General News

A rowdy mob walked shoulder to shoulder with Dorothy Counts-Scoggins as she neared the doors of Harding High. Some yelled slurs, threw rocks or spat. It was the first day of class in 1957, and integration had started in Mecklenburg County. Counts-Scoggins was one of the first four black students to enroll at formerly all-white schools in Charlotte. In the years since, the area has been at times been a model for both what can go right, and at others for what can go wrong, when balancing a school district.

Derrick Griffith, a UNC Charlotte alumnus who was an outstanding student leader in the early 1990s, has been identified as one of seven people killed in a train derailment in Philadelphia.

Griffith, 42, most recently was dean of student affairs and enrollment management at Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, N.Y. He joined the college in 2011 and had just earned a doctorate of philosophy in urban education from the City University of New York Graduate Center.

Full-time employees who have earned a bachelor’s degree can apply easily for admission as a post-baccalaureate (non-degree) student without any standardized test, transcript or recommendation requirements. 

Alternatively, they could apply to a graduate certificate program, many of which do not require a standardized test.

Whether one wishes to apply to a graduate program, augment professional skills to advance his/her career or simply take a course for personal enrichment, there is still time to apply for the fall semester. 

Saxophonist and UNC Charlotte alumnus Benjamin Still has won a gold medal in the 2015 Fischoff Competition as a member of the Mirasol Quartet.

Founded in 1973, the Fischoff Competition is the largest chamber music competition in the world. Each year, an average of 125 ensembles, representing 22 nationalities, enter the competition in either the wind or string categories of three to six performers. Fischoff is the only national chamber music competition with both senior divisions (ages 18-35) and a junior division (age 18 and younger).

The Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI) has welcomed its new cohort of 104 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) teachers into its innovative, interdisciplinary seminars for 2015.

“This year’s CTI Fellows represent the wide range of teachers in CMS, from new to veteran, kindergarten to 12th grade and physics to interior design,” said CTI Director Scott Gartlan. “We continue to create significant growth opportunities for teacher leaders looking to deepen their knowledge base and impact the lives of their students.”

The University’s three commencement exercises held recently provided an opportunity for graduates and their family and friends to celebrate an important accomplishment. But for thousands of individuals who couldn’t make it to the Queen City, they, too, were able to witness the ceremonies via the Web.

Members of the Internal Audit Department visit approximately 15 campus units each year. These visits can be anxiety-inducing and prompt questions such as “What if we are doing something wrong? Am I going to lose my job over this?  How can we be prepared for the audit?”

One way departments can relieve their anxiety is through conducting a controls self-assessment.

Bill Anderson, former executive director of the public education advocacy group MeckEd, is joining the University’s College of Education as special assistant to the dean for community relations.

Anderson, a veteran teacher, administrator and educational policy leader, has nearly four decades of experience. He completed a master’s degree in education from the University in 1989 and a doctorate in 2001.

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

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

Phillip Brown, internal communications manager in the University’s Public Relations Office, recently won a Gold Hermes Award for publication writing for the article “Trailblazers Turn the Tassel.” The feature was published in the second quarter 2014 edition of the UNC Charlotte magazine.