change the way we eat, the way we think, and the way we live. 35 A Generous Man: Nicholas Goudes Along with an inspirational success story, education advocate and philanthropist Nicholas Goudes left a legacy of educational opportunity for UNC Charlotte students.
Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
1
U NC C H A R LOT T E
| e d i to r ’s d e s k
Staking Our Claim in Center City … and Beyond This edition of UNC Charlotte begins and ends with UNC Charlotte Center City. The striking new building gracing our cover is the subject of the Chancellor’s Letter on the inside front cover, the Perspective column on the inside back cover, and a photo spread and feature article in the middle of this magazine. The building staff hosted a community day for Uptown neighbors, and the University’s staff, faculty and families in mid-September. Major artistic and cultural events are coming later this fall. And all the while, graduate students and citizens are flocking day and night to classes offered by three colleges and the Office of Extended Academic Programs. More than 1,700 students and more than 60 professors use the building every week. UNC Charlotte Center City is more than a building; more than an academic facility. It is a symbol of UNC Charlotte as an indispensible thread in the social, cultural and economic fabric of the Charlotte region. It will serve as a hub for the University, an anchor for further First Ward redevelopment and a magnet for people seeking to learn. And when the Light Rail tracks that lie nearby become extended to the main campus in coming years, UNC Charlotte Center City will serve as a gateway that makes the University even more accessible to the community. There’s more in these pages – good reading about 49ers Head Football Coach Brad Lambert; ground breaking, practical biology research by Jim Oliver and his team; College of Computing & Informatics students joining forces with public school students and teachers; profiles of outstanding professors and alums … and much more. With the beginning of fall classes in late August, a new academic year has begun. UNC Charlotte is abuzz with activity. Be part of it. Come see us! Regards,
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte Volume 18, Number 3 Philip L. Dubois Chancellor Gene Johnson Chair of the Board of Trustees Niles Sorensen Vice Chancellor for University Advancement Editor Director of Public Relations John D. Bland Creative Director Fabi Preslar Contributing Writers Melba Newsome Paul Nowell Lisa A. Patterson Shelly Theriault Staff Photographer Wade Bruton Design & Production SPARK Publications
UNC Charlotte is published four times a year by The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 ISSN 10771913 Editorial offices: 202 Foundation Building The University of North Carolina at Charlotte 9201 University City Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28223 704.687.5825
John D. Band, Editor Director of Public Relations
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is open to people of all races and is committed to equality of educational opportunity and does not discriminate against applicants, students or employees based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability.
Printed on recycled paper 17,500 copies of this publication were printed at a cost of $.54 per piece, for a total cost of $9,375. 2
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
www.UNCC.edu
n ew s b r i e f
| UNC CHARLOTTE
In April 2012, UNC Charlotte’s College of Arts + Architecture will bring “Violins of Hope” to Charlotte for a series of premiere exhibitions and performances about the instruments recovered from the Holocaust. Coming to North America for the first time, “Violins of Hope” is a collection of 18 violins restored by Israeli master violinmaker Amnon Weinstein. The instruments will be in Charlotte next April in part through financial support from Wells Fargo Private Bank, the exclusive corporate partner. UNC Charlotte’s David Russell, the Anne R. Belk Distinguished Professor of Music, is friends with Weinstein and his family. According to Ken Lambla, dean of the College of Arts + Architecture, “The trust and affection between these two men is the seed from which a remarkable project has grown, allowing UNC Charlotte to bring to this hemisphere instruments that offer rare insight into how music offers inspiration to the human spirit and substance to our relationships with others. Each violin appears fragile, almost lonely, and yet each one carries with it the strength of memory.” In 1996, Weinstein began to collect and carefully restore violins that had extraordinary histories. Each violin is an artifact from the Holocaust. Some were played by Jewish prisoners in Nazi concentration camps; others belonged to the Jewish Klezmer musical culture, which was all but destroyed in the Holocaust. www.UNCC.edu
First played publicly in 2008 in Jerusalem and then exhibited and played in 2010 in Sion, Switzerland, the 18 “Violins of Hope” have never before been exhibited or played together in North America. Their American debut in Charlotte, and the rich programming inspired by their arrival, is expected to garner national attention for the University and the Charlotte region. In collaboration with numerous arts and educational partners, the UNC Charlotte College of Arts + Architecture will present a series of performances, exhibitions, film screenings and educational programs that explore the history of music and the arts in the face of oppression. “The College of Arts + Architecture is delighted to be working with so many cultural and academic partners,” said Dean Lambla. “The ‘Violins of Hope’ project demonstrates our commitment to engage with a broad array of institutions in Charlotte that educate and collaborate to make this community a better place to live.” Madelyn Caple, regional managing director for corporate sponsor Wells Fargo Private Bank, stated, “Wells Fargo Private Bank is dedicated to serving the community we’re in. Through our sponsorship of ‘Violins of Hope,’ we are pleased to support both local education and art.” Other cultural partners for the project are Arts & Science Council, Charlotte Latin School, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte Symphony, Charlotte
Photo by Daniel Coston
Internationally Renowed Violins Of Hope Coming In April
UNC Charlotte student Brandon Buckmaster plays the Auschwitz-Birchenau violin at a reception hosted by Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and Lisa Lewis Dubois in August.
Teachers Institute, The Foundation for the Carolinas, the Foundation for the Jewish Community, Johnson C. Smith University, Levine Museum of the New South, LevineSklut Judaic Library and Resource Center, Myers Park Baptist Church, Queens University of Charlotte and the Sandra and Leon Levine Jewish Community Center. “Violins of Hope” will be displayed in the College of Arts + Architecture’s gallery in the University’s Center City Building from April 14-24, 2012. Performances featuring the violins begin April 12 with a concert celebrating the people of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, who saved some 5,000 Jews during the Holocaust. The project’s final concert will take place in Belk Theater of the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center April 21. Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
3
UNC CHARLOTTE |
news briefs
news briefs TRANSITION PROGRAM CELEBRATES 25 YEARS Twenty-five years ago Herman Thomas established the University Transition Opportunities Program (UTOP), and in August UTOP alumni and University leaders gathered to celebrate the program’s success during a silver anniversary dinner. UTOP
not be afraid to ask for help when they need it, not when it may be too late. Chancellor Philip L. Dubois also spoke at the dinner. He outlined UTOP’s history, and how the program has grown in scope and has helped the University better prepare its students. “Last year, UNC Charlotte was highlighted by Education Trust, a national
underrepresented students or all firsttime freshmen from the same cohort. Sam Lopez, director of the Office of Multicultural Academic Services, recognized a number of alumni and others associated with the program at the celebration, including UTOP founder Herman Thomas; Chancellor Dubois; Chancellor Emeritus Jim Woodward;
For 25 years the University Transition Opportunity Program has facilitated underrepresented students’ transitions from high school to college. At the anniversary dinner in August, UTOP alums and campus leaders celebrated. From left: Cindy Wolf-Johnson, Sam Lopez, Chancellor Philip L. Dubois, Demond Martin, Kia Martin, Herman Thomas, Joan Lorden and Chancellor Emeritus James Woodward.
facilitates the underrepresented student’s transition from high school to college. Demond Martin, UTOP Class of 1993 and partner in the firm Adage Capital, served as the keynote speaker for the dinner, which brought together nearly 200 UTOP alumni and supporters. To the silver anniversary class of UTOP participants, Martin advised them to develop genuine friendships with those who would support their desire to succeed; to work hard; to have a plan in mind as the journey begins within; to differentiate themselves from their peers – prepare a backup plan; and to
4
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
policy and advocacy organization, as one of only 11 universities nationwide to have closed the graduation gap between African-American and Latino students and their Caucasian counterparts. Their report credited the efforts of UNC Charlotte’s administration and the Office of Multicultural Academic Services as key elements in achieving this distinction,” noted Dubois. During the past decade, UTOP participants were retained at a rate of 12 percent greater than all other firsttime students. UTOP students also had higher graduation rates after six years than
Greg Davis, retired faculty member and second UTOP director; Demond and Kia Martin: Kristen McManus, a UTOP coordinator; Robert Muhammad, former associate director in the UNC Charlotte Office of Financial Aid; Rev. Fred Gibson, pastor of Providence Baptist Church and an original financial supporter of UTOP (the church has contributed a monthly donation to the program since its inception); Julie Townsend, who taught ENG 1101 and 1109 (UTOP magazine class) every summer until retiring in 2009; and Jodi Turner, associate director in the Office of Multicultural Academic Services.
www.UNCC.edu
Photo by Mitchell Kearney 2011.
n ew s b r i e f s
(From left) Bob Webb, CEO of Myers & Chapman Construction, Chancellor Dubois, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Dean Bob Johnson of the William States Lee College of Engineering enjoy the roundtable discussion with Charlotte area energy leaders at Harris Alumni Center.
ENERGY SECRETARY MEETS WITH BUSINESS, ACADEMIC LEADERS U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu paid a visit to the UNC Charlotte campus on Monday, July 25, where he participated in a roundtable discussion on topics ranging from solar power to future energy employment opportunities with about 20 area business leaders and university leaders. Chu told the group the purpose of the meeting was to get feedback on how the Obama Administration can support their growth and by doing so, create more jobs. In addition, he said, it’s an opportunity to make the participants aware of the federal government’s resources and programs. “This really has to do with the future well being of the United States,” he said, adding that he welcomed their ideas to help spur expansion in energy-related fields. “We in the Department of Energy see ourselves as facilitators,” Chu said. “We mostly want to know how we can best interface with the business community.” Also joining in on the discussion were UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and Robert Johnson, dean of the William States Lee College of Engineering. The chancellor told the energy secretary UNC Charlotte has created the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) to address the opportunity for long-term collaboration with energy companies that will prove beneficial to the community and industry. www.UNCC.edu
The EPIC building will train engineers and conduct research in new energy technologies. EPIC’s labs will expand opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience with industry leaders, including Duke Energy Corp., Siemens Energy Inc., the Shaw Power Group and Areva. ENGINEERING A NATIONAL LEADER IN FIRE SAFETY SCIENCE During the summer, dry conditions can result in wildfires, such as those raging in eastern North Carolina and other parts of the country. Lightning strikes, campfires, outdoor grills, candles, discarded cigarettes or Fourth of July fireworks are all possible sources of wildfires that uncontrolled could threaten residential areas. Researchers from the Lee College of Engineering Fire Safety Engineering Technology (FSET) program have conducted a series of studies to determine how best to protect structures from approaching wildfires. Last year, researchers completed a three-year study, and now another two-year study is under way to investigate the effectiveness of wetting agents, gels and foil wraps in protecting structures. Various siding and roofing materials are being tested in small-scale laboratory and full-scale burn tests. Jozef Urbas, associate professor of fire safety and one of the project’s principal investigators, noted, “Fire behavior is very difficult to accurately
| UNC CHARLOTTE
ARTS+ARCHITECTURE HIRES GALLERY DIRECTOR Crista Cammaroto has joined the College of Arts + Architecture as the new director of galleries. As the director, Cammaroto will schedule and curate exhibitions and programs in the Storrs Building Gallery and in the new gallery in the UNC Charlotte Center City Building at Ninth and Brevard Crista Cammaroto streets. In creating programming, she will foster interdisciplinary collaborations and experimentations among faculty and with artists from outside the University, with occasional commissioning of new work. Prior to joining the University, Cammaroto served as the artistic director and curator of the Light Factory Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film from 2004-07. She also is art curator for TEDx Charlotte. In addition, she taught at Queens University of Charlotte and was chair of the photography departments at Oregon College of Arts and Craft and Central Piedmont Community College. Cammaroto also will serve, with George Kaperonis, as steward of the Lona-Frey Collection, a historically significant collection of contemporary art on extended loan to the College of Arts + Architecture. Much of that collection will be exhibited throughout the Center City Building. Its significant holdings, which include pieces by Robert Motherwell, Robert Mapplethorpe, Julian Schnabel, Jim Dine and Roy Lichtenstein, will inspire gallery programming that focuses on individual artists represented in the collection. Among the exhibitions planned for the new Center City Building Gallery is the North American premiere of Violins of Hope in April 2012, an exhibition of 18 violins recovered and restored from the Holocaust by master violinmaker Amnon Weinstein.
Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
5
UNC CHARLOTTE |
news briefs
news briefs BELK FOUNDATION AWARDS $50K GRANT TO TEACHERS INSTITUTE The Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) was recently awarded a $50,000 grant from The Belk Foundation to support the Institute’s work in providing and evaluating its innovative professional development program for teachers in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS). CTI is an educational partnership among UNC Charlotte, Davidson College and CMS that offers CMS teachers the opportunity to engage in indepth, long-term seminars with college faculty in a wide range of academic areas. Current seminars run the gamut from chemistry and physics to art, political science and philosophy. The Belk Foundation grant will assist in funding CTI’s general programming
and will also allow CTI to expand its comprehensive program evaluation project, which it piloted in 201011. Results of that initial study are currently being analyzed and compiled by CTI’s evaluation team at UNC Charlotte. The next stage of the program evaluation is a two-year, comprehensive, mixed-methods research study including seminar observations, teacher surveys and interviews, classroom observations, and teacher effectiveness measures. The Belk Foundation grant will help fund the evaluation project into 2013. An affiliate of the Yale National Initiative at Yale University, CTI was established in 2009 as a local alliance designed to strengthen teaching in CMS by cultivating contentknowledge, creativity, leadership skills and collaboration within and among
Charlotte’s public school teachers. Through seminars led by UNC Charlotte and Davidson College faculty, CMS teachers learn new content, work collaboratively with other teachers, and develop new curricula for their students. Presently, 98 teachers are enrolled in eight CTI seminars at UNC Charlotte, Davidson College, the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and the Mint Museum. Fifty teachers were involved in CTI’s initial series of four seminars in 2009, and in 2010 CTI doubled its seminars and the number of teachers served. The Belk Foundation also supported CTI with a $20,000 grant in 2010. with the Charlotte Fire Department, using the Charlotte Fire Training Academy to conduct tests. The Lee College of Engineering Fire Safety Engineering Technology Department offers degree programs leading to a Bachelor of Science in Fire Safety Engineering Technology and a Master of Science in Fire Protection and Administration. The programs are directed toward individuals who are seeking positions within the fire service and those preparing for work in fire protection-related occupations.
Fire safety engineering field work involves testing fire retardants on mock buildings. UNC Charlotte is a national leader in fire safety engineering. It is the only such program in the Southeast and one of only five nationally.
mimic in small-scale lab settings. We were confident in the methods we had developed for the lab tests but still had to verify our results with full-scale tests.” 6
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Forest Service are sponsoring the research. Urbas and his fellow researchers also collaborate
GOVERNORS VILLAGE GETS LOCAL SUPPORT TIAA-CREF, a leading financial services provider, and UNC Charlotte have partnered to provide educational support to over 4,700 students and 500 faculty members at Governor’s Village schools. Opened in 1996, Governors Village is home to four CharlotteMecklenburg Schools (CMS): John M. Morehead STEM Academy, Nathaniel Alexander Elementary, James Martin Middle, and Zebulon B. Vance High. Working together with CMS to identify www.UNCC.edu
n ew s b r i e f s
| UNC CHARLOTTE
Before the start of the school year, dozens of TIAA-CREF and UNC Charlotte volunteers assisted in the beautification of the Governor’s Village schools campuses.
the specific needs of the Governor’s Village schools, the partners will develop a number of programs and initiatives that will take place throughout the school year, including: Mentoring/tutoring programs; a professional development conference for approximately 500 teachers and faculty; a job shadow event for students in grades 8-12 that will provide them with information on a wide variety of career possibilities; Career Day activities for students in grades 3-7; a Financial Literacy Employee Volunteer Program consisting of financial education sessions for teachers, faculty and parents at the schools’ PTA meetings; and various opportunities to attend athletics, arts and cultural programming at UNC Charlotte. “TIAA-CREF is dedicated to education and committed to supporting the communities where we live and work,” said Charlotte-based Gene Flood, Executive Vice President of Diversified Financial Services. “We are proud to partner with UNC Charlotte and the Charlotte school system to adopt these four schools to ensure that the students and teachers have the tools they need to be successful.” “UNC Charlotte has a long-standing relationship with TIAA-CREF and we’ve made Governor’s Village an important part of our community outreach priorities,” said Mary Lynne Calhoun, dean of UNC Charlotte’s College of Education “Through our combined volunteer time and resources, this partnership is about removing educational barriers to help deserving students achieve their full potential.” www.UNCC.edu
EPIC DIRECTOR BRINGS GLOBAL EXPERIENCE Johan Enslin, chief technology officer at Petra Solar, has been named director of the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) at UNC Charlotte. His appointment is effective Aug. 1. EPIC, headquartered in a new $76 million building nearing completion on the Charlotte Research Institute campus, will train a new generation of engineers and conduct research in new energy technologies. The EPIC building will house the university’s civil and environmental, and electrical and computer-engineering Johan Enslin departments. The building’s lab facilities will expand opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience with industry leaders, including Duke Energy Corp., Siemens, Shaw, AREVA, and others. As chief technology officer at New Jersey-based Petra Solar, Enslin led the technology strategy and intellectual property development for the company’s unique smart energy solutions for the electric supply industry, and will continue as technology leader for the company. In addition, a collaborative agreement was formed between Petra Solar and UNC Charlotte for technology exchange and intellectual property development. Petra Solar will become an industry partner at EPIC, with a focus on research goals and IP development in the areas of distributed PV and Smart Grid systems, management of dispatchable distributed renewable resources as a virtual power plant, high efficiency power electronic converter technologies, and distributed energy storage solutions. At EPIC, Enslin will succeed Steve Patterson, who will return to his role as SPX Distinguished Professor in Mechanical Engineering. Enslin’s nearly 30-year career is marked with leadership activities in industry and universities in the United States, Europe and South Africa. He served as an executive and consultant for private business operations and as a professor in electrical and electronic engineering. He is a veteran in transmission and distribution planning, wind and solar renewable integration, FACTS, HVDC, Distributed Power and Energy Storage. Enslin also has held faculty positions at the University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch University, both in South Africa, and Oregon State University. Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
7
UNC CHARLOTTE |
s t a ke yo u r c l a i m p ro f i l e
Passion for Coaching Brad Lambert builds firm foundation for 49ers football By Tom Whitestone
Brad Lambert was standing in the middle of the field, smiling. To his right, players were diving at tackling dummies. Out in front of him, they were jumping on fumbles. Just to his left they were cutting left and right between cones. “Keep your feet moving,” Defensive Coordinator Bruce Tall could be heard urging his linemen, “then explode.” Lambert kept clapping as he moved from station to station, stopping every now and then to offer a tip or a little encouragement. “Great form,” he would tell one player. “That’s the way,” to another. It mattered very little that the players were between the ages of 5 and 14 participating in a free youth clinic sponsored by the Belk Bowl as part of the NCAA’s Youth Football Initiative. All that mattered was that he was coaching football. “This is fun. This is what we do,” Lambert said. Since his hiring in March, actual football coaching is the one thing Lambert has been doing the least. He’s spoken at numerous clubs and organizations. Shaken hands at fundraisers. Signed autographs, had his picture snapped. Helped build a playground. Given high five’s to kids at a charity event. Been on the radio. In TV studios. Done interviews overlooking his stadium construction. He’s recruited. Talked football with his staff. Taken a trip to San Antonio to pick the brains of others about how they started their program. He’s been on Twitter, on Facebook — online, period. He’s met the community. Reached out to Niner Nation. Followed a strategic plan to be as prepared as possible for 49ers Football, 2013. But he hasn’t actually coached all that much.
So on this hot day in July, with 150 kids running drills, Brad Lambert is smiling. It will still be nearly a year before he really gets to coach — so given the opportunity to be out on the field, to teach and be around football activities, Lambert jumped at the chance. “It’s a lot of fun for our staff to get on the field and actually coach players on our campus. We haven’t been on the field in a long time,” he said. “And this is another opportunity for us to interact with the community and to do so on a different level. We’ve been at a lot of community events with alumni and community leaders — this is an opportunity to work with the youth and get those kids to get to know us.”
Coach Lambert has been all over the Charlotte region to promote and build the 49ers program, but his favorite place is on the field. 8
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
www.UNCC.edu
s t a ke yo u r c l a i m p ro f i l e You can tell the coach is in his element. Lambert has been a football coach for 23 years. Raised in the Midwest, his break from football was to ride in a rodeo. He craves the energy that comes from competitive activity. He feeds off it. “The Saturday game is what drives us as coaches,” Lambert said, excitement building in his voice. “To figure out how to stop people or how to score points — that’s the fun thing for us. Getting on the field and coaching guys. The players are why we do what we do. Even though these kids are young guys — just having the ability to get out and coach guys and do what we love to do. This is fun.” So, now, without a game to prepare for or a practice to outline, he is putting that energy and drive into building the 49ers program. His schedule is full — and that’s the way he wants it. He wants to be in the talks about the stadium construction. He wants to talk to fans and the media about his growing program. He drives in the Highway 29 entrance of campus so he can see the construction on a daily basis. He looks around at his schedule. At the
| UNC CHARLOTTE
Brad Lambert may not be coaching college athletes for several months, but his passion for coaching shows anytime he’s in front of budding athletes, like this summer youth camp.
“To figure out how to stop people or how to score points — that’s the fun thing for us.”
49ers helmets will be gleaming in the autumn sun in 2013.
fans wanting to take pictures. At the Tonka Truck playground that soon will be the 49ers playing field — and he gets excited. His first practice may be months away — but he is not taking that sitting down. He’s doing anything and everything he can to promote his program, to build his program and to strengthen his program. All of that, of course, should really come as no surprise. It should have been a sign that he wasn’t about to let time be wasted when he named www.UNCC.edu
his offensive coordinator on the day that he was introduced as head coach. It should have been a sign that he had a special relationship with football when so many of his former players showed up at his press conference. It should have been a sign that he wanted to get it done when he brought, not a shovel, but a bulldozer to the groundbreaking. It should have been a sign that he wanted to build something meaningful, when he continually used the term “we” while he sat alone in an office of one.
At the camp, Lambert continues to walk around the field, stopping to give hand-offs to 9-year-old running backs as they sprint through drills. “Wrap it up,” he said. “Don’t let’em rip it out.” Soon, he’ll bark out similar instructions to Charlotte 49ers football players. Until then, he’ll hold on to his program as fiercely as any back breaking through the line. He will continue to do what it takes to fortify his program — until the days he gets to actually coach his program. “That’s what we do.” That’s what he’s done. Tom Whitestone is UNC Charlotte’s senior associate athletics director. Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
9
UNC CHARLOTTE |
49 e rs N o te b o o k
Men’s Soccer Nationally Ranked With nine starters returning from the 2010 Atlantic 10 regular-season championship squad, the Charlotte 49ers men’s soccer team is ranked 23rd in the College Soccer News preseason poll. The 49ers, who are coming off a 13-5-1 season under head coach Jeremy Gunn, were ranked as high as 16th in the nation last season. Charlotte went 8-1-1 in A-10 play to claim the conference crown and return three first-team All-Atlantic 10 performers. Back from that standout season are reigning A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Charles Rodriguez, reigning A-10 Midfielder and Rookie of the Year Tyler Gibson, first-team AllAtlantic 10 selection Donnie Smith and secondteam All-Atlantic 10 selection Isaac Cowles. In addition, senior Evan James, junior Jennings Rex and sophomore Will Mayhew are back after scoring multiple goals last season. Redshirt junior Isaac Caughran, who was a mainstay in the 49ers lineup in 2008 and 2009, returns to the field after missing the majority of the 2010 season with a knee injury. Other returning starters include sophomore midfielder Aidan Kirkbride and defender Anthony Perez. Charlotte has a pair of experienced goalkeepers in senior Gavin Dawson and sophomore Klay Davis. The 49ers men’s and women’s soccer teams’ home games are held on campus on Transamerica Field within the Belk Center. CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP COMING TO CONCORD The Charlotte 49ers will host the 2011 Atlantic 10 Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Championships at Frank Liske Park in Concord, N.C., Oct. 29. All 14 Atlantic 10 Conference schools will participate in the meet. “The course we’ve created at Frank Liske will be the most spectator friendly and championship-style course the Atlantic 10 has seen since we joined the conference,” said Ed Schlicter, 49ers cross country coach. “Frank Liske’s layout provides a beautiful 10 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
49ers soccer players celebrate one of many successes. The nationally ranked team is returning nine starters.
