General News

Gregory Mixon, an associate professor of history, is the recipient of the second annual J. Murrey Atkins Library Faculty Engagement Award.

Presented to a UNC Charlotte faculty member who has engaged in innovative or exceptional work with library collections, programs and services, the Atkins Library Faculty Engagement Award is given in the fall. It includes a $2,500 allocation for professional development that recognizes the faculty member’s outstanding contributions to the library’s mission, vision and strategic initiatives.

Commencement was a family affair for nursing graduate Samantha Whitley and her mother Candace Yow.

Whitley, 21, originally thought about pursuing a law career; however, she began work as a certified nursing assistant at Novant Health Presbyterian and realized she liked caring for people, according to an article in the Charlotte Observer.

The Charlotte 49ers Athletic Foundation will host the 33rd annual Great Gold Rush Auction, Saturday, June 4, in Dale Halton Arena inside the Barnhardt Student Activity Center. This event begins with a silent auction at 5:30 p.m. The live auction starts at 8:30 p.m. on the floor of Halton Arena.  A food extravaganza will be available throughout the evening. All proceeds from the event go to the 49ers athletic scholarship fund.

The Office of Disability Services has selected recipients of the 2015-16 Accessibility Excellence Award for Outstanding Faculty/Staff. Recipients, who were selected primarily from student nominations, exhibited a strong commitment to accessibility- and disability-related issues.

This year’s honorees were Jill Engle and Evan Houston (mathematics and statistics), Alex Frizzell (classroom support), Dane Hughes (College of Education), Michael Murphy, (chemistry), Per Norander (economics) and Suzanne Thomas (First-Year Writing Program).

The Graduate School will conduct an application information session from 11 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, May 25, in Cato Hall, Room 228, for University employees who hold a baccalaureate degree and wish to pursue a graduate education.

UNC Charlotte will hold three ceremonies to bestow undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees upon approximately 4,390 students.

At 1 p.m., Friday, May 13, degree candidates for the Belk College of Business, College of Computing and Informatics, College of Health and Human Services and the Graduate School will gather in Halton Arena of the Barnhardt Student Activity Center for commencement.

Commencement is an opportunity for students to celebrate their accomplishments. This year, it also is a chance for UNC Charlotte to join #CountAllStudents, a coordinated campaign to share stories of 2016 graduates who transferred from other institutions or who attended part-time. It is these undergraduates who are missing from the federal graduation rate, often used to rank the effectiveness of colleges and universities.

The UNC Charlotte Department of Dance has received a 2016 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The $10,000 grant will support “Tracing Modern Dance: A Reconstruction Residency for Paul Taylor’s Lost ‘Tracer.’” The reconstruction residency is the culmination of an 18-month research project by Associate Professor of Dance Kim Jones. 

For her entrepreneurial approach and scientific discoveries, UNC Charlotte distinguished cancer researcher Pinku Mukherjee has received the “Charlotte International Cabinet Patrick McCrory International Entrepreneur Award.”

As the Irwin Belk Endowed Professor of Cancer Research at UNC Charlotte, Mukherjee is transforming the ways in which cancer is diagnosed and treated. She has designed innovative approaches to more accurately detect breast cancer early and is developing targeted therapy and imaging for pancreatic, ovarian and colon cancers.

A large crowd gathered Friday, May 6, at the gazebo in the UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens to listen to a musical interlude by a five-piece ensemble from the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.

The mini-concert, presented by the symphony in partnership with the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, was made possible through a gift from an anonymous donor in memory of University founder Bonnie Cone.

More photos from the event are on the college’s Facebook page.