UNC Charlotte Magazine, Fall 2016 by UNC Charlotte

The magazine of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

UNC Charlotte Autumn â&#x20AC;˘ 2016

Exponential Gifts Generous support by Popp, Martin powers campaign Ground Zero of Judaism, Christianity Discovery abounds at Mt. Zion excavation

Fantastically Beautiful Dean joins Levine Scholarsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; wilderness adventure

[

CHANCELLOR'S LETTER

]

A Place of Access and Opportunity

n many ways, UNC Charlotte’s fall semester opened in typical fashion. A record enrollment of 28,721 that included over 6,400 new undergraduate freshmen and transfer students, our second annual Convocation for new students, the annual University Convocation for faculty and staff, and a win in our first home football game combined to get us off to a great start. Within a few short weeks, however, the regular rhythm of the campus was interrupted in the wake of the shooting death of a Charlotte citizen, Keith Lamont Scott, by an officer of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department in a University City neighborhood about a mile from campus. What followed, of course, attracted national media attention for the better part of two weeks, as civil unrest gave way to peaceful protest demonstrations and, eventually, the beginning of organized introspection within Charlotte about what happened, why, and the next steps necessary to bring equity, opportunity, and access to all citizens of the community. I am proud to say that, during these difficult two weeks, UNC Charlotte’s students, staff, and faculty thoughtfully expressed their perspectives through peaceful protest demonstrations at the Student Union, a large march around campus, and a candlelight vigil. At just about the same time, campus administrators and staff were organizing our Founders Celebration, a week of activities commemorating the 70th anniversary of our founding in 1946 as the Charlotte Center of the University North Carolina, the institution that later became Charlotte College and ultimately the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In addition to hearing

from former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the sixth edition of the Chancellor’s Speaker Series, we dedicated a time capsule to be opened on our centennial anniversary in 2046, named our beautiful Student Union in honor of two generous former student leaders (more on that later!), and announced the kick-off of the largest private fundraising effort in our history, “Exponential: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte.” With a $200 million goal, the campaign will power UNC Charlotte’s future by funding scholarships for students. It will bolster academic programs and other vital initiatives to enrich the full collegiate experience, including study abroad, the arts, and athletics. The campaign will also support the research and other creative activity of our talented faculty, and it will engage our alumni and friends in ways that allow them to take on unprecedented roles in creating access to these opportunities. While this campus is transforming in ways that likely exceed even Bonnie Cone’s wildest imagination, we remain true to her vision—that UNC Charlotte will be a place of access and opportunity for every deserving student. This is the key message within the Exponential campaign. Our students are freshmen, transfers, returning veterans, and returning students seeking to complete their degrees. They come from all walks of life, but 70 percent of them receive financial aid and 40 percent are firstgeneration college students. For the first time, many of them have the opportunity to do something that wouldn’t be possible without the availability and accessibility of a great public University. It was for this very reason that

we chose to honor two of our most distinguished alumni who well understand the transformative power of a college degree. Former student body presidents Karen A. Popp (‘80) and Demond T. Martin (‘97) stepped forward with generous lead donations to the Exponential campaign. Naming the Karen A. Popp and Demond T. Martin Student Union in their honor was a fitting finish to our Founders Celebration and an exciting opening of the campaign. As former University of North Carolina system president Erskine Bowles said of Karen and Demond: “These two individuals embody just about everything possible for students earning UNC Charlotte degrees.” UNC Charlotte has a proud history, led by visionary leaders like Bonnie Connie, Dean Colvard, E.K. Fretwell, and Jim Woodward. We will always remember and celebrate their accomplishments and the contributions of many others who have made UNC Charlotte what it is today. At the same time, we must build and own our future; that’s the promise of the Exponential campaign. Join us. Cordially,

Philip L. Dubois Chancellor

Contents UNC Charlotte Magazine • Autumn • 2016

Exponential Gift Alumni Karen Popp (’80) and Demond Martin (’97) came to UNC Charlotte from different backgrounds and nearly two decades apart, but each found the campus to be a welcoming environment where they could expand their horizons and grow into future leaders.

F E AT U R E S

12 Zika

The rapid spread of the Zika virus has emerged as one of the most serious public health concerns of 2016. Using proprietary software, UNC Charlotte bioinformatics professor Dan Janies is looking to answer two very important questions: how is the virus changing, and where might it go next?

Ground Zero of Judaism, Christianity Within the heart of ancient Jerusalem, UNC Charlotte professors James Tabor and Shimon Gibson, along with an archaeological team, are making discoveries at the juncture of ancient Judaism and the start of Christianity.

Helping Kids and Families

‘Enigmatic Place’

The new Center for Health, Education and Opportunity is a collaborative community outreach effort between UNC Charlotte and Aldersgate Retirement Center. It recently piloted its first program, a summer reading camp for students and bilingual reading workshops for parents. UNC Charlotte students in the School of Architecture’s Master of Urban Design spent five weeks studying Brazil’s high-density urbanization in order to learn and plan for some of the questions of sustainability that might face U.S. cities moving forward.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Contents

UNC Charlotte

38 F E AT U R E S

P rof i les

D E PA R T M E N T S

‘Passionate Advocate’

News Briefs

Amelia Coonrod, a 24-year-old UNC Charlotte School of Social Work alumna, was born three months premature and diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Though she says the disease has influenced her life, she is quick to point out that it does not define her.

49ers Notebook

Center Stage

Light Rail Update

Class Notes

Giving

Building Blocks

Perspective

‘Fantastically Beautiful’ Joining this year’s incoming group of Levine Scholars on their wilderness experience was Lee College of Engineering Dean Bob Johnson, and he might have gotten more than he bargained for.

Ventureprise = Enterprise While the Charlotte region has a thriving core of high-growth companies, Ventureprise, the University’s hands-on strategic effort to help startups and earlystage companies grow, is seeking to address the region’s mission for innovation, entrepreneurship and investments in startup companies.

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

Lyrical Wisdom A hip-hop artist and poet, UNC Charlotte alum Sage Salvo spends his time developing new approaches to literacy, even demonstrating how hip-hop lyrics can be tied to historical poetry.

[

BY THE NUMBERS

]

Student Body by the Numbers Here are some facts about UNC Charlotte that speak to the exponential trajectory that’s driving the power of UNC Charlotte.

28,721

students enrolled, fall 2016, including 738 more students than this time last year.

34%

34% enrollment growth during the last 10 years.

42%

61%

42 percent of our new undergraduates are first-generation college students.

61 percent of all enrollment growth in the UNC system since 2009 has come from UNC Charlotte.

2,400+

current students are transfers from North Carolina community colleges – that’s opportunity!

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

[

ed i tor ' s des k

]

Refreshed W

elcome to the refreshed, revamped and updated UNC CHARLOTTE magazine. After several years with the same “look and feel,” we’ve made changes that we hope will make UNC CHARLOTTE more engaging for you. The front cover is distinguished now by a stronger, more refined font treatment. We’ll feature cover designs that fill the entire page, and we will post “teasers” for key features in addition to the cover story. Our binding, paper weight and the finish of our paper also has been enhanced. Inside, you’ll see Infographics and other elements to freshen the layout; we’re working hard to publish more compelling photos of consistent high quality. We’re publishing more pages in this edition, and hope to continue that trend, using design techniques to expand layouts for easier reading and browsing. Key departments such as the Chancellor’s Letter, Center Stage, Class Notes, Building Blocks and Perspective remain, appearing generally in their usual locations. We hope you enjoy the new UNC CHARLOTTE and welcome your comments on its revamped look. And as always, thanks for reading! Regards

Volume 23, Number 3

Stephen Ward Executive Director of University Communication Editor John D. Bland Senior Director for Public Relations & News Services Associate Editors Phillip Brown Susan Shackelford News Editor Jared Moon Contributing Writers Phillip Brown Wills Citty Mike Hermann Jared Moon Melba Newsome Paul Nowell Leanna Pough Meg Whalen Tom Whitestone Staff Photographer Wade Bruton Design & Production SPARK Publications

UNC Charlotte is published by The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223-0001 ISSN 10771913

John D. Bland, Editor Senior Director for Public Relations & News Services

17,500 copies of this publication were printed at a cost of $.54 per piece, for a total cost of $9,375.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Editorial offices: 110 Foundation Annex The University of North Carolina at Charlotte 8734 University City Blvd. Charlotte, NC 28223 704.687.7214

Printed on recycled paper

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

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.

News Briefs

www.UNCC.edu

Geology students get prehistoric UNC Charlotte students and visitors can imagine they have stepped back in time to the Mesozoic Era, as they follow an interactive path of dinosaur footprints newly installed on campus. UNC Charlotte geologist William Garcia created a model of famous dinosaur trackways preserved in the geologic record and placed the concrete model at the edge of the Botanical Gardens across from the Fretwell Building. Students are now able to step outside the customary lecture-based classroom setting and participate in a handson, kinesthetic learning experience. “They will read a scientific article in which a trackway site is described,” Garcia said. “Then, I’ll let them loose on the trackway in research teams and ask them to figure out what was going on. The idea is to get them to recreate the process a paleontologist would go through if they found the site.” The installation has the potential to engage individuals beyond just UNC Charlotte students. “With the proper signage, parents and kids, adults and schoolchildren can all learn something about dinosaurs just by having visited and walking around the Botanical Gardens,” he added. “This is precisely what a university should be doing, by engaging the community.” Geologist William Garcia said students will be introduced to basic concepts paleontologists use to analyze trackways, particularly a formula used to calculate the speed an animal was traveling when it made a trackway.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Initiative tackles diversity in computing

The curriculum covers everything from the basics of coding, algorithms and data structure, to intensive training in Javascript, Node.js, HTML, CSS, jQuery, C# and more.

‘CODING BOOT CAMP’ TO PREPARE WEB DEVELOPERS UNC Charlotte will launch a 24-week “Coding Boot Camp” certificate program this November to meet the growing local, national and global demand for web developers. The Coding Boot Camp will run from Nov. 8, 2016, through May 20, 2017, and is designed to accommodate the schedules of students and working professionals, with two evening classes during the week (6:30 to 9:30 p.m.) and a four-hour class on Saturdays (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, web development ranks among the world’s fastest-growing professions, with a 28 percent growth rate in the Charlotte market specifically from 2010-13. The median salary for professional web developers is $63,000, with some earning as much as $110,000 a year. Students also will receive a range of career-planning services, portfolio reviews, demo days, recruiting assistance and extensive staff support. Representatives from area businesses participating in UNC Charlotte’s employer network will advise on curriculum, products and student needs. While no previous training or experience is required, applicants should have an understanding of coding basics. 6

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

The lack of women in the information technology workforce directly affects the nation’s economic future — only 26 percent of IT professionals are women. This lack of gender diversity is a key factor to the growing shortage of tech talent; future U.S. graduates with bachelor’s degrees in computing can fill only 40 percent of the projected tech jobs in our nation. UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing and Informatics (CCI) Women in Computing Initiative aims to tackle this national challenge. The Women in Computing Initiative is designed to tap into this vast talent pool by attracting more freshmen and undeclared women at the University to declare CCI majors and help them successfully graduate. Ongoing efforts are underway to improve the college culture, policy and faculty leadership to build a welcoming environment for female students, in addition to mentoring initiatives, scholarships designed for women interested in CCI majors and an active, hands-on curriculum to introduce and attract women to career prospects in computing.

[

NEWs BRIEFS

]

Provost Accepts Award for Civic Engagement UNC Charlotte Provost Joan Lorden formally accepted the 2016 Higher Education Civic Engagement Award, presented by the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars at a ceremony held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The University was one of five honorees for this award; the other institutions recognized were Buffalo State, SUNY; Marquette University; Purdue University; and the University of San Diego. The Higher Education Civic Engagement Award recognizes institutions that are achieving breadth and depth of civic engagement through sustained and mutually transformational partnerships that define and address issues of public concern at any level from the local to the global. Each of the five winners of the 2016 Higher Education Civic Engagement Awards will receive one scholarship for a student to

participate in the Washington Center’s 2017 Presidential Inauguration Academic Seminar in Washington, D.C.

Joan Lorden, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs (second from left) accepts the 2016 Higher Education Civic Engagement Award.

New chief of staff assumes post

$4 million grant for Big Data research The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $4 million grant to UNC Charlotte researchers to develop a multidisciplinary research program called Virtual Information Fabric Infrastructure (VIFI) that will create new ways to manage, use and share Big Data and analytic results. Ashit Talukder, director of the Charlotte Data Visualization Center and the Bank of America Endowed Chair in Information Technology, is the principal investigator for the grant. This $4 million NSF grant is a large-scale consortium that will include

other UNC Charlotte researchers, the Charlotte Data Visualization Center and other leading academic institutions and research labs, and research will be conducted during the next four years. UNC Charlotte is the lead institution on the grant; it will involve collaborators from the California Institute of Technology, Louisiana State University & Agricultural and Mechanical College, the University of North Texas, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA, DOE Berkeley National Labs, Carnegie Mellon University and Florida State University.