Daweet Dagnachew
panoramic view from the start/finish area, and we’re extremely thankful and excited to have such a great place so close to the University. Lauren Carpenter (of Visit Cabarrus) and Perry Gabriel (of Cabarrus County Parks) have been outstanding in helping to build this great relationship with using the park
as our new home cross country site.” The 49ers women will be led by former A-10 individual champ Amanda Goetschius, who claimed the 2008 league title. Goetschius sat out last year as a red-shirt and will join with top returnees Maria Ruiz, Hana Sutchar and Aurora Trujillo, as well as fellow red-shirt Katie Holloway, to battle of for the team title. The men will look to senior Dakota Lowery, who sat out last season, Daweet Dagnachew, Brian McGuire and Ross Roberson. The defending champion Richmond Spiders won both the men’s and women’s meets in 2010. Charlotte tied for 5th in the women’s meet and placed 10th in the men’s meet. Charlotte is in search of its first A-10 cross country title. The 49ers won the men’s Conference USA title in 2002 and the women won three straight Metro Conference www.UNCC.edu
49 e r s N o te b o o k
| UNC CHARLOTTE
LET ME PLAY LUNCHEON ON HORIZON
The 2010 Let Me Play event raised more than $90,000 for athletic programs and scholarships. Event co-chairs (from left) Samara Foxx and Lisa Lewis Dubois, are joined by Director of Athletics Judy Rose and keynote speaker and Presbyterian Hospital COO Amy Vance.
Championships in 1992, 1993 and 1994. This marks the second time that the 49ers have hosted the A-10 Championships. Charlotte hosted the 2008 A-10 Championships on campus. In fact, 49ers Adu Dentamo and Goetchius won the individual men’s and women’s titles, respectively, at that meet. BASKETBALL MOVES TO ESPN 730 The Charlotte 49ers will have a new flagship radio station for their men’s basketball broadcasts in 2011-12. The agreement, negotiated and executed by the 49ers media rights holder, Signature Sports Group, Inc., calls for a three-year deal with ESPN 730 Charlotte to broadcast 49ers basketball games, and come 2013, 49ers football games, as well. “We are extremely excited for both our program and our fans,” said 49ers Director of Athletics Judy Rose. “We have had a strong broadcast partner in the past and are thrilled that we will be able to deliver our games to our fans on a consistent basis on Fox Sports 730. By returning our games to a formatted sports radio station, we look to improve our program’s radio presence in the marketplace, throughout the day.” “We couldn’t be more excited to begin a long-term relationship with the Charlotte 49ers,” said Lanny Ford, General Manager at ESPN 730 Charlotte. “We are thrilled to be the home of a basketball program with such a strong tradition. And, to be chosen to be part of history with the launch of 49ers football in 2013 is huge.” “The Alan Major Show,” head men’s basketball coach Alan Major’s weekly coach’s show, will also air on ESPN 730 Charlotte. Longtime “Voice of the Charlotte 49ers” Matt Swierad will begin his 11th season calling www.UNCC.edu
The Charlotte 49ers Athletic Foundation will host the 8th Annual Let Me Play Luncheon to benefit women’s athletics Nov. 10 at the Charlotte Convention Center. The event, intended to inspire and mobilize female business and community leaders from the Charlotte area, raised $90,000 last year, with a goal of $100,000 this year. More than 300 people, including some of the most influential community leaders, attend the function. Ruth G. Shaw, former Chair of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees, will serve as chair.
For more information about the event, contact the 49ers Athletic Foundation at 704-687-4950.
the action for the 49ers men’s basketball games in 2011-12. Radio broadcasts will continue to be available online through the 49ers Niner Network program at www.charlotte49ers.com. CATCH ATHLETIC ACTION ONLINE Watch live video broadcasts of nearly every 49ers sport throughout the fall, winter and spring online at charlotte49ers. com. Home contests are streamed live on Charlotte49ers.com through a partnership with CBS Sports Interactive. In addition, audio-only broadcasts of selected contests are available through charlotte49ers.com. Other on-demand video content, including interviews, features, post-game highlights and press conferences, including
the original “Panning For Gold” web show, can be found at charlotte49ers.tv. 49ers fans should also check out the 49ers online media guides at charlotte49ers.com. The four-color, online guides include a wealth of video content, features, interviews and video bios of each 49ers student-athlete.
LINK UP WITH US: ■ ■ ■
■
C harlotte49ers.com C harlotte49ers.tv T witter.com/charlotte49ers (@charlotte49ers) Facebook
Events Calendar Fri., Oct. 7: Women’s Soccer A-10 Home Opener (Transamerica Field) Fri., Oct. 14: Men’s Soccer A-10 Home Opener (Transamerica Field) Fri., Oct. 14: Volleyball Dig Pink Match (Halton Arena) Thurs., Oct. 20: Major Madness – Basketball Tip-Off (Halton Arena) Sat., Oct. 22: Basketball Fan Day (Halton Arena) Sat., Oct. 29, A-10: Cross Country Championships (Frank Liske Park, Concord, N.C.) Thurs., Nov. 10: Let Me Play Luncheon (Charlotte Convention Center) Fri., Nov. 11: Men’s & Women’s Basketball Doubleheader Opener (Halton Arena) Check Charlotte49ers.com for full schedule listings.
Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
11
UNC CHARLOTTE |
fe a t u re
Citizen Schools
UNC Charlotte grad students step up to aid middle school students By Melba Newsome Acey Boyce and Katelyn Doran are both graduate students in Computer Science. It’s not unusual that they would spend several hours each week poring over lessons plans, guiding students through complex assignments and working on new video game designs. What makes them stand out is that they are doing this with a bunch of students from Martin Luther King Middle School. Boyce and Doran are part of UNC Charlotte’s collaboration with Citizen Schools, the Boston-
12 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
based initiative founded in 1995 to extend the school day for students in low-performing schools. In the 10-week after-school apprenticeship program, community professionals lead handson workshops in everything from cooking to health care to engineering to science. “Our focus is on middle school because that’s where we lose the kids. That’s when they decide if school is for them or not,” said Cassie McIntyre, director of civic engagement
for Citizen Schools of North Carolina. This innovative model seems to be working. Nationally, nine of out 10 Citizen Schools’ students passed state math and English exams. They also go on to graduate at a 20 percent higher rate than their peers who do not participate in the program. “Right away, we identified UNC Charlotte as an organization that could provide good volunteers for Citizen Schools,” said McIntyre. “In exchange, we were giving them a way for their students to get experience working in the classrooms.” The partnership is in its sixth semester. So far, about 20 students from the Computer Science and Psychology departments within UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing & Informatics have led the www.UNCC.edu
fe a t u re
| UNC CHARLOTTE
“We show the students all the cool things we can do with computer science. It’s also one way to get them interested in math and science.” apprenticeships at Eastway and Martin Luther King middle schools, both Title One schools where more than 50 percent of students receive free or reduced lunch and lag behind their peers in academic performance. In exchange for their participation, the students satisfy a communityservice requirement or receive one class credit. U.S. STUDENTS SLIP IN RANKINGS In a recent survey comparing the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in 70 countries, the United States slipped in the standings, ranking 14th in reading skills, 17th in science and 25th in mathematics. It’s hard to keep pace when, compared to other nations, U.S. students have a shorter school day and school year. They currently spend just 20 percent of their waking hours in the classroom. Severe budget cuts are causing a further reduction in classroom time and school resources. While some families can address the gap with enrichment programs and online learning, many low-income kids lack those opportunities. Citizen Schools was established to fill that gap. Each participating student spends an extra 12 hours per week in a learning environment, giving them the time and flexibility they need to get engaged and pursue their interests. Educators provide the kind of experiential teaching that makes learning relevant and fun. In the process, the students gain a greater appreciation for and understanding of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills. The partnership between the Computer Science Department and Citizen Schools began when the Diversity in Information Technology Institute at UNC Charlotte received a $2 million National Science Foundation grant to fund the STARS (Students & Technology in www.UNCC.edu
Academia, Research, & Service) Alliance. The mission of the alliance is to recruit more women, under-represented minorities, and persons with disabilities into the computing field. COMPUTING FIELD NEEDS BOOST “There is a national need for more people in information technology and computing,” said Karen Bean, UNC Charlotte’s program coordinator for the Diversity in Technology Institute. “Over the last few years, there has been a decline in the number of students who entered and stayed in the field of computing. We’re trying to turn that around by building a community of students who might not have not thought about computing as a career.” Joining forces with Citizen Schools made sense but getting the game-design apprenticeship off the ground at Martin Luther King was not without its challenges. The students didn’t have computers, so Boyce and Doran had to use their own for the lessons. The program took a big step forward the next year when Citizen Schools set up a computer lab on campus. A $5,000 grant from the University’s Chancellor’s Diversity Fund was used to purchase laptops for the projects. The apprenticeship teaches basic video game development using a program called Gamemaker. “There are so many misconceptions about computer science,” said Boyce. “A lot of students love video games but they don’t realize that someone has to make them and that this is what computer science is all about. We show the students all the cool things we can do with computer science. It’s also one way to get them interested in math and science.” By the end of the apprenticeship, the students have created the artwork,
developed and designed the game levels, and created a back story for their games. But Doran said their learning goes beyond the technical. “They also learn how to give and receive constructive criticism and hone their speaking skills by presenting their game to the class,” she said. “It’s well worth the effort for us, too. By working with Citizen Schools, we have an entire study population at our disposal for research and feedback.” BUILDING GIRLS’ SELF-ESTEEM Meanwhile, the Department of Psychology’s involvement with Citizen Schools takes a different tack. Developed by doctoral students and led by department interns, a “Beautiful Girls” curriculum was designed specifically for the girls at Eastway Middle School to increase self-esteem and help adolescents feel good about their bodies. “There is a holistic health perspective where they learn about nutrition and get to sample foods they probably haven’t had before,” said Suzanne Schoenefeld, the liaison between the Psychology department and Citizen Schools. “The girls learn that being beautiful isn’t just one set perspective and that everyone is beautiful in their own way. At the end of the course, they have also learned to be kinder and more respectful of each other.” Schoenefeld and Doran are quick to point out the less tangible benefits they get from impacting the students’ lives. “These kids tell us, ‘I want to go to college,’” Doran said. “That’s huge. Six months earlier, a lot of them didn’t even plan on finishing high school.” Melba Newsome is a freelance writer based in Charlotte. Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 13
UNC CHARLOTTE |
fe a t u re
Staking Our Claim To Center City New academic, cultural hub provides greater connectivity with community By Paul Nowell and John D. Bland UNC Charlotte’s latest capital creation, the Center City Building, is generating quite a buzz. The timing couldn’t be any better for the unveiling of the $50.4 million academic building, which officially opened for business at the corner of Ninth and Brevard streets in sync with the start of the University’s fall semester. Architecturally, the 11-story Center City Building creates its own excitement. After touring the structure, Charlotte Observer reporter David Perlmutt focused on its fanciful design: “Now that it’s built, it really does look like a twisted Rubik’s cube,” he wrote. “Or, as some describe UNC Charlotte’s new
14 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
Center City Building, a giant stack of books.” A blend of traditional and whimsical elements, the Center City Building gives UNC Charlotte a permanent and vital presence in the city’s business and cultural district. In doing so, it enhances the University’s position as the leading institution of higher education in the metropolitan area. “With the opening of the Center City Building, we mark the University’s arrival back in the Center City, its investment in the Center City, and its commitment to the Center City with all of the educational and intellectual resources at its command,” Chancellor Philip L. Dubois wrote in his latest newsletter.
