UNC Charlotte

The magazine of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte for Alumni and Friends • v17 q4 • 2010

Urban Sleuths
Researchers investigate
“green” mystery
UNC CHARLOTTE | c h a n c e l l o r ’s l e t te r
A University with a Plan
North Carolina’s looming fiscal crisis
is old news to anyone who followed the
recent elections or read the headlines in
the newspapers in the past few weeks.
A projected $3.7 billion deficit in FY12
against a total state budget of approximately
$19 billion is sobering and, most assuredly,
will have an impact on us at the University.
Notwithstanding what we expect will
be tougher times ahead, we’ve enjoyed
terrific progress in the past few years toward
establishing UNC Charlotte as North
Carolina’s urban research university. Total
enrollment crossed the 25,000 mark, we
awarded a record number of 95 doctoral
degrees last year and, in just two-and-a-half
years, we will play the first intercollegiate
football game in our history.
These are great times to be a Niner. We
cannot afford to allow the State’s fiscal issues
to slow our momentum.
Clearly defined Since July 1, 2008, the permanent
reductions to our State appropriations have
campus-wide totaled over $15 million and undoubtedly,
further cuts are looming. Clearly defined
priorities and campus-wide priorities and objectives
will help us make the difficult decisions
objectives will help over the next few months to ensure our
progress as a university in this era of fiscal
us make the difficult constraint. For that reason, we are mid-way
through a 12-month planning cycle aimed
decisions over the at producing an institutional plan that will
guide the University through 2016.
next few months to
We’ll use this planning process to restate
ensure our progress our institutional goals so they more clearly
reinforce our revised Mission Statement,
as a university identify key strategies to pursue over the
next five years in a constrained economic
in this era of environment, and revise assumptions
about our overall planning process. We
fiscal constraint. expect the final plan to be reviewed and
approved by the Board of Trustees by early
summer, 2011.
Two other external factors make the
development of this plan especially timely.
“UNC Tomorrow,” the ambitious effort by
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine www.UNCC.edu
President Erskine Bowles and the system
Board of Governors to aggregate and focus
local campus planning to meet the needs
of the State, will be continued through the
transition from the Bowles administration
to that of President Tom Ross. Second,
UNC Charlotte’s reaccreditation by the
Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools is scheduled for 2013. Our plans for
the future will form an important element
of that examination.
The University has already launched
a revision of the campus Academic Plan,
the college academic plans, and the plans
of academic support units. My Cabinet
will similarly assess each administrative
division within the University. Several goals
and major implementation strategies have
already been approved for discussion with
faculty, staff, students, and off-campus
constituents, including alumni. 
A draft of our planning assumptions
as well as our draft institutional goals and
strategies are available in the Chancellor’s
Outbox at http://administration.uncc.edu/
chancellor/outbox.html. Your comments are
welcome and can be sent directly to me via
e-mail or letter.
Resolutions are useful. As we begin a
New Year at UNC Charlotte — one that
will surely be full of unknown challenges
and opportunities — we will do so with a
new plan for the future and the resolve to
fulfill goals established collaboratively with
our growing community of faculty, staff,
students, alumni, and friends.
Cordially,
 hilip L. Dubois
P
Chancellor
 contents | UNC CHARLOTTE

32

12

features
8 Urban Sleuths
In Charlotte, wooded lots and remnant farm plots are nestled
nearby the gleaming structures of the nation’s second largest
financial center. UNC Charlotte researchers are studying how these
green spaces remain untouched within the boundaries of a rapidly
growing metropolis.

12 Not Fade Away 16

Alzheimer’s disease remains incurable, its cause unknown. But UNC
Charlotte professors Jim and Sarah Laditka say the evidence is strong departments
that simple behaviors might reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and other
forms of dementia. 3 News Briefs
20 49ers Notebook
24 Harambee! 22 Center Stage
What do you get when you bring 50-plus elementary- and middle-
school-aged, at-risk students onto a university campus for a unique 38 Class Notes
literacy enrichment experience? Results. UNC Charlotte hosted the 40 Building Blocks
Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School program last summer, and
researchers have collected evidence of the national program’s success. 41 Perspective

30 Honoring Our Own stake your claim profiles

UNC Charlotte will honor American service men and women who have
lost their lives in military service with a special memorial; we need your 16  nabashed and Loving It:
U
help to gather the names of UNC Charlotte Fallen Heroes, including Gene Johnson, ’73
students, alumni, faculty or staff. The first UNC Charlotte
alumnus to lead the Board
32 Food Deserts of Trustees opens up about
Access to fruits, vegetables and high-quality meats and the nutrients where his alma mater has
they provide is not a right recognized by the law, but the lack of these been, it’s future, his role as a
basic food stuffs in areas researchers deem “Food Deserts” can greatly University leader, and the joys
reduce the quality of life within a community. of cycling.