Kim Bradley has been appointed chief of staff by UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. Her selection resulted from a national search that involved more than 170 individuals Bradley who applied for or were nominated for the post. Bradley spent the last 13 years working in public school districts in Syracuse, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island, in various roles, including chief of staff, chief communications officer and director of public engagement and government relations. Prior to that, she led community relations efforts while working in the Office of the Governor of Rhode Island. A graduate of Boston University, Bradley completed a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a marketing concentration; her Master of Public Administration is from the University of Rhode Island. Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

[

NEWs BRIEFS

]

School of Social Work awarded $2 million The School of Social Work received a $2 million federal grant to provide scholarships for graduate students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds preparing for careers in behavioral health care. One hundred students will receive full academic scholarships to pursue a master’s degree in social work through the Behavioral Health Scholars program. In exchange, the scholars agree to work with underserved populations in primary care behavioral health settings after graduation. The first group of 25 scholars will be selected this academic year; 25 additional students will earn full scholarships each year through 2020.

Lee college encourages vets to pursue stem Hansang Cho, left, and doctoral student Joseph Park work with live microscopic images of the activity from brain-on-chip platforms.

Brain-on-chip research mimics brain function

With hundreds of billions of neurons and thousands of trillions of synaptic connections between them, the human brain is considered the most complex system on earth. This complexity makes studying the brain an almost overwhelming challenge with nearly infinite research options. However, Lee College of Engineering Professor Hansang Cho is interested in developing micro-scaled environments that allow researchers to reconstruct specific brain functions and nano-scaled technologies to measure them. To systematize research components into elements that can be understood on their own or in conjunction with one another, Cho and his research team have developed innovative brain-on-chip devices and monitoring nanotechnologies. Brain-on-chip essentially means micro-scaled platforms that mimic brain functions and allow for unobstructed observations on small, controllable devices. Cho’s research group is part of the Center for Biomedical Engineering and Science at UNC Charlotte. His work is currently funded by the Cure Alzheimer Fund and the Charlotte Research Institute. 8

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

The Lee College of Engineering is using a grant from the Office of Naval and Research Development to increase veterans’ participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) studies at the college level. The grant adds an engineering-specific initiative to UNC Charlotte’s strong collection of veteran services programs. Jerry Dahlberg, a mechanical engineering graduate student and veteran, is director of the grant program. “The overall purpose of the grant is to engage military veterans in higher education engineering programs, and as a result, increase STEM enrollment and the number of STEM degrees awarded in the United States.” Many veterans are older, have families and are looking for or working jobs at the same time they are trying to come back to school. This complex and stressful combination can be difficult to manage, and many vets decide to opt out of going to school. To date, 85 veterans are enrolled in the Lee College of Engineering.

[

NEWs BRIEFS

]

Chancellor Dubois talks with students during a campus community gathering to encourage proactive conversation in the wake of a local shooting.

Photo by Jared Moon

Campus community united peacefully to protest The UNC Charlotte community, like many others, was affected by events surrounding the death of a local Charlotte man in a police-involved shooting. Fortunately, despite violence elsewhere in the city, University students peacefully and effectively exercised their constitutional rights of assembly and free speech to express their concerns with respect to racial equity in our law enforcement system and in our society generally. On campus, students organized two peaceful campus-based demonstrations in and around the Popp Martin Student Union, in addition to the community circle discussions held by the Multicultural Resource Center. Peaceful campus events continued into the following week: The School of Architecture conducted a student discussion in Storrs Gallery; a brief student dance performance, entitled â&#x20AC;&#x153;We Hear You,â&#x20AC;? was held at Belk Plaza; and there was a campus march at the Student Union, a public concert at Belk Plaza by the

Photo by Wills Citty

Music Department and a candlelight vigil in the Barnhardt Student Activity Center. Throughout the events, Chancellor Dubois spoke with students offering his support of their peaceful protest and commended their actions for being respectful and responsible in nature.

Members of the campus community held a peaceful march in favor of racial justice.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

[

NEWs BRIEFS

]

Unc charlotte pioneers doctorate in business administration

It has been more than 50 years since the famous piece has been seen or performed.

NEW LIFE: A famous work is reconstructed

UNC Charlotte Dance Professor Kim Jones was given the opportunity to reconstruct renowned modern dance choreographer Paul Taylor’s ‘Tracer.’

Kim Jones, associate professor of dance, led an 18-month research project so noteworthy the New York Times took notice. Jones has reconstructed “Tracer,” a seminal work of world-renowned modern dance choreographer Paul Taylor – a work that hasn’t been seen or performed in more than half a century. As part of a three-week campus residency, the Taylor 2 Dance Company performed the work in late September in UNC Charlotte’s Robinson Hall. The company also provided master classes to students from UNC Charlotte, Davidson College, Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), Northwest School of the Arts and Charlotte Ballet. UNC Charlotte students were taught the piece and will perform it in local high schools throughout the school year. In April 2017, the project culminates with performances by the Paul Taylor Dance Company, the company’s first Charlotte appearance in 15 years. The performances will be jointly presented by UNC Charlotte, CPCC and Charlotte Ballet as part of the Sensoria Festival of the Arts. The project, residency and performances were made possible through a $50,000 grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation and a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA).

10 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

UNC Charlotte and the Belk College of Business will pioneer the first Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program in the Carolinas. Led by Professor and Addison H. and Gertrude C. Reese Endowed Chair Franz Kellermanns, the DBA program is a professional doctoral degree taught in an executive format. The Belk College program will enroll its first class in fall 2017 and will be attended by 20 doctoral candidates all with a master’s degree and more than five years of business experience. The Doctorate in Business Administration is a unique program in the UNC system and the only program of its type in the region, created for professionals who want to become professors, enhance their expertise, elevate their consulting credentials or become corporate change agents in their industries. The DBA is a three-year (six-semester) program taught over one weekend per month to accommodate the needs of busy executives to allow them to continue to lead their organizations toward growth while advancing their education. Graduates of the program will gain an advanced level of knowledge in marketing, management, operations management and information systems.

UNC Charlotte Center City

[

NEWs BRIEFS

]

This Venus flytrap is one of a handful of carnivorous plants on display in the McMillan Greenhouse.

Botanical Gardens celebrate 50 years The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens held its 50th Anniversary Symposium providing an intoxicating perspective on the leaves, bark, seeds, roots, flowers and fruit imbibed around the world with keynote speaker Amy Stewart, best-selling author of “The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Great Drinks.” Attendees learned easy-to-remember garden design strategies for working with such elements as form, texture and color, during a talk by Steve Aitken, editor of Fine Gardening magazine. UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens Director Emeritus Larry Mellichamp traced the history of plants, people and events of the gardens, and Paula Gross, assistant director of the Botanical Gardens, talked about her favorite native plants for piedmont gardens. Begun in 1966 on the newly established Charlotte campus of the University of North Carolina system, the Botanical Gardens were the brainchild of Biology Professor Herbert Hechenbleikner and UNC Charlotte founder Bonnie Cone to serve as a living classroom for biology students and as a horticultural and botanical resource for the campus and greater community. Today, the Botanical Gardens include 10 acres of outdoor gardens, a 4,500-square-foot greenhouse with attached workspace and a classroom that also contains a botanical and horticultural library of more than 1,200 books.

The Botanical Gardens offer a peaceful and quiet setting on campus for students and visitors to enjoy.

Time capsule bridges University’s past and future

The commemorative time capsule on display with some of the items to be placed inside.

A commemorative time capsule was dedicated during UNC Charlotte’s Founders Celebration on Sept. 20 and contains artifacts that illustrate UNC Charlotte’s transformation from its founding in 1946. Among the contents are items such as current campus maps; a football jersey; a ceremonial light rail spike; admissions, Homecoming, International Festival and marching band materials; building photos; a University T-shirt; and copies of student media and other publications. The time capsule will eventually be concealed in Belk Plaza and opened during the University’s centennial anniversary in 2046. Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

[

F E AT U R E

]

Zika Dan Janies addresses the world travels and novel mutations of a deadly virus

amed for the African forest where it was first isolated in 1947, the Zika virus has been in the public eye over the past year. Outbreaks in Brazil are estimated to have infected more than 1.5 million people and have been associated with debilitating birth defects and other serious health concerns. As the eyes of the world turned to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics, scientists and public health officials across the globe moved quickly to respond to the virus, which many experts believe will spread more widely across North America in the coming months. Among those responding was Dan Janies, the Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished

12 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics at UNC Charlotte. Janies is also a national principal investigator in the Tree of Life program of the National Science Foundation and is funded by the Defense Applied Research Projects Agency. His work involves empirical studies of organismal diversity and the development of software. His Bachelor of Science in Biology is from the University of Michigan, and his doctorate is in zoology from the University of Florida. The following interview with Janies was originally broadcast live on Inside UNC Charlotte, the University's online news portal. This is an edited transcript of that conversation.

[

F E AT U R E

]

Dan Janies joined UNC Charlotte as The Carol Grotnes Belk Distinguished Professor of Bioinformatics and Genomics in July 2012.

As a researcher studying genomics and bioinformatics, what do you consider when studying a disease or a virus like Zika?

Zika has been known as a relatively mild virus. What’s different in current cases that has public health officials concerned and scientists involved?

Epidemiologists typically look at the occurrence of the disease, putting points on a map. In genomics, we look at the biology of the disease itself, its genetics. In a more functional molecular way, we look at what has occurred to cause the disease. By observing genetic similarity, geneticists connect those dots and see how the disease is moving across the Earth. Comparing samples that have been taken from individuals across time and geography, labs across the world are sequencing the virus and sharing that information over the internet. We compare all those viral genomes and their metadata — such as areas around the world where the viruses have been isolated, what biological properties they have, from which animals or humans the viruses have been isolated — and we put all that in context akin to a weather map.

The disease recently spread from Africa across Asia and the Pacific. In doing so, it’s taken on new properties, causing birth defects in children and Guillain-Barré syndrome in some mature adults. Our work has shown that the virus has picked up novel mutations as it crossed the Pacific into the Americas. Our working hypothesis is that there are mutations in the virus that allow it to trick the immune system, thus creating an autoimmune reaction that attacks the developmental and nervous systems, causing the birth defects or the Guillain-Barré syndrome. These diseases are completely new for the virus.

Can those conditions cause long-term debilitating conditions or, in some cases, even death?

“Our working hypothesis is that there are mutations in the virus that allow it to trick the immune system, thus creating an autoimmune reaction that attacks the developmental and nervous systems.”

Yes, in children it is microcephaly — the child’s head and brain don’t fully develop. Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 13

[

F E AT U R E

]

so, gaining these mutations that cause the severe illnesses. Something changed between the 2013 cases in Polynesia and when it moved to the Americas in 2015. Some of our work and the work of others show there may be a much more deep ancestry of this virus, and that’s something to look out for. In the past, you’ve explained these changes to the virus as not purposeful. Why is the virus doing this?

As viruses replicate themselves, they make a lot of errors. They don’t have a lot of error correction in their replication, and that’s actually an advantage; their sloppiness is an advantage. Some of those variants go on to take on new properties that by chance allow the virus to have new strategies, such as crossing the Pacific not on mosquitoes but on human travelers. What are some of the concerns you’re looking at from an American and a North American perspective in terms of the spread of this virus?

An enlarged 3D model of the Zika virus.

That’s one very obvious phenotype of the disease, but there are many others: limb, eye, hearing and developmental problems. In mature adults, Guillain-Barré syndrome is a paralytic disease; if it’s not treated, it can attack the lungs and then cause death. How dependent is this kind of science on advances in technology?

Bioinformatics and genomics in our program are a reflection of a lot of very recent technological advances. One, the ability to share information rapidly over the internet. Two, the ability to rapidly compute on that shared information. These are Big Data problems, and we have high performance computers to do that. Lastly, (there’s) the advent of very good sequencing technology 14 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

so we can observe with precision the building blocks of the viruses. In regard to the Zika virus specifically, what have you been able to find using this technology?