“A project that started with the vision of my predecessor, Chancellor Emeritus James Woodward, has become a shining example of a public/private partnership gone right,” he continued. “The $50.4 million investment by the State of North Carolina was essential to this project and we appreciate that investment; it will provide great returns to this community and the state. All together, the project will include a major public park, a re-do of essential public infrastructure, and it will serve as a catalyst for substantial private investment in office, retail and housing in the First Ward.” UNC Charlotte staff, faculty and their families had their first look at the building during a Sept. 17 community day, an open house that featured appearances from 49ers coaches and athletes, motorsports engineering racecars, virtual-human demonstrations by the College of Computing & Informatics and performances by a UNC Charlotte musical ensemble, Charlotte Symphony musicians and an array of art and culture activities. “The University was wise enough to purchase the property at the north end of Uptown, bordering the First Ward, a model for urban development,” said Harvey Gantt, the former mayor and longtime civic leader whose architecture firm was instrumental in creating the building. “The building will serve as a catalyst for the surrounding area, much of which is now low impact property.” The 143,000-square-foot building will house some of the University’s leading
www.UNCC.edu
fe a t u re
| UNC CHARLOTTE
The iconic building is an anchor for redevelopment between First Ward and Fourth Ward neighborhoods. It will be joined by an urban park and retail and office space currently in the planning stages by city, county and private developers. www.UNCC.edu
Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 15
UNC CHARLOTTE |
fe a t u re
Events At UNC Charlotte Center City
UNC Charlotte Center City provides a window on the city, only a few blocks from the heart of Charlotte’s prime business district.
The University has already booked a number of cultural and civic activities at UNC Charlotte Center City.
graduate-level programs, including the Belk College of Business MBA as well as the Master of Urban Design graduate program through the College of Arts + Architecture.
Summer 2011 – On Sept. 17 a Community Day welcomed neighbors from the First Ward and Fourth Ward, and UNC Charlotte faculty and staff for a series of family activities featuring music, art, film and technology from UNC Charlotte and the Uptown community. Fall 2011 – On Nov. 16, UNC Charlotte will host the inaugural event of the “Chancellor’s Speaker Series” in the Center City Building. It will feature Alan Simpson and Erskine Bowles, cochairs of the U.S. Deficit Commission. Winter 2012 – UNC Charlotte Center City will welcome its first gallery exhibit, commissioned by the College of Arts + Architecture. Internationally renowned German video installation artist Anna von Gwinner is creating a special piece just for the occasion. Spring 2012 – A magnificent exhibit, Violins of Hope, will make its North American debut in the Center City gallery. The Violins of Hope comprise 18 violins recovered from the Holocaust.
16 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
What they’re saying about UNC Charlotte Center City Joan Lorden, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs A deep connection with the city and surrounding areas enables growth in internships, civic engagement, and the other forms of experiential learning that are important tools for promoting student success. Partnerships with local government, institutions, and businesses provide the basis for problem-oriented, communityengaged research that has been valued by UNC Charlotte throughout its history. Michael Smith, president and CEO, Charlotte Center City Partners The new building is a monumental move for the community. UNC Charlotte is our great public university and this new presence will provide greater connectivity to the uptown community and all of Charlotte. The university’s best economic development tools are its academic assets.” Suzanne Fetscher, president and executive director, McColl Center for Visual Arts We are extremely excited about having UNC Charlotte as neighbors in North Tryon’s “creative district.” There’s a real “buzz” on Uptown’s streets these days, and UNC Charlotte Center City
In addition, the building provides space for the Office of Extended Academic Programs, the Design + Society Research Center, and some of the classes of the master’s programs in the College of Health and Human Services, among others. Jerry Coughter, executive director for UNC Charlotte Center City, said the facility ties the University to Charlotte’s civic, cultural, political and business life. “UNC Charlotte Center City is a great opportunity to connect the university to the city in new ways and to showcase and build upon our shared talents and expertise,” he said. “I’m looking forward to playing a role in all the good things that will emerge from developing this partnership.” Belk College of Business is the largest single tenant of the building, offering day and evening classes from Monday through Thursday. “On a practical level, one of the most important things the new building provides is more space and upgraded facilities,” said Steve Ott, dean of the college. “We outgrew the old facility is sure to add more depth and diversity to that emerging scene. Their beautiful new building is sure to be full of interesting people and positive energy that will spice up whatever happens – that’s good for the University and great for Charlotte. Harvey Gantt, former mayor, architect and co-chair of Charlotte’s 2020 Vision Plan The Center City presence has a very exciting future, with a public-private park linking the university building with Imaginon, and generating synergistic traffic in that part of uptown. The building is designed with the flexibility to be a lot of things for a lot of people. I keep imagining in the next several years, people flocking to the building and the surrounding park; it will be a great urban place. And with the light rail extension beside the building, it will be just a few steps away from access to the prime campus.” John Boyer, president and CEO, Bechtler Museum of Modern Art All of us at the Bechtler are very excited by the arrival of another vital cultural partner in the UNC Charlotte Center City Building. We look forward to collaborating in their exhibition and programming efforts and welcome another spectacular architectural design to the cityscape. The team that has been assembled is first rate, and we www.UNCC.edu
fe a t u re
3
1
4
2 are certain that they will greatly enhance the quality of life in Charlotte. Steve Ott, dean, Belk College of Business The new facility offers a more conducive environment for students to work on group projects and network with each other. It will be more convenient for business leaders to serve as guest speakers in classes. We will host signature programs like the Economic Forecast and NEXT speaker series there, which will bring in hundreds of executives and alumni. With UNC Charlotte serving as the catalyst, I’m confident that in the next few years the Center City campus area will be another hub of activity in a growing business and community center. Ken Lambla, dean, College of Arts + Architecture “For over 35 years the School of Architecture has worked with community partners independently, and through various locations Uptown and in South End. Having a Center City facility to consolidate our work on urban design and community-based interdisciplinary research, along with new arts programming, fulfills a longstanding opportunity to integrate our expertise and demonstrate the impact of UNC Charlotte in this city and region.” www.UNCC.edu
5
| UNC CHARLOTTE
Visitors will enjoy amenities such as an on-site café, 300-seat auditorium for lectures and performances, and gallery space. 1: UNC Charlotte center City includes a convenient store that sells books and branded gear. 2: Professor of Economics Ted Amato addresses a class of graduate students in the Center City Building. Amato has taught in the Belk College of Business for more than 30 years. 3: The building will offer every sort of classroom – a 300-seat auditorium, tiered classrooms like this one, classrooms with moveable furniture, and studio space tailored to architecture classes. 4: Belk College of Business professor Gary Kohut presents one of the first lectures of the academic year to be held in the brand new Center City Building. Kohut teaches courses in communications and management. 5: The Center City Building includes multiple spaces that are open to the public and convenient to students and faculty, including the Einstein Brothers bagel café, pictured here. 6: Truly a vision to behold, the Center City Building’s cantilevered design, reminiscent of a stack of books, and glass façade distinguish it from many nearby high-rises.
6 almost as soon as it opened, and space constraints limited the number of courses and programs we could offer in the Center City. We are excited to be expanding the number of courses we can offer, as well as the enrollment in these courses. “Even more importantly, the new campus will provide us with opportunities to connect our students with the business community, and each other, in a much more substantive and meaningful way. Three of our programs – the MBA, Master of Accountancy, and Master of Science in Mathematical Finance – enroll a significant number of students
who are working professionals, pursuing their graduate degrees at night. Many of them cite the convenience of being able to take classes in a location that’s near to where they work and where they live as a significant factor when selecting a graduate program.” Connie Martin, executive director of Extended Academic Programs, said the Center City’s location is optimal for the office’s mission. “During this past year, as we have talked with participants to prepare them for our Continued on p. 37 Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 17
UNC CHARLOTTE |
fe a t u re
As a graduate student with medical school aspirations, Michael Poole wasn’t sure what course of study he wanted to pursue when he came to James Oliver’s UNC Charlotte lab. After the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a paper about a mysterious bacterium that appeared to be the cause of several human deaths, Poole was hooked—he decided to devote his graduate research to the topic. That was 1976. “Mike drove down to CDC (in Atlanta), picked up some cultures and brought them back to the lab,” Oliver said. The cultures contained curved-shaped marine bacterium, each with a single polar flagellum, or tail-like appendage, used for motion. The bacterium has since been named Vibrio vulnificus, or Vibrio for short—and it has gained a reputation as the deadliest known food-borne pathogen in the world. Poole, now a surgeon in Savannah, subsequently earned his Ph.D. and M.D., and Oliver has become an internationally recognized expert on Vibrio. “We have been studying it and publishing about it now for 35 years,” Oliver said. Oliver, a professor of biology, earned his Ph.D. at Georgetown University working under Rita Colwell, one of the foremost microbiologists in the world. He arrived at UNC Charlotte in 1974 with a focus on biochemistry and marine microbiology. Since the discovery of Vibrio, Oliver has over 150 publications to his credit. In 2010, he presented at a World Health Organization meeting on key aspects of the topic. A steady stream of graduate students has worked with Oliver in his lab; the 50th graduate student will complete his or her graduate degree this year. The vast majority of Oliver’s students research some aspect of Vibrio. “We study virtually anything that has to do with this bacterium—how it causes disease, how it survives in its environment, its genomics, metabolism, physiology, any aspect you can imagine,” Oliver said. RARE BUT FATAL Though cases of food-borne illness caused by salmonella and other more widely recognizable organisms occur at far higher rates than those caused by Vibrio, the fatality rates for Vibrio give one pause. 18 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
Man vs. Microbe Researcher Jim Oliver marks 35 years of shining light on deadly pathogen
By Lisa A. Patterson
More than 50 graduate students have studied in Professor Jim Oliver’s lab. Oliver (in the foreground) is a sought after mentor who is credited for his ability to engage students, as well as for this expertise and enthusiasm.
www.UNCC.edu
fe a t u re
www.UNCC.edu
Q311
|
| UNC CHARLOTTE
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 19
UNC CHARLOTTE |
fe a t u re
“Vibrio is about 50 percent fatal,” Oliver said. “If you come down with the infection, typically after eating raw or undercooked oysters, you have a 50/50 chance of dying.” Most bacteria have a single portal of infection; for instance, the only way to acquire salmonella is to eat food contaminated with the bacteria. Few bacteria have more than one portal of entry, but Vibrio has two—ingestion and wound infection. Once ingested, Vibrio crosses the intestinal wall, enters the bloodstream and multiplies rapidly. Within a matter of one to two days, it can cause dramatic lesions on the legs, often requiring amputation, and death typically occurs within 4-5 days. However, Oliver noted, there is good news. Research has confirmed that the average healthy person rarely comes down with a Vibrio-induced infection. There are a number of underlying diseases that predispose people to the infection, including alcoholic cirrhosis
of the liver, diabetes and hepatitis. The bacteria require high levels of iron, and individuals with these conditions have far more iron in their blood than healthy individuals. “If you have chronic damage to the liver, where iron is stored, you are constantly leaking iron into the blood,” Oliver said. “In lab studies, the number of bacteria increase 3,000
In the United States, raw oysters are the primary vehicle for transmission of Vibrio to humans.
