General News

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

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

The publication QNotes recently named Josh Burford, assistant director for sexual and gender diversity in the Multicultural Resource Center, Charlotte’s Best LGBT Leader.
Burford’s selection resulted from ballots cast by QNotes readers earlier this year. UNC Charlotte senior Lee Ziglar was voted Best Young Adult Leader, too. According to its website, QNotes is an “LGBT arts, entertainment and news publication” based in Charlotte.
“I’m honored to be selected for this award, and I hope to continue to work hard on behalf of the local LGBTQ community,” said Burford.

Bruce Blackmon recently joined the University as director of financial aid; he brings 28 years of experience in the field.
“I look forward to defining ways we can leverage our financial aid funds to best meet the student body needs and help as many students as we can using the dollars we have available,” said Blackmon, who also plans to improve financial aid operations in the office. He describes his leadership style as adaptive, adding his goal is to provide a positive experience in working with staff, students and parents.

Mikel Hunter was named a graduate assistant coach for the Charlotte 49ers 2014 football season.

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

Steve Donai, a representative from Heroes in Recovery, recently presented a $2,500 check to support the University’s Collegiate Recovery Community. The funding was generated through proceeds from the inaugural Heroes in Recovery 6K trail race/walk held in June in Reedy Creek Park.
Debbie Insley, director of the Center for Wellness Promotion, and Carol Rose, CRC marketing specialist, accepted the donation.

The nation’s top educational facilities organization, APPA, recently presented its 2014 Award for Excellence in Facilities Management to UNC Charlotte at its meeting in San Diego, Calif. Phil Jones, associate vice chancellor, facilities management, accepted the honor on behalf of the University.

Logan Creech, Klint Mullis and Elrica Metayer, graduates of the Master of Urban Design (MUD) program, recently won two national student design awards in China. Their project “Ribbons: Redevelopment of Xiangmen Historic Area in Suzhou,” received an honor certificate in the third International Landscape Planning and Design Competition, co-organized by the Journal of China Construction and the International Landscape Design Industry Association.