There are points of occurrence of Zika and then there are Zika Isolates, or closely related occurrences like sisters. The origins of Zika in East Africa appeared around 1947. In time, the virus moved into West and Central Africa, then jumping to Asia. From 2007 to 2008, the virus moved to Micronesia, still not yet causing the severe birth defects. In 2013, Zika moved across the Pacific and South Pacific, into French Polynesia, for example. Between 2015 and 2016, the virus began moving into the Americas, and in doing

Since the outbreak in Miami, it has become a continental U.S. problem, and it looks like these outbreaks are not travel oriented. People in Miami are being infected by the virus from their local mosquitoes. What we’re looking towards now is which species of mosquitoes can be infected and what is the range of those mosquitoes across the continental United States. That will allow us to predict the spread of the virus. As an urban research university, UNC Charlotte looks at the student experience and educating students. How does this work relate to what your students are doing and what the bioinformatics program is doing?

UNC Charlotte has a (Bioinformatics) Department unique to the country and around the world in training master’s and Ph.D. students and undergraduates in technologies used to track pandemic diseases. What we're doing is extremely socially relevant work, and students are graduating with great job prospects. Original interview by Wills Citty. Edited by Leanna Pough. Citty and Pough work in the Office of Public Relations.

UNC Charlotte's fundraising goal is an ambitious

$200 M illi o n

Opportunity

$80M

[

BY THE NUMBERS

]

Meeting the Need Here are some numbers that shows how giving to UNC Charlotte meets the needs of the University community.

82%

74%

of UNC Charlotte students have loans

of our students are on financial aid

Increase available funds to ensure all students have access to higher education and scholarship support to sustain their progress.

Resources

$40M

Enrich the student experience by developing diverse campus activities and transformational opportunities ranging from arts and culture programming to intercollegiate athletics.

Gifts have created opportunities.

115+

60+

new scholarships

new endowments

Talent

$50M Invest in recruiting and retaining the highest-quality faculty to stay competitive and continually develop our teaching and research programs.

Impact

$24.7M given from alumni

$20M raised from estate gifts

$30M Build on our unique role in the region's economic development by strengthening partnerships that inform professionals, such as our Data Science Initiative.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 15

[

C o v er S tory

]

Demond Martin and Karen Popp were introduced when Popp â&#x20AC;&#x201D; who was working in the Clinton White House at the time â&#x20AC;&#x201D; returned to campus to speak at an event that Martin attended as a student.

16 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

[

C o v er S tory

]

The Karen A. Popp and Demond T. Martin Student Union, at nearly 200,000 square feet, the $65 million site, is the campus epicenter.

Exponential GiftS Alumni Karen Popp, Demond Martin make generous gifts to launch campaign B y P a u l N o we l l

lumni Karen Popp (’80) and Demond Martin (’97) came to UNC Charlotte from vastly different worlds and nearly two decades apart, but each found the campus to be a welcoming environment where they could expand their horizons and grow into future leaders. When their paths intersected, the two became professional colleagues and close friends. They also shared a philosophy of giving and support to the University. So it was fitting for Popp and Martin to join together to make generous gifts to launch a $200 million capital campaign, “EXPONENTIAL: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte.” The official kickoff event, Sept. 22, was part of Founders Celebration, a week of activities to commemorate UNC Charlotte’s establishment 70 years ago by the state of North Carolina as the Charlotte Center, serving World War II veterans. It later became Charlotte College, and then in

1965, UNC Charlotte. The donation was announced at the kickoff event at the Student Union, which is now named the Karen A. Popp and Demond T. Martin Student Union. At nearly 200,000 square feet, the $65 million site is the campus epicenter and home to the Student Activities Office, which oversees some 300 student organizations and activities. Popp and Martin attended the kickoff event, which featured the dedication of a wallmounted “storyboard” that chronicles their academic careers at the University, their long professional and personal friendship, and their achievements while in school and in the years that ensued. In an interview prior to the occasion, Popp said she hoped her story will inspire other students and alumni to give back to UNC Charlotte and to stay involved in the University after graduation. “UNC Charlotte will always be part of our

personal histories,” she said. “Embrace this great institution — experience what it offers and enjoy being involved in its growth. We are 49ers.” Also speaking in advance of the kickoff event, Martin added: “Something like this has the opportunity to touch thousands in a way we never have before. That’s a big thing — if we can even slightly inspire kids who have never seen someone like me do what I have done and that it is completely possible for it to happen to them. That’s pretty powerful.”

Early Backgrounds

Popp was born in North Carolina and moved often because of her father’s successful career as a high school, college and NFL football coach. Her parents retired in Mooresville, North Carolina, where the high school stadium bears Coach Joe Popp’s name. Her mother, Peggy, was known as the “First Lady of Mooresville,” helping to lead the Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 17

[

C O v er S tory

]

revitalization of the downtown area as an owner of several businesses. Her parents were excellent role models for Karen and her two brothers, Joey and Jim. “My parents raised us to give back and to help others, to work hard in following our dreams and to reach beyond our grasps,” Popp said. Martin, meanwhile, lived in Ohio and California growing up but spent many of his most formative years in Mocksville, North Carolina. His father is a small business owner and mechanic, and his mother is a factory worker. They made clear to Martin that he could be whatever he wanted to be in life, if only he would work hard enough for it. “Neither of my parents went to college, but they believed in the transformative power of education,” he said. “They scraped together every penny they could for me to get the best education possible, as they knew that my opportunities in life would stem from hard work, diligence and personal commitment to pursue excellence in everything I did.”

49er Days

Popp decided to attend UNC Charlotte after she visited campus as a high school senior. “I just felt like I belonged here,” she recalled. Several months later, when she arrived as a freshman on move-in day at Sanford Residence Hall, Popp immediately began a journey on campus that would change her life. As a student, she learned that UNC Charlotte provided an excellent education inside and outside the classroom. Popp was a varsity basketball player, resident advisor, member of the North Carolina Student Legislature and the first female student government president in the UNC system. She was invited to a student leadership conference at the White House with President Jimmy Carter and was an Alumni Merit Scholar, the University’s “Woman of the Year” and the recipient of the University’s Humanitarian Award and the Bonnie Cone Leadership Award (formerly known as the Bill Mitchell Award). At UNC Charlotte, Popp majored in political science and met mentors and advisors that would remain in her life beyond graduation, including former Dean of Students Chuck Lynch, Athletics Director Judy Rose and Chancellors Dean Colvard and E.K. Fretwell. Currently, Popp is a partner with the international law firm Sidley Austin in 18 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

A well-wisher poses with Karen Popp at the unveiling of Popp's portrait in the Popp Martin Student Union.

“Embrace this great institution — experience what it offers and enjoy being involved in its growth. We are 49ers.” Karen Popp (’80)

[

C O v er S tory

]

He has fond memories of the time when he and other student leaders escorted Rosa Parks during the civil rights leader’s visit to Charlotte. Later, he earned a master’s in business from Harvard and went on to a successful career as a partner in an investment management firm in Boston.

Crossing Paths

Andre Bowens, president of the Mu Tau Chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, unveils the portrait of Demond Martin in the Popp Martin Student Union. Martin also is a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha.

Washington, D.C., where she is a member of the firm’s executive committee and global co-chair of the firm’s group that handles white-collar matters. She has an expansive practice in corporate criminal defense, internal investigations, corporate compliance and commercial litigation. Previously, Popp has worked in other highprofile positions: as Associate White House Counsel to President Bill Clinton; in the Office of Legal Counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice; as a federal prosecutor in New York; as a Wall Street litigator; and as a clerk to The Honorable Sam J. Ervin III, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Popp is a member and former Chair of the

UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees and is the Chair of the University's Foundation Board. Like Popp, Martin immediately felt at home during his first campus visit. It was his participation in the University Transition Opportunities Program that introduced him to Herman Thomas, who became a lifelong mentor and challenged Martin to become a person of consequence — not for its own sake, but to best position himself to serve others. Martin was elected student government president as a sophomore — an unprecedented event at UNC Charlotte at the time. He also joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Mu Tau chapter, and would serve as chapter president. His major was accounting.

The two were introduced when Popp — who was working in the Clinton White House at the time — returned to campus to speak at an event that Martin attended as a student. She was impressed and offered to help him obtain a White House summer job in Vice President Al Gore’s office. Popp also alerted Erskine Bowles, then the White House chief of staff, about the promising UNC Charlotte student in the intern program. “Demond impressed us all,” she said. “Erskine offered him a full-time job at the end of the summer. Our friendship has grown since that time, and we are like brother and sister now.” Martin said he has another great reason for loving his alma mater. It’s where he met his wife, Kia, a ’98 graduate of UNC Charlotte. “The reason Kia and I work really hard to philanthropically impact kids’ lives is because we have struggled with poverty in ways they do,” he said. “And we have tried to provide resources and systematic structural opportunities for those kids.” Gene Johnson, chair of the capital campaign and a ’73 graduate of UNC Charlotte, said the generosity of Popp and Martin speaks volumes about current and future support from alumni and other supporters. “This gift is extremely important symbolically because it sends a message,” he said. “Here we have two revered alumni giving back to the University. And it’s happening in the Student Union, which I like to call the living room of this campus. “It’s important to note that both Karen and Demond were student leaders during their years at UNC Charlotte,” continued Johnson, the first alumnus to chair the University’s Board of Trustees. “And each of them have been extremely successful in their professional life following their time here. They represent the very best of this University.” Paul Nowell is senior communications manager in the Office of Public Relations. Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 19

[

C O v er S tory

]

‘EXPONENTIAL’

CAMPAIGN SEEKS SCHOLARSHIPS, ENDOWMENTS B y P a u l N o we l l

oosted by generous donations by two alumni with storied connections to the University, UNC Charlotte launched a $200 million capital campaign on Sept. 22. Board of Trustees member and former chair Karen A. Popp (’80) and business executive Demond T. Martin (’97) are taking the reins of their alma mater. They are supporting its emerging role as a leading university of the 21st Century and making lead gifts to the “EXPONENTIAL: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte.” The Karen A. Popp and Demond T. Martin Student Union now bears their names in the hope of inspiring future Niners. The largest campaign in UNC Charlotte’s history has significant implications for the institution’s future. Its goal is to raise $200 million that will power UNC Charlotte’s future by funding scholarships for students; enhancements to academic programs; and initiatives to enrich the collegiate experience, including study abroad, the arts and athletics. The campaign’s theme, “EXPONENTIAL,” asserts the accelerating force that UNC Charlotte has on the lives of its students, its educational and economic partners, the region and beyond.

Growth Trajectory

The theme also conveys the University’s remarkable trajectory of growth and innovation, especially over the last decade, and its strategic vision for sustained strategic progress and impact. “As we embark on ‘EXPONENTIAL: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte,’ I must remind you how far we’ve come,” said Chancellor Philip L. Dubois. “Over recent decades, we’ve rapidly expanded enrollments, faculty and programs. “While substantial efforts in applied research and entrepreneurial partnerships have helped drive economic and community development, we have also remained true to (founder) Bonnie Cone’s vision — that UNC Charlotte will be a place of access and opportunity for 20 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

Gene Johnson chairs EXPONENTIAL: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte, the largest capital campaign in the University's history.

every deserving student,” he said. Campaign chair Gene Johnson (’73) said the lead gift sends a message to alumni and other supporters. “We are at a transformative juncture in the life of this University,” he said. “One important milestone was when we achieved doctorate status and became a major research university. Now we are moving more into shifting the financial burden away from students. This campaign will help us do that.” The event was a highlight of a weeklong Founders Celebration. UNC Charlotte is one of a generation of universities founded in metropolitan areas of the United States immediately after World War II in response to rising educational demands generated by the war and its technology. To serve returning veterans, North Carolina opened 14 evening college centers in communities across the state. The Charlotte Center — now UNC Charlotte — opened Sept. 23, 1946.

‘Ambitious Goals’

“Now UNC Charlotte is a leading urban research university with national and global scope,” Dubois said. “Our needs have changed as much as our campus. We have

ambitious goals, but we’ve accomplished great things before. To continue direct and meaningful impact, we need past and future donors to participate. An investment in knowledge certainly pays the best interest. “This campaign undoubtedly will bring exponential returns, serving the interests of students, faculty and staff at UNC Charlotte as well as many industries and residents of the region,” he said. “We appreciate your continued trust and generous support.” Johnson, the first alumnus to serve as chair of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees, is excited about alumni involvement in the campaign. “For the first time, we will have significant numbers of alumni participating in a major capital campaign,” he said. “This says a lot about what we are as a university and how we are growing. “It’s incredible to think the University is now 70 years old,” he continued. “And it’s a key year in our life as an institution. That’s why the theme of the campaign is so important. We will be experiencing exponential growth from here on out. This campaign will also have an exponential impact on the region and on the lives of our students.”