Lab Lessons, Long-lived Impact In 35 years of research and teaching at UNC Charlotte, Professor of Biology James Oliver has mentored more than 50 graduate students, well over half of whom have made the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus the focus of their research. Students then and now weigh in on their experience with Oliver and their fascination with a ubiquitous microorganism. Alumnus Michael Poole, PhD, M.D., Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist: Dr. Oliver was an uncommonly good listener and a very effective teacher. Consider: I had no experience in microbiology previously and I was able to leave UNC Charlotte and set up my own lab, obtain my own funding, and advance the project independently. The practical and technical training that he provided, and the experimental design process, were invaluable. In fact, my background has given me unique knowledge and problem solving skills that have allowed me to consistently advance diagnosis and treatment decisions in ear, nose, throat infections. In the medical arena, if one researches a common problem, you will be one of a multitude of researchers and are likely to advance the field only incrementally. In an arena like Vibrio vulnificus, we actually made orders of magnitude advances, and one might argue that the contribution to health may be greater. Additionally, tangential findings, such as the role of iron and the role of antibiotics that inhibit certain enzymes, in addition to killing bacteria, have implications beyond Vibrio. The same goes for many of the genetic findings out of Dr. Oliver’s lab. Most of our rapid advances in surgery techniques, instruments and adjunctive medicines are based on lab work, often distantly related to where the impact ultimately occurs. Remember, Vibrio appears to be the most rapidly lethal
Raw shellfish — mainly oysters — are vehicles for the transmission of the pathogen Vibrio vulnificus. 20 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
www.UNCC.edu
fe a t u re
| UNC CHARLOTTE
bacterium in experimental animals and has, perhaps, the highest mortality rate in humans — answers as to why have applicability to other infections. Brett Froelich, doctoral candidate: I was so enthralled by Dr. Oliver’s microbiology class that I approached him with interest in becoming an undergraduate researcher, and later a doctoral candidate. I am fascinated by bacteria because they are versatile and capable of executing seemingly limitless functions, from pathogenicity to survival, and yet consist of only a single cell. Thinking back, I feel that I learned more in one semester of lab work than an entire semester’s worth of classroom lectures. Working in the lab allows you to find an unanswered question that interests you, and then attempt to discover an answer. If a set of experiments does not give you the solution, you try again with new parameters until you find what you are looking for — and when you do find it, it’s a fantastic feeling. Tiffany Williams, doctoral candidate: Prokaryotic microorganisms have existed for approximately 3.5 billion years. In an infinite number of ways, bacteria are pioneers of the natural world and their expertise in survival makes them interesting. Some of these organisms, such as Vibrio vulnificus, have the ability to cause disease in humans. Understanding how these creatures operate in their natural environment as well as in clinical cases could potentially provide us with some insight into how they are able to cause disease. Subsequently, this information could be useful in developing techniques to protect susceptible individuals. Considering the ubiquity of this organism in aquatic environments Vibrio could serve as a model organism for understanding the genetics and physiology of many related marine and/ or estuarine organisms.
www.UNCC.edu
Joanna Nowakowska (pictured here) studies stress regulation in Vibrio vulnificus, the most deadly foodborne pathogen around. Her work in Jim Oliver’s UNC Charlotte laboratory will add insight into the ecology of the organism, as well as how it survives in foods and human hosts.
percent if high levels of iron are present.” Though the number of oyster-related Vibrio cases reported annually in the United States ranges from 30 to 40, more than 15 million Americans have at least one of the diseases that would predispose them to infection. Oliver, his students and his colleagues in the lab, are interested in learning why so few cases of Vibrio-induced infection occur. “You can’t do a study on how many you have to eat to kill you,” Oliver noted. “The CDC estimates between 100 and 300 bacterial cells is enough to cause an infection. There are 10,000 to one million Vibrio cells in one oyster during the summer months, so one oyster can be enough to kill you. Despite all of this, the number of reported cases is relatively low.” Oliver posits that a mixture of bacterial and human-host attributes is the cause. “We published results that suggest the toxin the bacteria make is effectively neutralized by estrogen. So women are somewhat protected,” Oliver said. “About 85 percent of all cases of infection occur in males, and most cases are in people over age 40. There’s no clearly obvious reason for the disparity in age.”
“This is not a contaminant. You can’t legislate against something that is naturally present.” Advances in genomics research have moved Oliver’s work forward by leaps and bounds. “We can do things in the lab in days that would have taken us years before,” Oliver said, including the isolation and study of the bacteria’s DNA sequence. A graduate student in Oliver’s lab analyzed a large number of human clinical strains and strains that came from the environment (such as from water and oysters). The student noted differences in genetic patterns among the various strains. That work laid the foundation for a visiting professor from Japan to isolate and characterize those differences. Ultimately, and
Continued on p. 30 Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 21
UNC CHARLOTTE |
center stage
22 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
www.UNCC.edu
Summer Learning, and Loving It Photo by Wade Bruton
Scholars of a different sort descend on UNC Charlotte’s campus in the summer months. Children and young adults attend camps with themes ranging from robotics to crime writing. The University’s second class of Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School scholars, pictured here, engaged this summer in an intensive six-week literacy program designed to stem summer learning loss and improve reading proficiency. College student mentors taught more than 60 children in the program. Faculty, staff and community leaders acted as guest readers. With dancing, chants and songs, the scholars wrapped up another successful learning experience, joining hundreds of other “nontraditional” students whose presence brings life to the campus in the sultry summer season.
www.UNCC.edu
Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 23
UNC CHARLOTTE |
s t a ke yo u r c l a i m
Reaping What She Sows By Lisa A. Patterson When Robin Emmons, ’00, wrote the email to her boss, she didn’t have a plan — “I’m leaving on April 1. This is not an April Fool’s joke…” she typed. Since that day three years ago a lot has changed for the UNC Charlotte graduate. In a matter of months, Emmons went from a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. corporate career to the 24/7 demands
24 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
Robins Emmons brings healthy foods to underserved people.
of founding, running and advocating for the nonprofit Sow Much Good Inc., an organization dedicated to bringing fresh fruits and vegetables, and educational opportunities, to underserved populations in the Charlotte region. But at the time Emmons decided to leave banking, Sow Much Good, Inc., was not even a blip on her radar. “I
www.UNCC.edu
s t a ke yo u r c l a i m
| UNC CHARLOTTE
Robin Emmons wants people to know that diabetes is not their birthright. Neither are any of the chronic diseases associated with poor diet. Emmons founded Sow Much Good Inc. to spread that message and to teach underserved populations in and around Charlotte how to grow healthy foods. hadn’t discussed the decision with my husband. I was unsure what I was going to do to make a living,” she said. A political science major from the Roxbury community of Boston, Emmons was a non-traditional student who worked her way through school. After dropping out of high school, she obtained her General Education Diploma, moved South and enrolled at UNC Charlotte, graduating with her bachelor’s degree at the age of 29. Emmons studied abroad for a year in Poland, with aspirations of entering law school upon her return to the United States . Her first position out of college was with the Metrolina AIDS Project. She loved the work but quickly realized she needed a more lucrative position if she were going to pay back student loans. From there, she entered the corporate world, first with Goodrich Corp. and then with Bank of America. The money was good, but all the while Emmons says she was suppressing her desire to work on issues of social justice. Overwhelmed by that desire, www.UNCC.edu
Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 25
UNC CHARLOTTE |
s t a ke yo u r c l a i m
she walked into her bank office in March 2008 and wrote The Email. SISTERLY CONCERN While Emmons was considering her next steps, her older sibling was struggling. In fact, her brother had struggled most of his life. “I don’t know if he had a formal diagnosis of schizophrenia growing up, but as early as age 6 my parents were taking him to the doctor; he had to go to a special school for kids with behavioral problems,” Emmons said. Growing up, Emmons had feared her brother, who was often angry, resentful and violent. “I thought he was just the screw up,” she said. As an adult, Emmons’ brother left home and began using drugs. Eventually he made his way from Boston to Charlotte. When he showed up at her home, she directed him to the Charlotte men’s shelter. After one night in the shelter, he decided he could not stay there and started living on the streets. “I thought about my brother often. I called around to the municipalities and told them, ‘He’s on the street, I’m afraid for his life, what can I do?’ — but there was nothing I could do until he got in the system.” Three years ago he was arrested and finally, formally diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic. “I went through a mental-health simulation of schizophrenia and came to understand how he was tormented,” Emmons said. “And I understood how he could want to self medicate with drugs to quiet the voices. I came to understand how as a teenager he could have felt that anger at being different and having to try to mask his problems amidst the normal pressures of adolescence.” Most of all, Emmons felt compassion. His arrest coincided with her decision to leave her job, freeing her to become his advocate and guardian. He was placed in a supportive housing program, but quickly thereafter, Emmons watched, perplexed, as her 26 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
An endeavor that started with concern for a family member’s health has grown into a nonprofit dedicated to serving lowincome and marginalized people across the Charlotte region.
brother’s health began to change. “I immediately noticed he was putting on weight,” she said. “When I’d go to the doctor with him we found he was borderline diabetic. The medication, combined with a sedentary lifestyle and the packaged foods, were negatively affecting his health.” Emmons, who had been a gardener for most of her adult life, noted that the 30 residents of the group home were being fed few fresh fruits and vegetables. She began planting extra rows of vegetables in her 6-by-10-foot garden, bringing the harvest to the program staff for the residents. After doing that for a time, she began sharing the bounty with others in need. Gerald Johnson, publisher of The Charlotte Post and inaugural Sow Much Good Inc., board chair, suggested Emmons set up a foundation. “He said, ‘You’re obviously bent on this, driving around like a crazy lady with your eggplant and your zucchini,’” she recalled. “I decided he was on to something, and maybe I could get a little help buying seeds and mulch.” When Emmons set up the foundation, her husband was in for a surprise. “I brought in 17 yards of soil and dug up the whole back yard. My husband sold his riding lawn mower after he realized I wasn’t turning back,” she said. An endeavor that started with concern for a family member’s health has grown into a nonprofit dedicated to serving low-income and marginalized people across the Charlotte region. FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE Emmons grew up in a “food desert,” or area where residents cannot easily access healthy food products and dietrelated diseases are prevalent. “My parents had to drive 30 to 40 miles outside of our neighborhood to make sure we had something green on our plates,” she said. The magnitude of the food access problem in Charlotte became evident when Elizabeth Racine, assistant professor of public health sciences at UNC Charlotte, and colleagues www.UNCC.edu
s t a ke yo u r c l a i m
produced a widely publicized food assessment study. The researchers found that 60 neighborhoods in Mecklenburg County qualify as food deserts. “It’s staggering, the number of people living in these conditions, subsisting on fringe food or fast food,” Emmons said. A self-described “all or nothing” type of person, Emmons has had to adjust to the notion of incremental progress. Emmons inspired Sandy Marshall, executive director of The NASCAR Foundation and a Sow Much Good board member, to dig deeper into community food issues. “Robin’s vision is bigger than just building a community garden,” Marshall said. “Her goal is to truly fix the problem of the urban food deserts in Charlotte by finding a longterm, sustainable solution — a solution that includes advocacy, education, and encouraging engagement by the entire community to solve a problem that affects us all.” As the founder of a nonprofit, Emmons has also had to learn how to navigate the region’s community of individuals and organizations concerned with food-related issues, many of which are vying for position, media and money. “It’s stretching me and growing me and challenging me in ways I couldn’t have imagined,” she said. In the early days, Emmons ferried homegrown food to local organizations and service providers that needed it. She still does that, but her efforts have expanded significantly. One successful initiative is the Ashley Park Elementary School Garden and Learning Laboratory. Parents, students and teachers help maintain the garden and bring home the harvest. Emmons hopes the school will be able to serve some of the food in the cafeteria. “There’s a disconnect; this is not a poorkid/rich-kid issue,” Emmons noted. “Because we’re all so far removed from how our food system used to work, the obvious connection www.UNCC.edu
between diet and the fact that our kids are diabetic and obese has become less obvious.” Currently, Emmons is launching a new program called Community Roots. It will employ people in the community to grow food that they will then sell at farm stands in food desert areas. The further Emmons wades into food system issues, the greater her conviction grows. This spring she attended
“It’s staggering, the number of people subsisting on fringe food or fast food... this is not a poor-kid/rich-kid issue.”
