Community Engagement

Every neighborhood has a story, but often the people who live there don’t know what they are or where to find them. Does it have a special landmark that ought to be preserved? What about an interesting history? Maybe it has environmental treasures or distinctive architectural features.

At two free, public workshops, Charlotte residents can get help learning how to find out those answers. On Tuesday, March 3, and Saturday, March 7, experts will show residents how to become savvy neighborhood sleuths and discover more about the places where they live.

North Carolina is experiencing heavy Latino migration, and UNC Chapel Hill anthropologist Hannah Gill will discuss what the migration means to the state and the immigrants in the Levine Lecture “New Roots in the Old North State” at 6 p.m., Monday, March 9, at the Levine Museum of the New South.

Gill is author of “North Carolina and the Latino Migration Experience: New Roots in the Old North State.” She also is director of the Latino Migration Project at UNC Chapel Hill, a public educational program on Latin American immigration and integration in North Carolina.

The Charlotte Venture Challenge, the Southeast’s premiere business innovation competition, will take place in partnership with the Southeast Venture Conference, which returns to Charlotte Tuesday, March 31, through Thursday, April 2.

From childhood entrepreneur to corporate magnate, Johnny Cupcakes founder Johnny Earle will share the story of this success at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 27, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

In this free, public event, sponsored by the Campus Activities Board (CAB), attendees will learn methods for starting or growing a unique idea, business or passion with little to no start-up money.

At its recent planning meeting, the Division for Student Affairs staked its claim to community engagement as more than 264 staff members donated school supplies to Classroom Central, a nonprofit organization serving more than 100,000 students living in poverty in  200-plus schools in six local school districts. 

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has reaffirmed UNC Charlotte’s community engagement classification, which the University earned originally in 2008.

National Urban League president Marc Morial will give the keynote speech for the University’s celebration of the life, work and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. at 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 20, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.  

Morial’s free, public talk “Building Bridges Through Civility, Justice and Action” is sponsored by the UNC Charlotte Multicultural Resource Center. A community reception will follow in the Lucas Room.

The relocation of the Charlotte regional office of the Small Business and Technology Development Center to the UNC Charlotte PORTAL Building concentrates University-affiliated entrepreneurial support services in a state-of-the-art facility. Formerly located in the Ben Craig Center at University Research Park, the SBTDC officially opened in PORTAL Jan. 2.

UNC Charlotte students, faculty and staff members have stepped up to help save lives by participating in the “49ers 4 Life” blood drive. The sixth annual drive will be from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 20, at the Barnhardt Student Activity Center; organizers have set a goal of 950 pints.

A campus-wide event coordinated by a number of student organizations, the “49ers 4 Life” blood drive is held in conjunction with the American Red Cross.

As part of the on going series “Forty IX’ers: Know Your Title IX,”  the University will host a panel discussion at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 17, in the Student Union, Room 340 CF.

The “Forty IX’ers: Know Your Title IX” series is sponsored by the UNC Charlotte Title IX Office, Center for Wellness Promotion and the Dean of Students Office, in conjunction with the Feminist Union. Its purpose is to address issues of sexual assault, stalking, and relationship violence.