49ers Notebook

Celebrating Champions 40

years ago:

Freshman Chad Kinch drove the baseline, rose high in the air and delivered the 49ers’ signature play of the 1977 NCAA men’s basketball tournament. A 6-foot-4-inch guard, Kinch dunked over Michigan All-America Phil Hubbard, a 6-foot-8-inch center. The 49ers did not back down to Michigan, defeated the topranked team in the country and made their way to the Final Four.

years ago:

A packed house watched as Jon Busch leaped high to pull in one of Hartford’s attempts as the 49ers scored a convincing 3-0 home soccer victory to earn a spot in the 1996 College Cup.

years ago:

A remarkable season on the links culminated in the outstanding play of a star-studded team, leading Charlotte to a third-place finish at the NCAA men’s golf championships.

2016 marks milestone anniversaries for Final Four teams

years ago:

National Freshman of the Year Giuseppe Gentile scored an 85th-minute goal to force overtime and Charles Rodriguez’s clinching penalty kick sent the 49ers men's soccer team past fifth-ranked Connecticut and on to the 2011 College Cup.

Each of the 49ers Final Four NCAA teams is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year. Here’s a look back.

1977 Men’s Basketball Hot off a finals appearance in the 1976 National Invitational Tournament (NIT), the 49ers won the Sun Belt Conference in the league’s inaugural season and rode their first NCAA tournament appearance all the way to the Final Four. Head coach Lee Rose’s squad was led by Cedric Maxwell but featured Kinch, senior captain Melvin Watkins, sophomore big man Kevin King and junior Lew Massey, a gifted scorer. Together Maxwell and Watkins went 58-0 at home during their four-year careers. In the NIT the previous season, they had defeated

N.C. State, 80-79 to reach the finals. During the NCAAs in 1977, they ousted No. 17 Central Michigan in overtime, No. 5 Syracuse by 22 points and No. 1 Michigan. Maxwell gave the 49ers star quality; Watkins — cool leadership; Massey — a dangerous high-scoring threat; and King — the workmanlike presence down low. While the 49ers were painted as a Cinderella team at the Final Four, the program was a preseason top 20 selection and finished the regular season ranked 17th. Maxwell, who averaged 22.3 points and 12.1 rebounds during the season, bumped that to 24.6 points and 12.8 rebounds in the NCAA tournament. In the impressive

75-68 win over Michigan, Maxwell (25 points/13 rebounds) and Massey (19/11) both posted double-doubles. In the Final Four, Maxwell had another double-double (17/12) and scored the game-tying basket with :05 remaining against Marquette, before Jerome Whitehead was able to score at the buzzer to stop the 49ers run. In the Michigan upset as the buzzer sounded, “Maxwell stretched out prone on the floor while delirious 49er fans danced around him,” as Sports Illustrated put it. “I wanted the moment to soak in,” he said, “instead of letting it seep away.” For Niner Nation, those moments will never seep away. Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 21

[

4 9 e r s N oteboo k

]

1996 Men’s Soccer In 1996, the 49ers were anything but senior laden. The star quality came on defense with junior All-America Jon Busch in the goal and future MLS draft pick Ben Parry and academic All-America Jim Kunevicius, both juniors, on defense. Second-year head coach John Tart used a “No-Name Offense” topped by junior midfielder Matthys Barker (11 goals/12 assists for the season) and loaded with underclassmen like freshman strikers Eric Cole (nine goals) and

Stephen Pugliese (eight goals) and sophomores Matt Bradner (three goals/10 assists) Christian Lund (four/seven), Jon Mabee (three/six) and David Hughes (two/two). The 49ers rose as high as No. 2 in the nation on the strength of a 13-1 start that included a 2-1 win over No. 18 Clemson, in front of a home crowd of more than 2,000. The 49ers later toppled No. 17 Marquette, 5-1, with five different players scoring. To be sure, Charlotte had a balanced attack. A different star seemingly emerged every game, including senior Danny Finkle, who scored in

the mud and muck in the final minute against Notre Dame, and Barker, who netted a pair of goals in the College Cup-clinching win over Hartford. Charlotte averaged more than two goals a game and had 10 games with at least three goals scored, but Barker’s two goals against Hartford were the first multiple-goal game by a 49er all season. Busch recorded 12 shutouts, including the 1-0 win over No. 11 Notre Dame and the 3-0 win over Hartford that sent the 49ers to the NCAA national semifinals for the first time in school history.

2007 Men’s Golf The 49ers’ most impressive golf season was built on the shoulders of a most impressive team. Future Palmer Cup star Jonas EnanderHedin led the 49ers with a near school-record 71.86 stroke average. Freshman Corey Nagy, a first-team freshman All-America, would go on to win four All-America honors in his career. Sophomore Stefan Wiedergruen was third on the team with a 72.5 stroke average and would be named the top golfer in the country the following fall. Trevor Murphy made a splash at the 2009 U.S. Open while making the cut at Bethpage Black. Ray Sheedy was the team’s stroke leader the previous year and,

as an individual, had become the first 49er to advance to the fourth and final round of the NCAA tournament. And that doesn’t even include the 49ers’ top finisher at the Atlantic 10 tournament, medalist Matt Mincer, or the team’s top finisher at the NCAA tournament, All-America Andrew DiBitetto. DiBitetto opened the NCAA Championships with a 2-under-par 68 and finished with another 2-under 68 to tie for ninth individually with a 2-under 278. Each of the five players in the lineup shot an under-par round, including Enander-Hedin with a team-best 66 in the third round, Nagy with back-to-back 69s in the second and third rounds and Murphy with a 2-under par 68 to lead the team on the second day.

The season began with a championship at the Scenic City Invitational in Chattanooga and included titles at the 49er Classic, the Palisades Collegiate, the Courtyard by Marriott Collegiate and the Atlantic 10 Championships. Five titles was a school record, as was the team’s 40-under par at the A-10 tournament. “The reason we were able to stay consistent all year long is that we have a balanced team and get contributions from players from top to bottom,” head coach Jamie Green said after the season. That balance, fueled by a competitive fire within the team, led the 49ers to their best NCAA finish ever, amid a notable stretch of three straight trips through the NCAA regionals to the NCAA Championships.

2011 Men’s Soccer The men’s soccer team’s second trip to the College Cup took Charlotte one step further than any previous program had gone. The 2011 version reached the NCAA national championship game for the first time in school history. What a run it was for the 49ers and coach Jeremy Gunn, who won national coach of the year honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. In the NCAA tournament, the 49ers knocked off No. 22 Furman, No. 11 University of Alabama at Birmingham, No. 5 Connecticut and defending NCAA champ and No. 10 ranked Akron. 22 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

After outscoring their first three NCAA tournament foes by a 7-2 margin, the 49ers needed penalty kicks to oust UConn after Gentile’s late-game heroics tied the match. Penalty kicks would be needed once again in the national semifinals, following a 0-0 tie with second-ranked Creighton. Again the 49ers responded, with Isaac Cowles sealing the deal with his decisive penalty kick. In the two games decided by penalty kicks, Charlotte connected on eight of the nine kicks they attempted. Charlotte had a flair for the dramatic all year, posting a 4-1-2 record in overtime games before the two penalty-kick efforts that sent Charlotte to the title game. Gentile led the 49ers with 10 goals and two

assists while Evan James, Donnie Smith and Jennings Rex added five goals each. James (seven assists), Tyler Gibson (six) and T.J. Beaulieu (five) led the team in assists, and Klay Davis posted nine shutouts in the 49ers’ goal. Charlotte allowed less than one goal a game, thanks to a defense led by first-team All-America Rodriguez and by Cowles, who was named the College Cup’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player. And while the talent was great on this historic team, the heart was greater. The fight was evident down to the final seconds of the 1-0 title game loss to top-ranked North Carolina. After the game, the team climbed into the stands in Hoover, Alabama, to thank the throng of 49er fans who had taken over the stadium.

[

4 9 e r s noteboo k

]

University Retires Jerseys for Cross Country, Track & Field Athletes Nine members of cross country and track & field teams were honored at the football game against Eastern Michigan on Sept. 17 with the retiring of their jerseys. Criteria for a jersey retirement at UNC Charlotte includes being an All-America or conference athlete of the year, helping your team to success, graduating from the University and demonstrating a strong sense of character along the way. Here is a closer look at the honorees.

• Cassie Ficken, Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country, 2002-06, Distance • Amanda Goetschius, Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country, 2008-12, Distance • Darius Law, Men’s Track & Field, 2008-11, Sprints • Sharonda Johnson, Women’s Track & Field, 2003-07, Jumps/Sprints • Raphel Martin, Men’s Track & Field, 1997-2000, Jumps/Sprints • Will Montgomery, Men’s Track & Field, 1999-2002, Jumps • Courtney Patterson, Women’s Track & Field, 2006-08, Sprints • Kenneth Svendsen, Men’s Track & Field/Cross Country, 1998-2001, Distance • Shareese Woods, Women’s Track & Field, 2004-07, Sprints

Athletics Department Promotes Seven, Adds One Director of Athletics Judy Rose announced staff changes and promotions as the 49ers began the 2016-17 academic year. Rose promoted longtime associate Darin Spease to deputy athletic director. He had served as one of two senior associate athletic directors to Rose. Kim Whitestone, who also was a senior associate athletic director, was promoted to executive associate athletic director. Chris Thomasson, who was associate athletic director for football, was promoted to senior associate athletic director and will

continue to oversee football operations. Sports Medicine now reports to Thomasson as well. Three other members of Rose’s administrative staff — Scott Byrd, John George and Nick Konawalik — were named associate athletic directors. Byrd, the associate athletic director for compliance, also oversees the softball program as well as the newly created position of director of student-athlete development. The Office of Compliance will report directly to Rose. George serves as director of ticket

operations, while Konawalik is director of marketing. Chris Everett has been named director of student-athlete development, a position created by Rose to help in the development of student-athletes through off-field activities, including the NCAA Life Skills Program, community service projects and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Jennifer Winningham, who works directly with the women’s basketball program, has been promoted to associate athletic trainer. Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 23

[

F eature

]

UNC Charlotte Visiting Professor Shimon Gibson, master’s student Kevin Caldwell and dig site director Rafi Lewis discuss the excavation’s next steps.

24 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

[

F eature

]

The view of the Mount Zion excavation from the top of the Old City’s wall.

Ground Zero of Judaism, Christianity Researchers sift the material remains of the human past By Leanna Pough

•

Photos by Rachel Ward

ithin the heart of ancient Jerusalem, UNC Charlotte Visiting Professor Shimon Gibson and an archaeological team are making discoveries at the juncture of ancient Judaism and the start of Christianity. During their most recent excavation of Mount Zion, under the Old City’s wall in Jerusalem, archaeologists uncovered priestly quarters, a 2,000-year-old neighborhood for the elite, a rare Roman gold coin (see sidebar) and an immediate connection to Jesus. “Archaeology is the material remains of the human past. This particular period, of all periods in Western history, is the intersection of ancient Judaism and the birth of Christianity. We’re at ground zero,” said dig co-director James Tabor, a professor in the UNC Charlotte Department of Religious Studies, where Gibson is also connected. “It’s clear from the finds that the people living here were wealthy aristocrats or perhaps even priests,” Gibson told Haaretz, an Israeli and Middle Eastern news source. Among the findings, the article lists luxuries like a bathtub, a mikveh or Jewish ritual bathing pool, a barrel-vaulted ceiling and a chamber with three bread ovens. Before the team’s excavation, bathtubs — a luxury rare to commoners during the time

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 25

[

F eature

]

— were only found in the palaces of King Herod in Masada and Jericho and in the religious mansions within the Jewish quarters of ancient Jerusalem. A stone cup with a sacred inscription used for purification rituals was also found at the site. The location of the discovery, just southeast of the palace of King Herod, a ruler famous for reshaping the urban landscape of Jerusalem, confirm Gibson’s and the archaeological team’s earlier theory of the dig site being priestly quarters of ancient Jerusalem.

Herodian Propaganda

The newly found neighborhood would have been built during the construction of Herod’s palace on the northern side of Mount Zion in 25 B.C., though archaeological evidence points to the residence being occupied as early as eighth century B.C. It’s described as consisting of “extraordinarily grandiose buildings with towers, gates, barracks and magnificent gardens…,” remnants of Herodian propaganda. The excavation yields significant domestic 26 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

details surrounding the rulers of Jerusalem during the time of Jesus. “It immediately connects not just to the elite of Jerusalem — the aristocrats, the rich and famous of that day — but to Jesus himself,” Tabor said. In a 2013 interview, Tabor, a scholar of early Christian history, explained the significance of possibly unearthing the first-century residence found in July. “These are the families who had Jesus arrested and crucified, so for us to know more about them and their domestic life and the level of wealth they enjoyed would really fill in some key history for us,” Tabor told Inside UNC Charlotte. During 2013 excavations, archaeological teams made a highly unusual discovery, 13 murex shells, the largest number ever found in the ruins of first-century Jerusalem. Species of murex, a genus of Mediterranean sea snail, were highly valued in Roman times for their rich purple dye that could be extracted from the creature.