| UNC CHARLOTTE
training at Will Allan’s organization, Growing Power. Allan, a MacArthur Fellow and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World, is recognized as the preeminent practitioner of urban agriculture in America. “That was an awesome experience. It heightened my awareness,” Emmons said. “Parts of Milwaukee are drug infested; there is racial disparity; some neighborhoods are very depressed. He has set up a threeacre urban farm in the middle of the city where he employs youth and sells directly to the community, and it works. Now people come from all over the country to learn about how Growing Power does it.” Emmons recently completed the McColl Center’s Innovation Institute and was named one of 20 William C. Friday Fellows for Human Relations. The two-year fellowship is for emerging leaders in the public, private and nonprofit sectors who are able to directly affect issues facing communities, through the Wildacres Leadership Initiative. Her experiences have led her to think big, and to consider the future of Sow Much Good as an organization that could affect change on a national scale. “As I’ve educated myself about the food system, I’ve come to realize that it’s just not sustainable. Our system of monocultures and cheap fossil fuels to transport foods has created a house of cards. If the transportation system would break down today, any city in North Carolina — an economy based in agribusiness — could not feed themselves for more than three days. We’re dependent on cheap food and cheap fuel to sustain our food system,” she said. Before she can change the world, Emmons is content to first change Charlotte, both as an advocate for marginalized people and as an educator of the next generation of gardeners and consumers. “The problem is wellestablished,” she said. “How about we do something about it?” Lisa A. Patterson is senior writer in the Office of Public Relations. Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 27
UNC CHARLOTTE |
fe a t u re
Urban Ed Guru Chance Lewis helps teachers inspire students By Lisa A. Patterson
“Somebody in the world needs you to be great so that they can reach their destiny.”
As the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair of Urban Education, Chance W. Lewis brings a wealth of experience in education and a stellar research record to UNC Charlotte.
28 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
Since its founding four decades ago this year, the College of Education at UNC Charlotte has focused on improving education locally and nationally through research and training for aspiring teachers. Currently over 3,000 UNC Charlotte students are preparing for careers in education, and approximately 7,000 UNC Charlotte alumni are working in North Carolina’s public schools, touching the lives of thousands of students each year. Because of UNC Charlotte’s urban research mission and location in Charlotte, urban education has always been a priority. Chance W. Lewis joined UNC Charlotte this fall as the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair of Urban Education. Lewis will teach doctoral students in urban education as part of the University’s doctorate in Curriculum & Instruction. Lewis is a prolific scholar and author, and distinguished educator. Prior to joining the University, he served as Houston Endowed Chair and associate professor of urban education at Texas A&M University and co-directed the Center for Urban School Partnerships. In 1997, he was named Teacher of the Year for the state of Louisiana. UNC Charlotte magazine caught up with him before the start of the 2011-12 academic year to discuss the challenges urban schools face and the ways UNC Charlotte can impact the children and teachers in these schools. What are some of the most pressing issues urban schools face, and how do the schools benefit from collaboration with institutions of higher education, particularly UNC Charlotte? In my opinion, some (not all) of the pressing issues that urban schools face are as follows: Classroom management, teachers’ inability to reach 21st century learners via innovative instructional approaches, www.UNCC.edu
fe a t u re teachers’ academic expectations of students and teachers who are not prepared for the realities of teaching in urban schools. By collaborating with institutions of higher education, urban practitioners can be provided with the latest research on what works in urban schools. Also, the collaboration with UNC Charlotte and the Urban Education Research and Policy Collaborative can provide valuable resources such as training materials and professional development from faculty who have a track record of working with urban schools across the country. These efforts have yielded positive results to the most pressing issues. For example, a school district in Texas that I worked with along with colleagues won the prestigious Broad Prize for the top urban school district for our efforts in addressing the academic achievement of students of color. An additional benefit of the collaboration/ partnership is that K-12 educators in urban schools are provided opportunities to pursue graduate work directly in the field of urban education to improve practice at their school sites. Finally, urban schools and institutions of higher education can work together on pursuing large-scale grants to provide funds for cutting-edge approaches to enhance student learning. You mention teacher preparation as an important concern. How should we go about preparing teachers to go into urban environments and effectively interact with students and parents? What needs to happen? Teacher-education programs have to prepare pre-service teachers to teach their curricular content in a way that is life-changing for their students. Pre-service teachers need the skills to make their lessons culturally relevant and engaging for 21st century students. More emphasis has to be placed on innovative ways to use technology in the classroom. For example, many of the successful urban schools around the country are utilizing iPads and other innovative technologies to make learning culturally relevant and exciting. Teachers have to become facilitators of learning for the 21st century and actively engage these students so they are able to reach their full potential. Name the parties that should have a seat at the table if we are to address these issues. How do we bring the people and www.UNCC.edu
organizations together to work on challenges endemic to an urban school setting? The primary stakeholders who must have a seat at the table are: students, parents, community members, K-12 educators, university partners, businesses, politicians, policymakers, philanthropic organizations and many others. To bring these constituents together and address these challenges, we must formulate think tanks and other related forums to bring these constituents to the table. I see this as a very exciting opportunity for UNC Charlotte to become the premier leader in urban education, pulling these constituents together to devise a strategy of how to address these issues through our urban mission of teaching, research and service. With
| UNC CHARLOTTE
in educating students in urban settings. You began your career as a teacher in an urban school. How did that experience affect you? Are there any anecdotes you’d like to share about the children you taught or the insights you gained? Yes, my career began in an urban school, and I am a product of an urban school as well. Through these experiences, the work I am currently involved in is not just a research agenda; it is part of my life story. My teaching experiences in this environment have allowed me to gain insight on how to really teach in a life-changing way and help my students to reach their full potential. I have come to realize from these students that they are looking for teachers who care
“My research will seek to understand how the teaching/learning process in urban schools can be enhanced to help students become more excited about learning.” UNC Charlotte as the central hub among these constituents, it’s possible to make a monumental difference in the lives of students. Describe your research at Texas A&M. Will you continue this work at UNC Charlotte? Are there new directions of research on the horizon? The majority of my research has been centered on the academic improvement of African American students in urban schools. This work will continue at UNC Charlotte, given that this population still has not achieved an acceptable level of performance in urban schools. In most areas of the country, this group of students ranks at or near the bottom of most academic barometers. New directions of my research will seek to understand how the teaching and learning process in urban schools can be enhanced to help students become more excited about learning. Also, I plan to expand my research to answer the most pressing questions in urban settings across the globe. By the expansion of my research, our graduate students will be exposed to global possibilities to make a difference
about them enough to push them to greatness when others count them out. These students also taught me that I had to continually become better at my craft because I had to prepare them for a quickly changing world. They were counting on me to help them find their place in the world and do great things with their lives. Is there one teacher in particular who touched your life and/or inspired you to follow this career path? I was fortunate enough to be taught by my mother as a high school student. I saw first-hand the level of preparation that a truly committed educator must have if they want to be great, versus being ordinary. She inspired me to do great things because she mentioned that “somebody in the world needs you to be great so that they can reach their destiny.” This has motivated me on my career path to provide each person I come into contact with the best educational experience possible — they are counting on me to reach their destiny. Lisa A. Patterson is senior writer in the Office of Public Relations. Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 29
UNC CHARLOTTE |
fe a t u re
Continued from p. 21
as a result of another graduate student’s work, wit was found that two genetic types exist. Fortunately, Oliver said, most of the bacteria in oysters (upwards of 85 percent) have been determined to be of the genetic type that is unable to cause human disease. So, even though oysters are the main vehicle for transmitting the bacteria to humans, most of the Vibrio bacteria they carry appear unable to cause disease. VIBRIO ON THE RISE In the United States, raw oysters are the primary vehicle for transmission of Vibrio to humans. Oysters, like other mollusks, are “filter feeders.” They serve a crucial role in the ecosystem, filtering water at a rate of up to five liters—or about two gallons—per hour. Vibrio is present in all coastal waters and by extension, in all molluscan shellfish. Though rates of infection are low, the infection caused by Vibrio is terribly efficient. Symptoms including fever, chills, nausea, and greatly reduce blood pressure, usually begin the day after the oysters are consumed. “If you cook the oysters, there’s no problem,” Oliver said. But, Oliver cautioned, if you have one of the diseases that could predispose you to Vibrio infection, you shouldn’t eat raw oysters. Vibrio infections can also be contracted when open wounds are exposed to sea water. More than 25 percent of these cases are fatal, but the majority of the fatalities occur with individuals who have one of the diseases that predisposes them to infection. In a healthy person, the bacteria usually only cause a minor infection. The bacterium is only 1/25,000ths of an inch long; over two million could sit on the end of a pin head. “The skin provides phenomenal protection against infection, but when you breach that protection, bacteria gets in,” Oliver said. “There have been several reports of people who’d been bitten by ants, went wading in the water and the bacteria got in through the ant bites.” Oliver does not advocate avoiding the beach, or the water for that matter. In fact, he vacations on the coast with his family during the summer months. He simply advises beachgoers to be mindful of their health. “If you notice signs of infection, such as pain, swelling, warmth or redness, you should see a doctor” he said. “Marine bacteria are some of the fastest-growing bacteria 30 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
known to man, but antibiotics will knock out the infection if it’s caught quickly.” WORLD HEALTH MEETING Oliver was invited to the 2010 World Health Organization expert meeting in Rome to develop risk-assessment tools and food-hygiene guidelines to help countries shore up their seafood production and post-harvest processing practices. “Of all the food-borne pathogens, vibrios are the only group to cause an increased number of cases in recent years,” Oliver said. He cites a number of possibilities for the global rise of Vibrio cases, including climate change. “The bacteria like warm water. In cold water Vibrio becomes dormant, and you can’t even find it in oysters. As global temperatures increase the bacteria emerge earlier from the dormant state,” Oliver said.
something that is naturally present.” While it is impossible to legislate against Vibrio, restaurants sometimes face litigation when a customer suffers a Vibrio-related death. Oliver provides expert witness consultation for both the defense and prosecution in these cases. Many states require warning labels on menus where raw oysters are available, and plaques carrying warnings are posted in most grocery store seafood departments. Post-harvest processing treatments have been developed to make oysters Vibrio free, but the processing methods kill the oyster. Nonetheless, some restaurants use only processed oysters to eliminate their liability. Around the world, millions of pounds of oysters are consumed each year. By comparison, the chances of contracting Vibrio infection are extremely small.
One undergraduate class in microbiology with Jim Oliver and Brett Froelich (pictured here) was hooked. After pursuing a master’s degree in Oliver’s lab, Froelich decided to delve deeper into the world of Vibrio vulnificus as a doctoral candidate.
