Student Affairs

The Center for Wellness Promotion will partner with the Mecklenburg County Health Department on World AIDS Day to provide free HIV testing, educational information and giveaways. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 1, in the Student Union Rotunda. Students, staff and faculty are all welcome at this Wellness Passport event.

David Vacchi, associate director of veteran student services, discusses how UNC Charlotte is perfectly positioned to serve student veterans.

The newly renovated Belk Gym will reopen Monday, Nov. 16, for limited fitness and recreational use. Final move-in efforts will continue; however, students and visitors to the facility will notice a number of improvements, including air conditioning for the gymnasiums and workout facilities and upgrades that feature a new fitness center and cycling studio.

Academic classes, sport clubs activities and intramural sports will resume in Belk Gym in January. Renovations will continue through spring on the pool.

Veterans Day is a U.S. federal holiday observed annually to honor individuals who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The Veterans Student Services Office, the Student Veterans of America and the Office of Student Involvement are cosponsoring events during the week of Nov. 9-13 to honor veterans.

Assistant Director of Student Activities for Student Involvement Cassidy Sansone said, “We are thankful for our UNC Charlotte veterans’ service and sacrifice, and we thought it was important to recognize and thank our veterans.”

UNC Charlotte is one of the 125 four-year institutions to make the Military Times “Best for Vets: Colleges 2016” rankings.

An annual survey in its six year, the Military Times rankings provide the most comprehensive school-by-school assessment of veteran and military student services and rates of academic achievement.

John Quiñones, anchor of ABC’s “What Would You Do?,” one of TV’s highest-rated newsmagazines, will speak at 7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, in Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

His presentation is for the Forty-niner Forum Speaker Series, sponsored by the Center for Leadership Development; it is free to all students, faculty and staff with a UNC Charlotte ID. This event is open to the general public, too.

The Niner Student Pantry, established in fall 2014, recently held a grand opening for its new location, a house at 1224 John Kirk Drive. Learn more about the pantry through this short video.

Tens of thousands of people attended the UNITE to Face Addiction launch event held in Washington, D.C.., including Abby Foster, a student and member of the Collegiate Recovery Community at UNC Charlotte.

The purpose of the rally was to raise awareness about the stigma of substance abuse. Seven hundred partners joined together to create the first-ever rally and concert on the National Mall. Performers included Joe Walsh, Steven Tyler, Sheryl Crow and many others.

Global Soap Project founder Derreck Kayongo will speak at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 10, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

Now a successful entrepreneur, Kayongo is a renowned expert in environmental sustainability and global health. At the age of 10, Kayongo and his family fled a civil war in Uganda and settled in the United States. CNN International praised Kayongo for his “transition from the tough life of a refugee to become a college graduate, a U.S. citizen and a field coordinator for CARE International, a private humanitarian aid organization.”

A free screening of the documentary “The Hunting Ground” will be at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 9, in the Cone University Center, McKnight Hall.

“The Hunting Ground” was created to educate audiences on the widespread issue of campus sexual assault. The title of the documentary was chosen to represent the ideal conditions college campuses offer serial rapists to commit violent acts and escape responsibility.