Priestly Vestments

Gibson explained in 2013 that purple was a highly desired color in the early dye industry, dominated by the priestly class because of their vestments and clothing worn while officiating. “It is significant that these are household activities (dyeing vestments) which may have been undertaken by the priests,” Gibson said. “If so, it tells us a lot more about the priests than we knew before. We know from the writings of Josephus Flavius and later rabbinical texts about their activities in the area of the Jewish temple, but there is hardly any information about their priestly activities outside the holy precinct. “This is new information, and that is quite exciting,” he continued. “We might find in future seasons further aspects of industries which were supervised by these priestly families.” The Mount Zion excavation serves as a multiyear effort to develop an interactive attraction for Jerusalem’s three million annual visitors. “We would like to bring about a situation whereby tourists and pilgrims in the future will be able to walk through this time tunnel and see these

[

F eature

]

Rare Roman Gold Coin Discovered

1. Kevin Caldwell, an area supervisor of the excavation, shows a team member a photograph of what the site looked like in 1975. 2. UNC Charlotte students Julie Bruce, Maren McGowan and Kami Henry at the excavation site. 3. Assistant Area Supervisor Rebekah Welton, a doctoral candidate at University of Exeter, documents the day’s progress in her field diary. 4. Aron Tillema, a student at Princeton Theological Seminary, excavates in the site’s lower field.

remains dating from different periods,” Gibson said. The dig, begun in 2007, hosts an annual staff of nearly 80 and attracts staff and volunteers from around the world. Most years, 15 to 20 UNC Charlotte students participate as volunteers. Artifacts unearthed in the Mount Zion excavation reveal the domestic details of the first-century Jewish ruling class and provide possible insight into New Testament history to supplement text. Excavation work takes place during the summer; then, findings are studied and catalogued during the rest of the year. Leanna Pough is communications coordinator in the Office of Public Relations.

In September, the UNC Charlotte archaeological team at Mount Zion announced the discovery of a rare gold coin bearing the image of the Roman emperor Nero. “The coin is exceptional,” said excavation co-director and Visiting Professor Shimon Gibson. “This is the first time that a coin of this kind has turned up in Jerusalem in a scientific dig. Coins of this type are usually only found in private collections, where we don’t have clear evidence as to place of origin.” The gold coin bears the bareheaded portrait of the young Nero as Caesar. The lettering around the edge of the coin reads: NERO CAESAR AVG IMP. On the reverse of the coin is a depiction of an oak wreath containing the letters “EX S C,” with the surrounding inscription “PONTIF MAX TR P III.” These inscriptions help to work out the date when the coin was struck as 56 or 57 A.D. Identification of the coin was made by David Jacobson, a historian and numismatist from London. The coin dates to a little more than a decade before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. and was found in rubble outside the ruins of the first-century Jewish villas the team has been excavating.

The team has hypothesized that the large houses may have belonged to wealthy members of the priestly caste, and it may have come from one of their stores of wealth. “The coin probably came from one of the 2,000-year-old Jewish dwellings which the UNC Charlotte team have been uncovering at the site,” said Gibson. “These belonged to the priestly and aristocratic quarter located in the upper city of Jerusalem.” The image of Nero is significant in that it shows the presence of the Roman occupation and provides a clear late date for the occupation of the residences. There is no historical evidence that Nero ever visited Jerusalem. Professor and co-director James Tabor pointed out that the coin is dated “to the same year of St. Paul’s last visit to Jerusalem, which resulted in his arrest (on the charge of taking Gentiles into the Temple) and incarceration in Caesarea.” The last of the JulioClaudian line, Nero was Roman emperor for 14 years (54-68 A.D.). The archaeological project at Mount Zion brought to light many other significant finds during the 2016 summer season (see main story), and work at the site will resume next year.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 27

[

ALUMNUS PROFILE

]

Amelia Coonrod, pictured atop Max Patch Mountain in Hot Springs, North Carolina, earned her undergraduate degree from UNC Asheville and a master's degree from UNC Charlotte.

‘Passionate Advocate’

Personal experience inspires Amelia Coonrod to aid persons with disabilities By Wills Citty

n bad days, getting out of bed feels almost impossible for Amelia Coonrod. On the good ones — the days when her back doesn’t hurt as much and her energy is up — things are a little bit easier. But cerebral palsy affects her life every day. Coonrod was born three months premature and diagnosed at that time with the neuromuscular disorder. And while it has helped shape her into the person she is today, the 24-year-old UNC Charlotte School of Social Work alumna is quick to point out that it does not define her. For the full picture, look instead to the path she has chosen to tread and the legacy she hopes to leave behind. As with many others, Coonrod’s personal

28 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

experiences began to crystalize in college and graduate school, forming a prism through which her calling would become visible. As a psychology major at UNC Asheville, she knew early on she wanted to work in a profession where she could help people. Even so, the contours of her future as an advocate remained obscured. “If you were to tell me even just a few short years ago that I would be using my own experiences of living with a disability to slowly, one day at a time, change the perception of individuals with disabilities, I wouldn’t have believed you,” said Coonrod, who grew up in St. Matthews, South Carolina, and earned her master’s in social work in 2016.

She now works as a mental health therapist at Family Health Preservation Services of North Carolina in Columbus, North Carolina, but her reach extends far beyond her day job. During four undergraduate years in the North Carolina mountains and two as a master’s student in the metropolitan tapestry of Charlotte — a blog evolved into a memoir and frustration evolved into determination to help others who deal with disabilities.

Growing Up with Cerebral Palsy

Beginning when she was 11, Coonrod endured three extensive surgeries to straighten her femurs and improve her ability to walk.

[

The operations were coupled with years of intense physical therapy. She now sometimes wonders how, through it all, she managed to stay on track with school. She spent so much time at Shriners Hospitals for Children that she struggled to keep track of the seasons. “If it wasn’t for the big windows, I would never know when the leaves began to change in the fall or when the flowers began to bloom in the spring,” she recalled in a blog post. “I’d never know that the world was continuing on without me, while I was inside a physical therapy room wanting nothing more than to catch a fallen autumn leaf in my hand or feel the rain on my face.” Tutors were helpful in staying on track with schoolwork, Coonrod said, speculating also that “maybe I didn’t need as much sleep in those days.” Despite the challenges posed by spending some school days in class and others in hospital beds, Coonrod values the arc of her academic progression. “All things considered, I am happy that I got the same education as the kids that I grew up with despite my disability,” she said. “Through this immersion, I learned quickly that I was different, but I also learned that in a school setting, I was treated like every other kid in my class. I was held to exactly the same standards as every other student, and I definitely know that I benefited from that.” Blazing her own trail, Coonrod used her challenges as motivation to excel. After graduating from UNC Asheville, she was accepted into UNC Charlotte’s nationally ranked Master of Social Work (MSW) program. She said the program’s reputation and conversations with faculty and students convinced her the University was the place for her. Once she arrived on campus, it didn’t take long for faculty to recognize her rare combination of perspective and drive.

Gift for Helping Others

“Amelia is a passionate advocate for equal access to educational opportunity for everyone, including people with disabilities,” said MSW director Bob Herman-Smith. “She has a gift for identifying the needs of her clients and her audience. She is equally effective at comforting a bullied child and dressing down a program director about the need to infuse more disability content in the curriculum — I know that from experience.” It was the critical analysis of her personal experience that allowed Coonrod to channel

bouts with depression and anxiety into increasingly visible advocacy efforts for those with disabilities. As a child, she was bullied because she was different. People stared. They whispered. They imitated the way she walked. In kindergarten, a girl named Ashley pulled Coonrod’s hair at recess every day, and Amelia was never fast enough to run away. “It (all) made me want to curl up into a ball and hide,” she said. Coonrod began reflecting on these experiences and her daily life as a student in 2011 in a blog called “Life in the Blue Ridges.” “For as long as I can remember, writing has been my oxygen,” she said. “For much of life, writing has been an escape. A place that I can go when I need to get out of my head.” The cathartic nature of Coonrod’s writing is apparent in her blog posts, but so too is

A lumnus P rof i le

]

through speaking engagements on disabilities and bullying, a topic that would become the focus of her master’s thesis. “I’ve seen her change from a girl who kept her head down and her experiences to herself into a woman who speaks up for herself and stands up for others,” said Samantha Skidmore, Coonrod’s closest friend since high school. “She used to hide her experiences with cerebral palsy, refusing to let them define who she is, but now she embraces them. They don’t define who she is; she now defines what their role in her life is.” “If anything, my words have become much more authentic and honest,” Coonrod noted in a blog post. “Instead of beating around the bush in terms of the emotions that I have felt and continue to feel, I have plunged right in.”

“If it wasn’t for the big windows, I would never know when the leaves began to change in the fall or when the flowers began to bloom in the spring.” a person transitioning from being the voice of one to the voice of many. The blog also reveals the naturally expressive, artistic side of Coonrod’s personality. “Songs of the Day” make frequent appearances in the form of embedded YouTube videos, and they’re often tied to a particular mood or emotion. Coonrod’s sense of self-awareness, and the extent to which her emotions overlay her approach to life, may help explain why she is drawn to help others understand themselves.

From Writing to Speaking

Spurred on by an outpouring of support, two months after starting “Life in the Blue Ridges,” Coonrod began a memoir to tell her story of growing up with cerebral palsy. In 2013, she started taking her message directly to elementary and middle school students

When the intensity to define one’s self meets the fluidity of where the self resides, a fog of uncertainty often emerges. There’s nothing left to do but stand still, or, as Coonrod puts it, “plunge right in.” The closer look usually yields answers. “I’ve realized that I’ve known my place all along,” she said. “It’s to advocate for myself and others with disabilities, especially for those who aren’t able to speak for themselves. I strive to make people with disabilities realize that they are not alone and that I understand their pain and how hard it is to put up the daily fight. After all, we are the only ones who can understand what we’ve faced.” Wills Citty is director of communication for the College of Education and the College of Health and Human Services. Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 29

[ ce n t e r s t age

]

Exponential Excitement On Sept. 22, the University announced the public phase of its EXPONENTIAL: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte. With a goal of $200 million, the University is raising money to fund scholarships for students, create endowed professorships for extraordinary faculty members, enhance the student experience on campus and off campus, and to optimize research and others partnerships with businesses and other institutions. EXPONENTIAL celebrates the dramatic trajectory of growth at UNC Charlotte and among its 120,000-plus alumni. The campaign provides alumni, business leaders and the campus community the opportunity to shape a future thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even more exciting than UNC Charlotteâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past and present.

30 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

[

Autumn 2016

center sta g e

]

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 31

[

feature

]

Helping Kids & Families University, retirement community come together to aid east Charlotte By Wills Citty

32 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

[

F eature

]

Occupying a 6,000-square-foot space that previously housed the Shamrock Senior Center, CHEO is the first venture of a master plan to improve the physical and economic health of Charlotte’s east side.

aughter fell in waves at Windsor Park Elementary on this balmy summer night. A light moment would arise and chuckles would roll across the school library; seconds later, its translation would send a second round of laughter across the room. Roughly half of the 25 parents in attendance spoke English, the others Spanish, all of them here to learn how to help their child improve as a reader. Taught by College of Education Dean Ellen McIntyre with the help of a translator, the bilingual reading workshops were one of the first offerings from the Center for Health, Education and Opportunity (CHEO) — a community outreach program launched collaboratively by UNC Charlotte and the Aldersgate retirement community. The reading workshops were offered in concert with a four-week, all-day summer reading pilot program attended by 35 Windsor Park students. According to parents, the impact of the reading camp was clear: “He knows more; he’s reading billboards as we drive down the street; he’s learning to love reading,” said one mother. Another remarked that her child was excited to go to camp each day and liked reading in both English and Spanish.