Greater international food commerce could be another culprit; shellfish is readily available year round, with shipments from Asia supplementing domestic production and making it more available to people everywhere. Physicians have also become more aware of Vibrio-induced illness and might be diagnosing the afflicted with greater accuracy and in higher numbers. Regardless of the number of Vibrio cases each year, the bacteria pose a serious concern for the shellfish industry. “This is not a contaminant,” Oliver said. “You can’t legislate against
Oliver hopes that the recognition that this bacterium exists, and increased awareness among individuals with diseases that predispose them to infection, will stem the rise in Vibrio infections. In the meantime, Oliver, his students and colleagues plan to delve further into the world of a tiny organism that remains cloaked in complexity. “I doubt we’ll ever know this bacterium completely, but our hope is that through our research we can help decrease the pain and deaths caused by this pathogen,” Oliver said. Lisa A. Patterson is senior writer in the Office of Public Relations. www.UNCC.edu
Ivy League
title
| UNC CHARLOTTE
taLent
FROM a
MagnOLIa
tOwn.
To find world-class talent, you don’t have to look any farther than UNC Charlotte. Whether it’s academics, athletics, or the arts, we’re home to top achievers and leaders. 25,000 students strong and growing, UNC Charlotte boasts an award-winning faculty, notable alumni, and an outstanding student body. Stake your claim to a university that’s home to academic achievement.
Kenechukwu Onwugbolu Marketing, Honors Program, Class of 2011
www.UNCC.edu
Mona Abbasi, Biology/Pre-Med, Honors Program, Class of 2011
Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 31
UNC CHARLOTTE |
fe a t u re
Just The Facts Indicators data to inform decision-making Photos by Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont
By Mary Newsom
Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont is one of several Regional Indicators Partners. They provide job skills training programs for youth.
Want to know which county in the Charlotte region has the highest percentage of people employed in the arts, entertainment and recreation? (Answer: Cabarrus) Perhaps you’re interested in air pollution, and you’d like to know how the Charlotte metro region compares with similar-sized metros in the proportion of days with bad air quality. (Answer: For 2008, among 13 “benchmark” cities, Charlotte trailed only Pittsburgh and Atlanta.) Maybe you’re curious about development: Which county in the region has the highest number of developed acres per capita? (Answer: Chester County, S.C.) Used to be, you’d have to spend a lot of time on Google and government-data websites to try to make those kinds of comparisons. Now, you may well need only visit the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute’s new online resource. 32 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
On June 30, the institute unveiled a new and enhanced Charlotte Regional Indicators website—ri.uncc.edu. The goal, says institute Director Jeff Michael, is to give people in the Charlotte region a shared set of facts to help underpin public policy decision-making. The idea stemmed from a four-year-old institute project—collecting statistical information to measure some of the key factors that make up the region’s quality of life. That effort, the Charlotte Regional Indicators Project, tracks data on the economy, environment, education and social well-being, in order to create benchmarks for regional progress. Michael said the Regional Indicators Project’s goal was to provide a solid foundation of shared factual information. With that shared foundation, he said, a common understanding of the region’s challenges and opportunities could be built.
The Regional Indicators Project provides a solid foundation of shared factual information, with which we can build a common understanding of the region’s challenges and opportunities. www.UNCC.edu
fe a t u re But because new statistical information is constantly being released, the first Indicators report, which was printed, suffered from instant obsolescence. The institute realized its benchmarking project would be more useful and relevant if the underlying data could be the most current available. For two years, the institute worked to build a database that allows data to be uploaded easily, as soon as it’s released— whether from government agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau or Bureau of Labor Statistics, or research centers such as the Texas Transportation Institute. At the new Regional Indicators website— http://ri.uncc.edu—you’ll find graphs, charts and tables that are linked to the Indicators’ continually updated database. Visitors to the site can be assured the numbers there are the most recent available. On the site you’ll find: Indicator Explorer: This offers a set of 33 indicators, organized around 11 quality-of-life theme areas the institute tracks. It’s akin to a “dashboard” gauge of how the region is doing. Regional Explorer: This lets visitors view county-by-county data, and when appropriate and available, by smaller units such as census tracts and school districts. Data Explorer: This tool makes the indicators’ database into a resource available for anyone’s research. The Geovisual Explorer allows for graphic representations, and the Table Explorer will allow users to make search queries and download data. With this tool, researchers—or any interested member of the public—can analyze information or focus on specific questions about the data. Indicator Partners: As word got out that the institute was redesigning its Regional Indicators website, an unexpected number of community organizations were interested in using the databank to track information related to their missions. This led to a new Regional Indicators Partners program. The partners use the indicators
A number of community organizations, known as Regional Indicators Partners, are using the Urban Institute’s indicators databank to track information related to their missions and explore trends in their areas of interest. The Regional Indicators. website is pictured here.
www.UNCC.edu
databank to explore trends in their specific areas of interest. They have agreed to help financially in order to sustain the Charlotte Regional Indicators Project and have agreed to make their data and reports available online: http://ri.uncc.edu/
| UNC CHARLOTTE
The Regional Indicators website will provide data for conversation and teaching in classrooms.
partners. The six Indicator Partners to date are: The Council for Children’s Rights, United Way of Central Carolinas, the Urban League of Central Carolinas, Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Women’s Summit and Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education. The institute is continuing to recruit partners. The website also will provide occasional analyses by institute staff, UNC Charlotte faculty and community leaders covering what the data tell us about our region. “Creating a space for such commentary is an important step toward building a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the Charlotte region,” Michael said. He envisions the Indicators website as a sort of “community commons,” using information and informed comment to spark more serious conversations across the region—in city council meetings, neighborhood gatherings, classrooms, corporate and nonprofit board rooms and around the family dinner table. Funding sources for the initial work on this website, in addition to the annual, sustaining support of Regional Indicators Partners, were: Advantage Carolina, Foundation For The Carolinas, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. Mary Newsom is associate director of urban and regional affairs at the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute. Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 33
UNC CHARLOTTE |
s t a ke yo u r c l a i m
Howard Godfrey gets Bank of America Award
Photo by Wade Bruton
By Paul Nowell
Accounting Professor Howard Godfrey is the 2011 recipient of the highest teaching honor bestowed by UNC Charlotte, the Bank of America Award for Teaching Excellence. The announcement was made at a reception Friday, Sept. 16, at Bank of America’s Founder’s Hall. Godfrey and the other finalists were honored during an evening ceremony and gala attended by UNC Charlotte faculty members and their guests. “Howard is a very effective teacher,” accounting department co-chairs Casper Wiggins and Jack Cathey wrote in a joint letter of recommendation to the selection committee. “He is totally dedicated to teaching and to doing whatever it takes to help his 34 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
students learn. His classes are very rigorous and he has a passion for bringing unique real world tax cases into the classroom.” Godfrey was selected from an esteemed list of finalists for the award. The other nominees were: Yogendra Kakad, electrical and computer engineering; John Piel, education; Gregory Starrett, anthropology; and David Thaddeus, architecture. For his part, Godfrey said he considers it a “great privilege to be part of the process of educating, training, advising and mentoring students who will assume leadership roles in the business world. My focus is on helping students succeed, whether I am engaged in
course preparation, class lectures, testing, research, or advising and mentoring. When students succeed, we all succeed.” Godfrey has been a member of the accounting faculty for 36 years, and his area of specialty is individual and corporate taxation. He has taught and mentored thousands of students, who have succeeded in his courses and in their professions. One graduate commented, “In Dr. Godfrey’s class, I not only learned the principles of taxation, but more importantly, the methodology for solving real-world problems that I would experience in the accounting profession.” A consummate mentor to students, Godfrey uses his broad network of alumni and professionals to find internships and permanent positions. Twenty years ago, he inaugurated and has continued to coordinate the Department of Accounting annual student recruiter picnic, an event that brings together students and professional recruiters in an informal setting. “During the recent period of recession, Howard has personally dedicated himself to assisting students to find jobs in a tough employment market,” wrote Wiggins and Cathey. In 1994, he committed to prepare an undergraduate team for a national tax challenge. Competing against 64 teams, UNC Charlotte was recognized as the second best in the nation. His teams have continued to be successful, qualifying 12 times in the top 10 nationally. In 2004, the first time a graduate team entered, it placed in the top six in the nation. To prepare the team, he offers seven-hour classes on each Friday or Saturday for two or three months. Through Godfrey’s dedication, this tax challenge team experience has provided a special learning opportunity and has significantly advanced team members’ professional careers. Their success has brought visibility and recognition to UNC Charlotte, the Belk College of Business and the Department of Accounting. www.UNCC.edu
g i v i n g p ro f i l e
| UNC CHARLOTTE
A Generous Man Immigrant success story spotlights dedication to higher education By Melba Newsome It may sound like a cliché to say that Nicholas Goudes’ life personified the American dream, but it’s true. When he arrived in the United States from his native Greece in 1947, Goudes spoke no English and had just $50 in his pocket. But he believed that, in this country, opportunities were as big as your dreams. Fifty years later, Goudes was a wealthy man with a zeal to expand opportunities for others through education. When the College of Education celebrated its silver anniversary in 1996, the philanthropist and education advocate established the Goudes Educational Fund with a $1 million donation. The College kicked-off its 40th anniversary celebration in May with the Looking Forward campaign to honor the teaching profession, celebrate the accomplishments of the college and grow its financial resources. Goudes had passed away a year earlier, but UNC Charlotte was not forgotten. Before his death, he completed a letter of intent leaving an additional $2 million bequest to the College of Education. As the largest gift ever received by the College, he ensured that the Looking Forward campaign got off to a solid start. The Alma and Sharon Goudes Educational Scholarship, named in memory of Goudes’ late wife and daughter, was established in 1998. The $2,500 per semester renewable scholarship is awarded to juniors or seniors with exemplary academic records who plan to teach high school or middle school English or mathematics. To date, there have been 92 Goudes scholars. Perhaps few of them are aware of the humble beginnings of the man who made it all possible. As a young man in Sparta, Goudes was jailed by the Nazi and Italian armies during World War II and was imprisoned for six months by Greek communist leaders after the war. Upon his release, he left his homeland for America in search of freedom and opportunity. He pursued various business opportunities in Oklahoma City, Boston, Baltimore, and New York City before settling in Charlotte in 1957. He and his wife, Alma, first went into business managing the Delmonico www.UNCC.edu
Restaurant, Pearl Room, and Variety Club on West Trade Street. Later, they founded the Sharon View Country Club and served for 40 years as the proprietors. Although his son Athanasios and daughter Athena earned degrees at UNC Charlotte, Goudes’ generosity to the College of Education was motivated primarily by his fierce advocacy of higher education. “He chose to support future teachers out of a great love and respect for the teaching profession and out of a clear understanding of how education can open doors of opportunity,” said College of Education Dean Mary Lynne Calhoun. His education legacy can be seen throughout North Carolina. He endowed the Nicholas T. and Alma S. Goudes Scholarship at UNC Chapel Hill School of Law and the Goudes Endowment for The Science House and the Goudes Merit Scholarship at N.C. State. Central Piedmont Community College and the Charlotte Greek School have also been beneficiaries of his largess. After being nominated by UNC Charlotte as a builder of teachers, the Charlotte chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals selected Goudes as the Outstanding Philanthropist for 2009. “How appropriate that the origin of the word ‘philanthropy’ is Greek and means love of mankind,” wrote Chancellor Philip L. Dubois in a letter to Goudes. “Your financial gifts to fund the Alma and Sharon Goudes Educational Scholarship have truly been gifts of love to the people in Mecklenburg County and across North Carolina.” Today the College of Education is the secondlargest professional education program in North Carolina with more than 3,000 students pursuing baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral degrees. More than 6,600 alumni work in the state’s public schools. “Mr. Goudes honored the commitment of these young people and the profession of teaching,” Calhoun says. “Every child deserves a great teacher, and he has helped us move toward that goal.”