Permanent Outpost

Though the camp held its end of summer celebration in early August, CHEO is a permanent outpost that, beginning in 2017, will serve as an education center and provide caregivers and families in the surrounding area access to community-based health and disease-prevention services year-round. Occupying a 6,000-square-foot space that previously housed the Shamrock Senior Center, CHEO is the first venture of a master plan to improve the physical and economic health of Charlotte’s east side — which has grappled with underdevelopment

and high crime rates. Faculty and students from two colleges, Education and Health and Human Services, will be the primary providers at the center. UNC Charlotte literacy faculty designed the reading portion of the summer camp. They also provided training and joined Windsor Park Elementary teachers and UNC Charlotte education majors in implementing a research-based intervention. College of Education faculty also trained elders living at Aldersgate to assist with reading and supporting the students as they practice new skills. “The reading program is individualized so that children practice skills targeted toward their specific needs and they read books at their reading level,” Dean McIntyre said. “This is essential for students who struggle with reading. It is critical for moving their reading levels over the summer.” To be most effective, these efforts need to be coupled with programs that empower parents to help their kids read, McIntyre continued, noting that this was the philosophy behind the evening workshops. Parents received easy-to-use tips and worked with their children under the supervision of teachers, and each student took home a free book at the end of the lesson. Windsor Park teachers said they were energized by the summer programming and emphasized the importance of the workshops in particular.

Continuing Progress at Home

“Empowering parents is probably the biggest thing we can do for kids,” said David Flores, who teaches English as a second language to fifth graders. “Kids will learn at school; we need to help ensure they continue that progress at home. Parents want to help; they just need to be taught

how.” And indeed, many attendees said at times they feel lost in trying to help their children with reading, some struggling with reading themselves. “Our Summer Reading Camp is as much for parents and caregivers as it is for children,” said Suzanne Hodge Pugh, Aldersgate’s CEO. “Helping support parents with the skills and resources they need is part of our mission. Breaking generational cycles of poverty — as is our aim — can only happen when we educate entire families and offer them support.” For the College of Health and Human Services (CHHS), the center provides both an opportunity to impact the city’s east side and an ideal training ground for the next generation of health and human services professionals. Noted CHHS Dean Nancy FeyYensan, “It provides a place — but also the conceptual platform required — to yield the collective synergy to drive and test creative programming designed to improve the longer-term health and educational achievement of children and their families in the neighborhood.” The college offered the first of its health-based programs this summer with interactive nutrition workshops for Windsor Park families. Data from the reading pilot will be used to build a model for summer literacy programs. The goal is to secure the needed resources to establish a yearround, permanent reading and teacherpreparation clinic serving east Charlotte elementary students. Additional programming is slated to begin this academic year. Wills Citty is director of communication for the College of Education and the College of Health and Human Services.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 33

[

feature

]

[

F eature

]

Graduate students visit Rio de Janeiro to study architectural challenges

‘Enigmatic W Place’ B y Meg W h a l e n

hat shocked Monica Whitmire the most were the extremes. In front of her was one of the most spectacular views in the world — the glistening white beaches of Ipanema, smooth rock-faced mountains rising from deep blue water. Behind her, crammed into the hillside, was the Vidigal favela, one of Rio de Janeiro’s infamous slums, where careening moto-taxis share narrow, garbage-lined streets with renegade chickens. “Everything is so beautiful, but I’ve seen some of the most terrible things,” said the graduate student, who received her Master of Urban Design degree in August and will complete a Master of Architecture degree in May 2017. “Both exist at the same time, just slap beside each other.” Whitmire recently returned to Charlotte from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where the School of Architecture’s Master of Urban Design (MUD) students spent five weeks this summer, culminating the 12-month degree program.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 35

[

feature

]

Barra da Tijuca “is Rio’s version of a suburb, but it is very different from ours.”

UNC Charlotte Master of Urban Design students studied the slum-like Vidigal favela as part of their tour.

While many students choose study abroad during their University experience, very few degrees require an international component. The MUD degree is unusual — not only among UNC Charlotte programs but among urban design degrees nationally — because it integrates an international study tour into the curriculum and program fee structure. “A lot of professional practices in the design disciplines are international,” said Jose Gamez, an urban design professor and associate director of the School of Architecture, who led the students in Brazil. “Students need to have an understanding of the design practice outside of our country. They need to know that people live and work differently in other countries.”

Adding International Component

The MUD program introduced the integrated international component in 2012 with summer 36 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

study in China, repeated in 2013 and 2014. Students traveled to the cities of Shanghai, Suzhou and Beijing, learning about high-density design and development of “vertical urbanism” and “new towns,” towns designed and built in anticipation of an urban population. “The intensity and speed of urban development in China was one of the issues that impressed the students,” said Associate Professor Zhongjie Lin, director of the MUD program, who led the study tours in China. “In general, cities are changing faster there, fueled by the massive urbanization and huge investments in infrastructure.” Brazil offers a different look at high-density urbanization, said Gamez. “China is urbanizing in a centralized way. Latin America is urbanizing in a decentralized way. It’s handled very differently from a planning perspective: A village shows up, and then they’re trying to retrofit it with infrastructure.”

[

The first MUD program in Brazil ran last summer, in 2015. “Rio was in the global spotlight, with the World Cup and the Olympics,” said Gamez. “It is an enigmatic place, but also a challenging place.” As students in previous study tours to China and Brazil had done, Whitmire and her MUD class this year worked side-by-side with urban design students in the host city to examine and address specific challenges there. That cultural conversation is a crucial part of the global education, Lin and Gamez both emphasize.

‘Grit in their Lives’

“You design out of your own experience,” said Whitmire. “Understanding people’s values and how they affect the city — I would have never known that without traveling. Brazilians live with a different amount of grit in their lives. They’re not as cautious. And they have this powerful sense of community.” In addition to studying the favelas, the students worked on projects in an area known as Barra da Tijuca, which was home to the 2016 Olympic Park. The monotonous complexes of huge concrete apartment buildings are one of Rio’s answers to its housing crisis. “It’s Rio’s version of a suburb,” said Whitmire, “but it is very different from ours.” The 12 MUD students were divided into four groups, and each group was assigned a different quadrant of the Barra, focusing on a specific issue, such as transportation, water quality or wildlife. When they returned from Rio, the students continued the projects in their summer design studios at UNC

F eature

]

Charlotte Center City. Whitmire’s group, tasked with addressing the impact on wildlife, concluded that the best approach was an “antidevelopment” plan. “There is this desire in architecture to make things — to fill a space with your work,” she said. “I had never thought about whether we should build. But our group said, ‘We shouldn’t be building here. It’s killing all the wildlife.’ That happens a lot in the U.S., too. Things get built that shouldn’t be built.” Ultimately, the international program seeks to “help

“China is urbanizing in a centralized way. Latin America is urbanizing in a decentralized way.” students ask a new question,” Gamez said. “What is our responsibility as citizens? The goal isn’t to find an answer but to raise the question more clearly with our students.” While China and Brazil might represent extreme examples of urban change and urban challenges, those situations are not so far removed from the issues we face in the United States. “The U.S. is 50 percent urbanized,” said Gamez. “Rapid urbanization and questions of sustainability are trends that will eventually catch up to us here. We want to be prepared for that. We want to build the best cities that we can.” Meg Whalen is director of communications and external relations for the College of Arts + Architecture. Master of Urban Design student Monica Whitmire (third from left) and the Rio de Janeiro study tour group spent five weeks last summer in Brazil. Photo by Monica Whitmire

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 37

[

F eature

]

Engineering Dean Bob Johnson joins Levine Scholars for wilderness adventure

‘Fantastically Beautiful’ B y M i ke He r m a n n

38 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

oining this year’s incoming group of Levine Scholars on their wilderness experience, Lee College of Engineering Dean Bob Johnson had two goals: he wanted to get to know this generation of freshman students better, and he welcomed the personal challenge. He might have gotten more than he bargained for.

[

F eature

]

The Wyoming Mountains provided a beautiful setting for the wilderness adventure.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 39

[

F eature

]

While trekking through rocky Wyoming terrain, Dean Bob Johnson (second from the left) and four Levine Scholars stop to capture the breathtaking scenery.

40 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Led by the National Outdoor Leadership School, the wilderness trip was 23 days of hiking through the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming. Each year the incoming class of Levine Scholars does a similar trip as a team-building leadership program. “The Levine program sent a note asking if anyone was interested in joining the students on this year’s trip,” Johnson recalled. “I like a challenge, so I went for it. They interviewed me, and even though I didn’t know anything about backpacking, I was chosen. It ended up being very challenging. If it wasn’t the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, it was certainly one of the top.” Before heading out on the July trip, Johnson trained for three and a half months. He walked an hour and a half or more on weekdays and four hours on weekend days, climbed Crowders Mountain in Gaston County and worked out in a local gym to strengthen a historically troublesome knee. Autumn 2016

‘I thought I was prepared’

“I was feeling great when I left,” Johnson said. “I was nervous because I knew it would be ambitious. But I was in the best shape I had been in years. I thought I was prepared.” In addition to Johnson, the group was made up of Billy Roosenberg from the Levine Program, four guides and 19 students, five of them engineering students. Their trip started near Lander, Wyoming, and they hiked across the Wind River Mountains to near Pinedale, Wyoming. “It was fantastically beautiful country — but rugged,” Johnson said, “We crossed water constantly. Our feet were always wet. It was very rough terrain. They call it the Rocky Mountains for a reason.” The group hiked between six and 11 hours a day, almost always above 10,000 feet, repeatedly ascending and descending 1,000 or more feet. They also climbed five peaks that were approaching 12,000 feet high. “I was happy to be able to drop

[

F E AT U R E

]

“If it wasn’t the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, it was certainly one of the top.”

Photos by Bob Johnson

my backpack for those peak summits,” Johnson noted. The mountains lived up to their reputation of being blustery, with the wind howling on all peaks and reaching more than 40 miles per hour as the contingent crossed the Continental Divide. In addition to hiking and camping, the students took training classes in outdoor skills and first aid. They were divided into teams for certain tasks and sent out on destination hikes when they were on their own.

Forming Bonds

“It was a great group of kids, and I achieved my goal of getting to know them,” Johnson said. “We all got to know each other very well. All of the students formed bonds with each other. “It was my observation that the students changed over the three weeks,” he continued. “When the trip was over, they were different people from when they started. They met new challenges — like traversing

a boulder field with a 50-pound pack on their back and doing those peak summits. It instilled in them a confidence that they could do anything when they got to college.” In terms of achieving his second goal of challenging himself through the rigors of the trip, Johnson was certainly successful. In addition to the physical demands of hiking, sleeping on rocky ground and experiencing cold nights and constant swarms of mosquitos, he had knee pain toward the end and dislocated a shoulder on the secondto-last day. “It was very exhausting,” he said. “Very, very challenging. I lost 16 pounds; I was working so hard. But it was a phenomenal experience. I’m glad I did it. I did achieve my purposes. I got to know the kids, and it was definitely the challenge I was looking for.”

Bob Johnson, dean of the Lee College of Engineering, celebrates atop a ridge after a successful hike.

Mike Hermann is director of communication for the William States Lee College of Engineering. Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 41

[

L IG H T R A I L U P D A T E

]

The LYNX Blue Line is the Charlotte region’s first light rail service; it opened in 2007. When the extension is completed in summer 2017, the line will operate along 18.6 miles, from I-485 at South Boulevard to the UNC Charlotte campus. With 26 stations, including seven park-and-ride locations, the LYNX Blue Line provides a congestion-free commute with a consistent travel time.

Photo by CATS

Light Rail Connects Us T

he LYNX Blue Line Extension allows for a new dimension of connectivity between UNC Charlotte and the neighborhoods and business districts along the Blue Line as far south as Pineville. Light rail also provides greater accessibility for the citizens of the region to the resources of the University. The prospect of bringing more people to and from campus for work, performing arts, athletic events, festivals and other activities

42 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

will prove revolutionary for students, staff, faculty, alumni and visitors. Beginning in late summer 2017, new Charlotte Area Transit System light rail stations at Ninth Street – beside UNC Charlotte Center City – J.W. Clay at North Tryon Street and Cameron Boulevard at Wallis Hall will bring the convenience of light rail to the heart of the University campus. And as part of the Blue Line Extension, eight other new light rail stations – and related

bus routes — will provide an alternative to using automobiles. The LYNX Blue Line Extension begins at Seventh Street in Uptown Charlotte and continues to the UNC Charlotte Main Station. Stations along the way are located at Ninth Street, Parkwood, 25th Street, 36th Street, Sugar Creek, Old Concord Road, Tom Hunter Road, McCullough Drive, J.W. Clay Boulevard UNC Charlotte Station and UNC Charlotte Main Station, along Cameron Boulevard near

The Blue Line Extension features the only underground tunnel in the entire LYNX system and the only one in the Carolinas. The underpass dips below North Tryon Street near the Bioinformatics Building and resurfaces in an area behind Bioinformatics and the Motorsports Engineering Laboratory. Photo by Wade Bruton

The J.W. Clay UNC Charlotte Station on North Tryon Street features the usual pedestrian bridge to the adjacent parking deck. But this station also includes the only pedestrian bridge in the LYNX system to fully bridge a roadway; the portion of the bridge above right, feeds directly onto UNC Charlotte campus, enhancing safety for passengers. Photo by Wade Bruton

Wallis Hall and the North Deck. UNC Charlotte showed its commitment to light rail by granting the right-of-way for the campus portion of the line. This right-of-way was valued at $4 million. The LYNX Blue Line is the Charlotte region’s first light rail service; it opened in 2007. When the extension is completed in late summer 2017, the line will operate along 18.6 miles, from I-485 at South Boulevard to the UNC Charlotte campus. With 26

stations, including seven park-and-ride locations, the LYNX Blue Line provides a congestion-free commute with a consistent travel time.