Nicholas Goudes
“He chose to support future teachers out of a great love and respect for the teaching profession …”
Melba Newsome is a freelance writer based in Charlotte. Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 35
UNC CHARLOTTE |
fe a t u re
Ordinary People, Extraordinary Photography J. MURREY ATKINS LIBRARY
Photos by Steve Perille
Photographer Steve Perille is known for capturing everyday scenes of people and places, mostly in Charlotte. Seemingly ordinary moments become extraordinary after passing through the filter of Perille’s lens. Named Southern Photographer of the Year in 1975, Perille worked as a photographer for the Charlotte Observer from 1972 until 1983 Perille’s images are now available for public viewing in the UNC Charlotte J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections. Byron Baldwin, a fellow photographer and friend of Perille, recently donated “The Steve Perille Photographic Collection” to the library. In his curator’s statement for the Light Factory exhibit Steve Perille: Unfiltered, Baldwin noted, “Steve Perille’s photographs are deceptively simple. They are of real people doing real things, and of real places that are seemingly unremarkable. Through his photographs we are drawn to the beauty of ordinary moments.” To search all of Special Collection’s digital collections, please visit specialcollections.uncc.edu
36 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
The Steve Perille collection at UNC Charlotte includes nearly 300 digital images and hundreds more physical photos in the process of being catalogued.
In his images, Perille engages life head-on. His ability to find intriguing images in the commonplace has produced a remarkable body of work.
“Steve Perille’s images of children are statements about childhood that anyone can understand. His images of men at work remind us of an uncle or someone we once worked for. The young lover images are universally understood.” – Byron Baldwin
www.UNCC.edu
fe a t u re Continued from p. 17
move, they have been excited at the prospect of -- ‘Next year, Center City,” she said. “We expect to see increased anticipation in our daytime professional programs from those who work in Center City, and for whom our new location is ideal.” Martin said the office offers programs that meet the needs of a wide variety of industries located in and near the Center City. “Examples include project management, business process management, business analysis, accounting, engineering, human resources, meeting and event planning, and healthcare,” Martin said. “We expect our GRE and GMAT exam prep courses to be particularly popular with Center City employees who are preparing to apply to graduate school.” Michael Smith, president and CEO of Charlotte Center City Partners said, “UNC Charlotte Center City strengthens the University and strengthens Charlotte by connecting the intellectual capital of the University more closely to the commerce hub of the city center. It provides a great community anchor in the First Ward and bridges the First and Fourth Wards. Visitors will enjoy amenities such as an on-site café, 300-seat auditorium for lectures and performances, and gallery space. “For over 35 years the School of Architecture has worked with community
www.UNCC.edu
Jerry Coughter, executive director of UNC Charlotte Center City has been a popular guy since his arrival last spring. He has spoken at Chamber of Commerce luncheons, meeting ad conferences of all sorts, and has sat for several media interviews. Media coverage and community support has been extremely supportive of the University’s new presence Uptown.
partners independently, and through various locations Uptown and in South End,” said Ken Lambla, dean of the College of Arts + Architecture. “Having a Center City facility to consolidate our work on urban design and community-based interdisciplinary research, along with new arts programming, fulfills a longstanding opportunity to integrate our expertise and demonstrate the impact of UNC Charlotte in this city and region.” Smith echoes Lambla. “The Charlotte 2020 Vision Plan looks to creating the urban campus; UNC Charlotte’s new presence is a natural fit in providing a major higher education anchor for that urban campus,” Smith added. “It allows for people from the
| UNC CHARLOTTE
center city to contribute as students, adjunct instructors and participants in events.” “In addition to serving as a classroom building for graduate programs and continuing education, it allows the colleges to expand access to faculty expertise and enliven the intellectual life of the community through regular public lectures, programs, performances, and exhibits,” said Joan Lorden, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “It will also serve as a home for programs like the UNC Charlotte Crossroads “Charlotte Engage!” that will deliver educational and community service programming in center city Charlotte.” UNC Charlotte Center City, designed by Kieran Timberlake and Gantt Huberman architecture firms and built by Rodgers Construction, is undoubtedly an icon. It borders the light rail tracks on one side and the First Ward neighborhood on the other. Fourth Ward is a few blocks away, and the very core of Uptown Charlotte is a quick walk. The building, and all the eventual amenities that spring up around it, herald the redevelopment of the neighborhood and new era of connectivity between the University and the community. Paul Nowell is media relations manager at UNC Charlotte.
John Bland is director of public relations at UNC Charlotte.
Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 37
UNC CHARLOTTE |
a l u m n i a f fa i rs
Scholarship Targets Students in Need Go Greek, Again: All Greek Reunion slated for Oct. 22
13th Annual
TIAA-CREF
It’s almost time for the second annual All Greek Reunion. Renew old acquaintances and create new ones on Saturday, Oct. 22, from noon to 4 p.m. near the site of the future 49ers football stadium.
A lu m ni
Golf Outing
A $1,000 donation in support of need-based scholarships will be named for the Greek organization with most paid participants. Alpha Delta Pi won the honor in 2010. The registration deadline is Oct. 14. See unccharlottealumni.org for details.
Monday, October 10 Pine Island Country Club Come
out and golf for a good cause. Proceeds support the Dr. Gregory Davis, ’76, Need-Based Scholarship. The Dr. Gregory Davis, ’76, NeedBased Scholarship was established in 2008 by the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association in honor of Dr. Gregory Davis. The scholarship was developed to benefit students in good academic standing with demonstrated financial need. Davis has helped to launch several UNC Charlotte programs designed to keep students on track toward college completion. Tuition assistance through scholarship has proven to be an important component of student success. “One of my greatest dreams was to obtain a college education. Because I was a first-generation college student, scholarships, federal and state aid made it possible for my dream to come true,” Davis said. “The scholarship means that a student with the same dream of a college education will not have that dream delayed or deferred because of lack of funds.”
38 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
UNC Charlotte and ZTA alumna JoAnn Reed (far left) and friends enjoyed food and fun at 2010 All Greek Reunion, hosted on the future 49er football 50-yard-line. Registration for this year’s event is now underway.
It’s not a Rorschach test, and you won’t find it on the bottom of a box of cereal—it’s the Alumni Association QR (quick response) code. If you have a smartphone, just download one of the many free QR code reader apps and scan the image with your phone’s camera to link to the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association website.
www.UNCC.edu
c l a s s n o te s
2000s
1980s
Roy Morejon, ’04, has cofounded Command Partners, a social media and web marketing firm located in Charlotte. Morejon will serve as president of the company. He also is co-founder of Search Engine Marketing Association, as well as founder of North Carolina Businesses for Social Responsibility.
has co-edited with bestselling author Charlaine Harris the anthology “Home Improvement: Undead Edition,” released by Ace Books. In February, Berkley Prime Crime released Kelner’s book “Blast from the Past,” the third installment in the “Where are they now?” mystery series.
1990s
1970s
Rev. Stephen Lewis, ’98,
Jeffery Beam, ’75, saw the
www.UNCC.edu
David Bost, ’75, has been elected Chair of the Faculty at Furman University where he has served as a professor of Spanish since 1981. Bost also is the Administrative Director of the Lilly Center for Vocational Reflection.
What are you doing?
Photo by Kevin Bezner
was named president of the Fund for Theological Education (FTE), effective Oct. 1. Lewis, a former banking officer with experience at Moody’s Investors Service and Bank of America, was ordained as a Baptist minister in 2003.
edition of his 1990 chapbook series “Midwinter Fires in the Rebound,” and “The Broken Flower: Poems from Skysill Press.” Beam is poetry editor of the print and online literary journal “Oyster Boy Review” and a botanical librarian in the Science Library at UNCChapel Hill.
Toni Perry Kelner, ’83,
publication of his 23rd literary work and 12th major collection of poetry, “Gospel Earth,” by Skysill Press (England). Other forthcoming works in 2011 include a limited letterpress edition of the “Gospel Earth” section MountSeaEden from Chester Creek Press, and a new
| UNC CHARLOTTE
It is time to share what you’ve been up to lately and let other alums help you toot your horn or spread the word on small or large achievements. We want to hear from you. Visit the Alumni Affairs Web site at www.unccharlottealumni.org and tell us what you’ve been doing. Or write Alumni Affairs, UNC Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 39
UNC CHARLOTTE |
building blocks
Past is Prologue …
Two years from now, Charlotte 49ers fans will be celebrating the Niners’ first gridiron wins. The two fearsome combatants pictured here—members of the 1970s era club team— will own Football Seat Licenses (FSL) and be rooting for their alma mater. Hopefully they won’t wear their tube socks, horse collars and beat-up Puma cleats. Construction of the on-campus football stadium is moving forward and FSLs are still available. First game: Aug. 31, 2013 at home against the Campbell University Camels. Be there … and wear 49er green!
40 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
|
Q311
Photo courtesy of J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections
Hike!
www.UNCC.edu
perspective
| UNC CHARLOTTE
Another jewel in Queen City’s crown
By Jose Gamez, Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design Judging by its current surroundings, the corner of 9th and Brevard Streets in Uptown Charlotte may appear to need more than the arrival of a single new building if something exciting is to happen there. Undeveloped lots nearby, a school yard enclosed by metal fencing, generous swaths of asphalt—the new UNC Charlotte Center City Building is rising as an architectural island. And, I am usually the first person to say that a single building cannot change the world or transform a city — at least, not often.
www.UNCC.edu
There have been instances in which buildings have sparked transformations, helped catalyze development and raised the profile of places — a phenomenon many urban critics have called the Bilbao Effect. The Bilbao Effect refers to the transformation of activity in that Spanish city after Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum was built there in the late 1990s. While the new Center City Building is not of Bilbao-ic proportions, it is an instance in which a major city center gets significant investment through innovative architecture; the Queen City gets another jewel to place in its crown. And this building is a jewel, even if the diamond seems a bit out of place in the urban roughness that surrounds it.
It is not just the building itself, however, that will add luster to 9th and Brevard; it is the vibrant activity within it. UNC Charlotte Center City Building not only represents UNC Charlotte’s commitment to the city as a whole but it also will literally and figuratively be the front door to the University itself. Collectively, the people and programs that will animate the building will form a creative and intellectual hub that will breathe new life into this corner of Uptown. A new art gallery and a host of cultural programs, for example, tied to the College of Arts + Architecture, will add to the range of performances, artistic works, and design related activities that already call Uptown Charlotte home. Moving the School of Architecture’s Urban Design program, and its research arm — the Design + Society Research Center — to the building’s 7th floor places the region’s designbased think tank in the city’s center at a time when issues such as sustainability, growth and quality of life have become increasingly pressing. What the Center City Building will ultimately be is a lively marketplace of ideas and information. The trading of those ideas will certainly take place in classrooms, but, more importantly, that social exchange will also take place in the building’s plaza, lobbies and public areas. Some spaces, like those on the first and second floors, will work in concert with the city fabric itself to form a place not only for formal cultural events but also for spontaneous interchange. Eventually – hopefully within a few years – four acres of surface parking stretching from the building’s back yard down to 7th Street will become an urban oasis of parkland, providing a green setting for social, arts and civic activities. In this sense, the Center City Building and the life associated with it will actually create a dynamic urban context. So, 9th and Brevard might not seem like a grand intersection if we take the present condition as an indicator. But, if we squint our eyes a bit, we can begin to picture the emerging urban landscape that our Center City Building inspires. It is in that context that this diamond will shine. José L.S. Gámez is an Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design and the Coordinator of the Design + Society Research Center in the School of Architecture. He has been a Research Fellow with the Institute for Social Capital and a Faculty Fellow with the Urban Institute at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Q311
|
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Charlotte, NC Permit No. 949
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte 9201 University Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
Welcome to UNC Charlotte—splat! A student successfully runs the gauntlet between two groups of hundreds of students hurling 49,000 water balloons as part of Week of Welcome activities for fall semester. Ah, to be young again!