JW Clay Blvd./UNC Charlotte

North Tryon St.

Charlotte Area Transit System’s LYNX extension coming to campus in 2017.

UNC Charlotte–Main

McCullough

University City Blvd. Tom Hunter Old Concord Rd.

Sugar Creek Stations Light Rail Transit

25th St.

CENTER CITY

Parkwood 9th St. 7th St.

NORTH Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 43

[

A lumnus Q & A

]

Lyrical Wisdom Hip-Hop artist tackles youth literacy through his Words Liive startup B y P a u l N o we l l

age Salvo (’04) has traveled far and wide, literally and figuratively, since his time as an undergraduate at UNC Charlotte. If pressed, though, many former classmates and teachers at the University might not recognize his name. That’s because Salvo went by his given name, Gilbert Perkins, when he studied accounting and finance at UNC Charlotte. He graduated with degrees in both majors. Salvo is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. As lofty as it is, that objective falls far short of what he has accomplished in the years since he left the University. A native of Washington, D.C., Salvo worked for the National Basketball Association’s Charlotte Bobcats even before he graduated. After about two years, he joined the front office of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He left that job and joined the faculty at Howard University, where he began doctoral studies. He left Howard to pursue an MBA from the University of Toronto and then went on to Harvard. Salvo said he still plans to finish his doctorate. A hip-hop artist and poet, Salvo is the founder of Words Liive, a startup company that has developed new approaches to literacy, ones that evaluate contemporary languages, such as the lyrics of urban music, code and computer-programming languages and social-media lingo — even the language of text messages.

44 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

He also developed “Words Liive: The Poetry of Hip-Hop Lecture Series,” a literary arts fusion program in the nation’s capital that has featured Grammynominated artists such as Maimouna Youssef and Carolyn Malachi. Salvo, who has performed at the D.C. Annual Poetry Festival honoring Gil Scott Heron at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre, was selected to present his poetry for the U.S. State Department’s Black History Program. The first American hip-hop artist to be invited to speak at a TEDx event, Salvo demonstrated how hip-hop lyrics can be tied to historical poetry. UNC Charlotte Magazine recently caught up with Salvo to discuss his ties to the University, his accomplishments and his future plans. How did you decide to attend UNC Charlotte?

I came in fall of 1999 as an undergraduate. I had no idea where I wanted to go to college, and one of my older cousins was at UNC Charlotte. I went to visit it in my senior year of high school and I completely fell in love with the campus. Was your college career a typical one?

No, I had always been interested in Rutgers University in New Jersey, and after I started at UNC Charlotte, I found out I got in there. I transferred to Rutgers, but I did not like it, and I came back and everything changed. I became involved in leadership

activities, from being a resident advisor to a leader in the Black Student Union. I also helped bring back a chapter of the National (Association of ) Black Accountants. How did you wind up working for two large professional sport teams?

When I was close to graduation, I read about Black Entertainment Television President Bob Johnson coming to Charlotte to reactivate the city’s NBA franchise. I saw this as an opportunity. I gleaned many lessons from the Bobcats, then after about two years, I got a call from the Redskins. I had the chance to move back home and work for a great organization. With the Bobcats, I was an accountant. Here I was a financial analyst, and I got to travel with the team. The position was more visible, and I got to flex my analytical muscles. So you’re a young college graduate working in a great position for a top professional sports franchise. And you decide to move on?

When I told them I wanted to leave, the Redskins management tried to talk me out of it. I was young, only 26. They said things to the effect of, “Dude, you don’t know how advanced you are.” It was one of the hardest discussions I have ever had. I went from struggling to get by to two dream jobs. But I wanted to give back. When I went into (some public) schools and communities with the Redskins franchise, it broke my heart to see all this squandered potential.

[

alumnus q & A

]

The first American hip-hop artist to be invited to speak at a TEDx event, Salvo demonstrated how hip-hop lyrics can be tied to historical poetry.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 45

[

A lumnus Q & A

]

perceived the world to one where I felt inadequate because of how I perceived the world was a rough transition. I carry that experience with me into the classrooms I go to. How big is the literacy problem with some of our youngsters?

The literacy problem is urgent bordering on an emergency for many urban and rural districts. We have programs in districts like Washington, D.C., that literally have reading proficiency rates in the teens, like 17 percent for some grade levels. Do you see your ideas as a radical change to the status quo?

“We have programs in districts like Washington, D.C., that literally have reading proficiency rates in the teens, like 17 percent for some grade levels.” What did you decide to do?

I thought I could use my knowledge of the entertainment industry to do something about it. So I went with my gut. I got a teaching position at Howard University and started working on a Ph.D. Your academic path then took another turn?

I was at Howard for two years, and I got an inkling to get an MBA. I think the thought was lingering from my years at Belk College at UNC Charlotte. So I went to Toronto to get an MBA, and it was the best two years of my life. I was able to really focus on the philosophy of the school. How I viewed the world, how I wanted to develop a startup company to address some of the problems in education. They have a unique philosophy of problem solving, and it had a huge impact on me. 46 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

How are you translating this in your career?

Kids show their genius in a variety of ways. Many of them don’t see themselves in their education, so they lack a large incentive to become engaged in that process. You’ve got kids of all types, from impoverished conditions at home to very abusive situations. For some of them, just to get to class is a monumental struggle. Then, we present them with a curriculum that doesn’t even acknowledge any of that. It’s difficult for them to see themselves in the educational process. We (Word Liives) respond culturally, and this is what the music does. It is the great equalizer. How does your own story relate to what some of our kids are facing?

I encountered a huge adaptability problem when I moved from Washington, D.C., to Reston, Virginia. Moving from an environment that understood how I

I do believe so. My perspective on education is based on liberating the minds of the youth and enabling them to solve their life’s problems for themselves. Being sophisticated readers and thinkers is key. Our K-12 public education system was designed to prepare the youth for jobs during the Industrial Age. We are quite a ways from that now, economically speaking. For the 21st century, we all should be great problem solvers, in real time. And with production and service techniques so advanced, I think you’ll see our society turning more intently toward solving social problems. How do you plan to use music — specifically hip-hop — to reach these students?

The music that comes from the locales we work in, like any art that is produced, represents how those individuals perceive the world. It’s through the students’ perception of the world that we can do things in classrooms with them that augment their perceptions of the world. For instance, how does their understanding of the use of violence in their world relate to Nelson Mandela’s in South Africa? By integrating the music that their generation is producing, which represents some of their perspective, we get a pathway to study South Africa in say a social studies class and then the speeches Mandela delivered in an English class. Paul Nowell is senior communications manager at UNC Charlotte.

[

A lumn i U pdate

]

Wear It Proudly

University establishes official UNC Charlotte class rings

ride, spirit and tradition are linked inextricably with the UNC Charlotte experience, and one of the most endearing, tangible symbols of these concepts is the class ring. This fall UNC Charlotte, in conjunction with Balfour, debuted an official class ring program, which will be reserved exclusively for undergraduate students who have completed 60 credit hours and transfer students who have completed 30 credit hours at the University. In addition, graduate students who have achieved candidacy and alumni who completed the credit-hour requirements will be eligible. “Our goal is to create a treasured symbol for individuals who have earned the right to wear it,” said Jenny Jones, executive director of alumni affairs in the Division of University Advancement. “The official UNC Charlotte ring will be a lasting symbol of the wearers’ academic achievements and a powerful reminder of the pride they have as members of Niner Nation.” The institution’s official name — The University of North Carolina at Charlotte — circles the top and includes the founding year of 1946. Choices for the side of the ring include the degree, which can be customized for the purchaser; the miner, one of the University’s most recognizable symbols that represents the pioneering spirit and determination of students, faculty, staff and alumni; and the official University seal, adopted in July 1965 following UNC Charlotte’s designation as the fourth campus of the consolidated UNC system. Prior to commencement, students will be asked to wear their ring with the symbol facing inward as a reminder that their goal of a college degree is within reach. Upon graduating, wearers should turn the ring with the symbol outward to announce their readiness to represent their alma mater in all endeavors. “The designs for the official UNC Charlotte ring were unveiled during Family Weekend 2016 in mid-September,” said Jones. “Also, we are planning an inaugural ceremony in December to present students with their official UNC Charlotte rings. Building tradition among our students and alumni is important, and we know our official ring program will engender greater loyalty and pride for UNC Charlotte.”

Information Individuals interested in ordering a ring may go to www.balfour.com/uncc or call 866-225-3587 weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 47

[ F eature

]

Ventureprise = Enterprise Incubator nurtures startups, early-stage companies at PORTAL B y M e lb a N e w s o m e

•

P h oto s by Wa d e B r u to n

ast spring, a group of local business leaders and entrepreneurs released its first Charlotte Entrepreneur Growth Report. The conclusion was somewhat dispiriting although not surprising to those who follow business trends: While the Charlotte region has a thriving core of high-growth companies with billions in revenue, it lags in innovation, entrepreneurship and investments in startup companies. This is an issue UNC Charlotte has understood and sought to address for three decades. Countermeasures began with the Ben Craig Center in 1986. In 2012, the nonprofit business incubator adopted a broader mission to address innovation and entrepreneurship. Re-branded as Ventureprise, a hands-on strategic effort to help startups and early-stage companies grow, the organization serves as an incubator and accelerator program to these businesses. Ventureprise companies occupy the second and third floors of the Partnership, Outreach, and Research to Accelerate Learning (PORTAL) Building. Opened in 2014, the 96,000-square-foot site was designed for collaboration among academic, corporate and entrepreneurial partners. PORTAL represents the University’s commitment to fostering partnerships with private industry to stimulate business growth and job creation, and promote research and innovation. “PORTAL is where the University connects with entrepreneurial and corporate communities,” said Paul Wetenhall, Ventureprise president. “Charlotte has grown primarily because of large companies. We hope to build a stronger entrepreneurial capacity to help the Charlotte community.” While Ventureprise began as a general incubator, it now seeks to focus more on University-related businesses. The center has served 28 earlystage, innovation-driven ventures since moving into PORTAL in 2014. Wetenhall explains what Ventureprise looks for in a tenant: The company must have innovation as part of its mission, seek to be part of a community, have a coachable founder, be on track to reach at least $5 million in sales in five years, provide a product or service aimed at a

48 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

“PORTAL is where the University connects with entrepreneurial and corporate communities.” national or global market and seek to leverage University talent, research and facilities. In addition to offering prime office space at a reasonable rate, Ventureprise also provides business model development, business growth assistance, coaching and mentoring, and connections to business and University resources. Having watched the decline of mega corporations such as Xerox and Kodak while living and working in Rochester, New York, Wetenhall understands the valuable role emerging businesses play in the economy and how UNC Charlotte can contribute. “University innovations are vital contributors to America’s economic strength,” he said. “Many institutions such as UNC Charlotte have expanded their economic impact by proactively supporting entrepreneurial action.”

[

F eature

]

Meet Four Ventureprise Startups Informative 1 Technologies James Walker

www.informativeinc.com

James Walker envisioned a digitally inclusive society where technology is reused — not discarded — and where people are empowered to achieve success through affordable access to information. That vision led him to create Informative Technologies, a social enterprise to find scalable, market-driven solutions to the digital divide and electronic waste. Informative Technologies is building a communitybased ecosystem that connects donor companies with recipient community organizations. The company’s ReviveOS software revives “obsolete” computers so they can run well and break the cycle of planned obsolescence built into computers today.

Ecomdash www.ecomdash.com

This inventory-control software for online sales is designed to save time, improve profit margins and optimize inventory control. Ecomdash integrates operations into one system to automatically “connect the dots” among channels, customers, shipping, orders, warehouses and suppliers. Ecomdash provides a centralized web-based solution to sync inventory and process orders while providing real-time data necessary for business management. Nick Maglosky

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 49

[

F eature

]

YUNO Inc. www.yuno.com

Companies and businesses of all stripes want consumers’ social-media likes, comments and recommendations because they double as marketing and promotion for their products. Realizing that prompted former vice president of legal affairs for the Charlotte Bobcats, Andre Walters, to launch YUNO in 2013. YUNO serves as an easy and fun way for customers to monetize their “social capital” and influence. It rewards customers with cash back for doing something they’ve probably done for free — buy products and tell their friends about them.

Andre Waters

Countervail Corp. www.countervailcorp.com

Bill Basinger

This venture is at the forefront of the biomedical technology industry, dedicated to developing medical measures and diagnostic tests to respond to chemical threats against the public and the country’s military population. The company was formed in June 2007 to commercialize galantamine as an antidote to volatile nerve gas and pesticide poisoning. Since its launch, Countervail has acquired several more drug technologies and garnered federal funding through grants and contracts to continue development of its projects.

PORTAL is Yokohama’s Temporary Home Yokohama Tire Corp. has announced plans to locate a research and development center in Concord’s International Business Park. But until that facility is ready, the company will house up to 22 workers on UNC Charlotte’s campus in the PORTAL Building. “We welcome Yokohama Tire as our newest business partner at PORTAL. Our goal is to help them be successful as they continue investing capital and hiring people in the Charlotte region,” said Vice Chancellor of Research and Economic Development Robert Wilhelm. This is the first North Carolina facility for Yokohama and the third international tenant in PORTAL. Yokohama Tire joins GOM, a German global manufacturer of optical measurement solutions and technologies, and Redecam, an Italian manufacturer 50 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

of pollution control equipment. Yokohama has signed a one-year lease at PORTAL but could stay longer depending on needs. The Motorsports Research Laboratory, a part of the William States Lee College of Engineering, played a role in securing the company’s presence at UNC Charlotte. The lab houses the fifthlargest water channel in the United States. The channel has a flow rate of more than 1,000 liters per second and is used for everything from vehicle aerodynamic research to power-generation research. When the space in Concord is ready, Yokohama will move off campus, but the company may still remain a business partner with UNC Charlotte.

HOW RESOURCES MULTIPLY “I became athletic director in 1990, and I’m still here because I haven’t finished what I set out to do. My priorities are making sure we have fully funded athletic scholarships, competitive budgets among the league and Division I, nationally recognized sports and quality facilities. If we win in our sports, people will follow us. It sounds simple, but it’s not that easy to do when every program we’re competing against has a different budget. We’re running our athletic program the right way, as a program that will be a source of pride for students and alumni.”

Judy Rose |

Athletic Director

> Exponential: The Campaign for UNC Charlotte celebrates the dramatic trajectory of growth of our University and our 120,000 alumni. This campaign offers all of us—alumni, business leaders and the University community—the opportunity to shape a future that is even more exciting than our past. The power of you makes it possible. Join us.

> UNC Charlotte Foundation

| exponential.uncc.edu | 704-687-7211

Class Notes 1970s

of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is a certified project management professional currently serving as senior geotechnical engineer for the Savannah River Site Geotechnical Engineering Department of Savannah River Nuclear Solutions. Nothdurft earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in civil engineering from UNC Charlotte.

Allman

Edwin Allman (’76) was selected by his peers for inclusion in the 2017 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” in the areas of bankruptcy and creditor debtor right/ insolvency and reorganization law and litigation. Allman is a shareholder and director of Allman Spry Davis Leggett & Crumpler P.A. in WinstonSalem, North Carolina. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UNC Charlotte. Jean Whatley (’76) published her second book “Surfside Moon,” which takes an indepth look at what could motivate a fictional serial killer as well as whether a mystery novelist can help stop the killer before he kills again. Published by Dorrance Publishing Co., the novel was inspired by Whatley’s fascination with the Zodiac Killer case. She holds a bachelor’s degree in creative arts from UNC Charlotte.

1980s Bruce Nothdurft (’88, ’97) was recently elected a fellow 52 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

1990s

company in Orange County, California. He most recently served as a regional sales leader for IBM. Bryson received a bachelor’s degree business administration from UNC Charlotte. Bershuan Thompson (’95), who was a former team captain for the Charlotte 49ers basketball team, recently worked alongside two-time NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry as Curry’s youth basketball camp in Hawaii. Thompson has worked for years teaching basketball fundamentals to players across the country. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from UNC Charlotte.

Brown

Patrick Brown (’99) is the president and CEO of Innovative Aftermarket Systems (IAS). Prior to joining IAS, Brown served as general manager of the commercial prepaid business for Netspend, a division of Total System Services Inc., where he was responsible for strategy and overall growth of its commercial prepaid division. He earned a master’s degree in business administration from UNC Charlotte. Henry Bryson (’84) was named director of business development for DeviceLab Inc., a medical product design and product development Autumn 2016

York

Mike York (’94) was named chief operating office of the Fauquier Bank. York has more than 29 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently serving as private wealth management senior credit executive for Regions Bank in Birmingham, Alabama. York earned a bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University and a master’s degree in business administration from UNC Charlotte.

Woodward

Jennifer Woodward (’91) was named professor of surgery and immunology at the University of Pittsburgh. Prior to her promotion, Woodward served as associate vice provost for research operations at the same institution. Woodward earned a master’s degree in biological sciences from UNC Charlotte.

Young

Teross Young (’94) was named interim mayor of the city of Troutman following the resignation of its former mayor. Young was the mayor pro-tem and will fulfill the remainder of the mayoral term. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UNC Charlotte.

2000s Angela Allen (’05) is the executive director of the Center for Prevention Services. Previously, Allen has served on the United Way Mental Health and Substance Abuse Council and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Drug Free Coalition. Most recently, she served as associate director of administrative services at UNC Charlotte where she was responsible for facility accreditation, compliance, training and planning. Allen holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Belmont Abbey College and earned a

master’s degree in industrial organizational psychology from UNC Charlotte.

Pharr & Lowndes Law Firm, Brown focuses on landlord/ tenant disputes, title insurance, tort litigation and general commercial litigation. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from UNC Charlotte.

Jeannie Jandrew (’06) was named principal at George Hildebrand Elementary School in Burke County, North Carolina. Jandrew graduated from the N.C. Principal Fellows Program at UNC Charlotte.

Want to submit a Class Note? Brown

Terry Brown (’09) was recognized by the Charlotte Black Chamber of Commerce for its “30 Under 30” designation. A litigation attorney at Horack Talley

If you’re a proud 49er alum and have exciting news, we want to know. Join the Alumni Association’s online community to submit news and to stay engaged with the University by visiting 49erAlumni. uncc.edu. Additionally, you can submit news via email to 49erAlumni@uncc.edu. Accompanying photos are encouraged.

What is your legacy? Dr. Loy H. Witherspoon joined the faculty of Charlotte College in 1964 and plunged himself into everything from academic leadership to campus activities. Today, a scholarship, lecture series and residence hall carry his name. If one asked Dr. Witherspoon why he gives to UNC Charlotte, he would swiftly smile and say “how can I ask others to give without giving myself?” Dr. Witherspoon has made a planned gift, you can too. Please contact Parker Ingalls at 704-687-8003 or pingalls@uncc.edu for more information. Plannedgiving.uncc.edu Not intended as legal, tax or investment advice – please consult your CPA, Financial Planner or Attorney.

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 53

[

G i v i n g prof i le

]

Hunger to Help

Dhiaa and Hope Jamil give to support student food pantry, scholarship B y P a u l N o we l l

“There is no other place I would rather have my name associated with than this building. It touches my heart because it provides support to students with dignity.”

hiaa Jamil grew up comfortably, the son of Egyptian parents with sufficient financial resources. By the time he entered college at UNC Charlotte that had all changed. “When I ended up here, I had no means,” he said. “I worked, struggled and relied on the giving of others. Some people call it ‘food insecurity.’ I call it hunger.” Jamil became interested when he learned about a new project at his alma mater — a food pantry for needy students. He first heard about the pantry at a Board of Trustees retreat two years ago. “I perked up because the idea brought me back to a certain time in my life,” Jamil said, speaking of his time as a college student. He and his wife, Hope, became fervent supporters of the thenfledgling operation, which became a small venue on campus.

60th Birthday Honor

The Jamil Niner Student Pantry provides assistance to undergraduate and graduate students. It also has benefited from donations from Food Lion.

54 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

The family also established the Hope E. Jamil EPIC Student Fellow Scholarship to provide support for students with financial need. Recently, Hope Jamil put together a donation for a larger food pantry in honor of her husband’s 60th birthday. On Aug. 31, University officials, students, faculty and staff gathered in the backyard of that larger facility, a ranch house on the edge of the UNC Charlotte campus near East Deck, to dedicate the house as the “Jamil Niner Student Pantry.” The naming event was held to honor the Jamils for their generous support to benefit students who struggle with a phenomenon called food insecurity. National studies have found a large

number of college students are unable to find or afford nutritious food. “This food pantry clearly meets a real need for our students,” said Chancellor Philip L. Dubois, who was joined by his wife, Lisa, along with members of the Jamil family and others at the naming ceremony. “With this boost from Hope and Dhiaa, it will continue to do so for years to come.”

University Advocate

A 1978 graduate of UNC Charlotte and Duke Energy executive, Dhiaa is currently serving as secretary of the University’s Board of Trustees. He advocates with local corporations on behalf of UNC Charlotte initiatives, including faculty development, scholarships, athletics and the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band. The pantry provides assistance to undergraduate and graduate students. It has also benefited from donations from Food Lion, which donated $8,000 worth of nonperishable items to the pantry in its first year. The supermarket chain continues to support the food pantry. To qualify for assistance, students must live off campus and not have a University meal plan. In addition, each client must complete an intake form and a foodpantry inventory list. In establishing the pantry, UNC Charlotte joined 13 other UNC system institutions with similar initiatives. “There is no other place I would rather have my name associated with than this building,” Jamil said. “It touches my heart because it provides support to students with dignity.”

A Duke Energy executive and 1978 graduate of UNC Charlotte, Dhiaa Jamil serves as secretary of the Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Board of Trustees.

[

B u i ld i n g B loc k s

]

Paving Way for Student Union UNC Charlotte students (from left to right) Chris Fantano, Madison Cheviron, Tyler White and Matt Lawing took part in a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Pavement-breakingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ceremony formally kicking of construction of the Student Union on April 18, 2007. Today, the Karen A. Popp and Demond T. Martin Student Union now 56 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

Autumn 2016

bears the names of two alums honoring their generosity and investment in the University. The Popp Martin Student Union serves an exponentially growing campus population and averages more than 10,000 visitors per weekday during the academic session and nearly 6,000 on weekends.

[

perspect i v e

]

The Power of You is Exponential Dear Supporters of UNC Charlotte, Fueled by our mission of access and our dedication to the region, UNC Charlotte’s progress has been dramatic. As we discovered what we’re good at, we swiftly expanded those skills and programs. From humble beginnings, UNC Charlotte has gained regional importance and national prominence with an unstoppable trajectory. Without generous gifts, UNC Charlotte would not have been able to: • Open access and opportunities to talented students from all backgrounds. • Develop a rewarding experience that prepares students to be global citizens. • Recruit and foster professional talent to reach and conduct applied research. • Invest in special programs, initiatives and partnerships yielding high returns. Everything UNC Charlotte has achieved so far — and anything we hope to accomplish in the future — depends on powerful partners like you, our alumni, faculty, staff and friends. Before we can further strengthen the region, we must strengthen UNC Charlotte to handle growing demands. UNC Charlotte must be capitalized in educational access, in its faculty and educational resources, in its applied research capabilities, and in its critical partnerships and collaborations. The Campaign for UNC Charlotte makes each person count and multiplies the rewards, so the impact is truly exponential. We have the ambition and dedication to maintain our momentum, continue our mission and fuel the region. What’s critical to this equation is you. We’ve never needed alumni support more. It’s time for alumni to become true partners in the future of UNC Charlotte. It’s time to give back to your alma mater and provide other students the same kind of opportunities you had. One of the smartest, quickest ways to do that is to invest in this joint effort today. As the first alumnus to serve as the Board of Trustees chair, I promise that UNC Charlotte is worthy of your philanthropic investment. As a donor, I understand how personal stories compel you to act. Simply spend some time on campus with students, in the lab with faculty or at one of the centers with thought leaders to experience firsthand how your gift will go further than you ever imagined.

We have the ambition and dedication to maintain our momentum, continue our mission and fuel the region.

Thank you for joining us! Gene Johnson ’73 Chair, UNC Charlotte Foundation

Autumn 2016

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 57

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

The UNC Charlotte Mobile Arts & Community Experience (MAX) is a hybrid performance venue/ community gathering space that can accommodate everything from circus arts to a neighborhood association meeting. MAX was designed and built in partnership with Boxman Studios and funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The College of Arts + Architecture launched MAX in April 2015.