36 Giving Women a Voice 28 Coming Home to UNC

The economic and social stability of the Charlotte region is directly Charlotte: Marc Horgan, ’93
tied to the well-being of women. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Women’s When First Citizens Bank
Summit at UNC Charlotte is changing the way issues that directly area executive Marc Horgan
affect women and families are addressed by policy makers. attended UNC Charlotte,
the campus was home
On the cover: to 14,000 students. The
Forest and farm lands persist within Charlotte’s urban boundaries, creating the possibility
University enrolled 25,000
of alternative future scenarios for growth. The ULTRA exploratory project, spearheaded by students this fall. Horgan
UNC Charlotte researchers, will delve deeply into Charlotte’s “green mystery.” Illustration shares his enthusiasm over
by SPARK Publications.
what’s to come.

www.UNCC.edu  Q410 | UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 1

U N C C H A R LOT T E | e d i to r ’s d e s k

A Giving Institution
UNC Charlotte is North Carolina’s urban research
university. It leverages its location in the state’s largest city
to offer internationally competitive programs of research
and creative activity, exemplary undergraduate, graduate,
and professional programs, and a focused set of community The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
engagement initiatives. UNC Charlotte maintains a particular
commitment to addressing the cultural, economic, educational, Volume 17, Number 4
environmental, health, and social needs of the greater
Charlotte region. Philip L. Dubois
Chancellor
What you have just read is the mission statement of UNC
Charlotte. What it promises is that our University is committed Gene Johnson
to making the Charlotte region a better place. Ours is a Chair of the Board of Trustees
public university and thus it must give back to the public Niles Sorensen
value that validates the public’s investment in UNC Charlotte. In challenging Interim Vice Chancellor for University
economic times such as these, with new leadership taking the helm in our state, Relations and Community Affairs

it’s important to remember that the University adds incredible value to our Editor
community; it is a giving institution. Director of Public Relations
John D. Bland
In this edition, you’ll see prime examples of how the people of UNC Charlotte
are addressing the needs of the Charlotte community. Ross Meentemeyer and Creative Director
his associates are studying how a fast-growing metropolis like Charlotte still Fabi Preslar
retains some of the pastoral spaces of bygone days – and what that means for Contributing Writers
future development. You’ll read a moving account of how a husband-wife team of James Hathaway
Arthur Murray
researchers are engaged in the fight against a heartbreaking disease – Alzheimer’s. Paul Nowell
Also in these pages are articles about UNC Charlotte’s Freedom School and our Lisa A. Patterson
work in presenting the Women’s Summit. Buffie Stephens
Jane Lee Watson
The Freedom Schools program provides summer enrichment that helps CMS
scholars fall in love with reading, increases their self-esteem, and generates more Staff Photographer
Wade Bruton
positive attitudes toward learning. The Women’s Summit provides a forum and
concerted effort for local women to help solve the region’s challenges and ensure Circulation Manager
that women leaders stay engaged in leading our community. Cathy Brown
There’s much more in this edition that shows how invaluable UNC Charlotte Design & Production
is to the Charlotte region. Read on and find out. Thanks for your investment in SPARK Publications
UNC Charlotte and your continuing support. And never hesitate to stake your
claim to your share of a great urban research university. UNC Charlotte is published four times a
year by The University of North Carolina
at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd.,
Regards, Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
ISSN 10771913

Editorial offices:
Reese Building, 2nd floor
The University of North Carolina
at Charlotte
9201 University City Blvd.
John D. Bland, Editor Charlotte, NC 28223
Director of Public Relations 704.687.5825; Fax: 704.687.6379

The University of North Carolina at

Charlotte is open to people of all races and
is committed to equality of educational
Printed on opportunity and does not discriminate
recycled paper against applicants, students or employees
based on race, color, national origin, religion,
sex, sexual orientation, age or disability.
17,500 copies of this publication were printed
at a cost of $.52 per piece, for a total cost of $9,210.

2 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


Doster to Lead
Constituent Relations
Elizabeth M. “Betty” Doster will serve
as special assistant to the chancellor for
constituent relations at UNC Charlotte.
Doster assumed her new role, which
will include serving as the University’s
governmental liaison to the North Carolina
General Assembly, in December.
Doster previously served as senior
vice president, public policy, at Bank of
America in Charlotte. In her new role,
she will have primary responsibility for
fostering and expanding the University’s
relationships with the state, regional and
local governmental and non-governmental
organizations that can strengthen
the University in its ability to deliver
educational and research programs in
support of its mission. The position reports
jointly to Chancellor Philip L. Dubois
and Niles Sorensen, vice chancellor of
development and alumni affairs and interim
vice chancellor for university relations and
community affairs. Doster will serve as a
member of the Chancellor’s Cabinet.
“I’m absolutely thrilled that UNC
Charlotte has been able to attract one
of the top government and community
relations professionals in North Carolina,”
Dubois said. “With a 28 year professional
career in this state, she has developed
excellent relationships with key leaders
across the region and state, and across
party lines. She’s just the right person
to strengthen our relationships with
governmental agencies at all levels and,
in collaboration with the UNC President
and his staff, to advocate effectively for
the University even in these most
challenging times.”
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
n ew s b r i e f | UNC CHARLOTTE
“Having grown-up in this region, I
have seen firsthand the significant and
important impact UNC Charlotte has had
in education, economic development and
quality of life for all of our citizens,” Doster
said. “This new role with UNC Charlotte
presents a great opportunity to cultivate
new and deeper relationships with leaders
throughout the state, and nationally.”
Before joining the bank in 2001, she
served for several years as senior vice
president for public affairs at Springs
Industries, in Ft. Mill, S.C., and before that
as public affairs director with Coca-Cola
Bottling Co., Consolidated in Charlotte.
Among many professional associations,
Doster has served as a member of the
North Carolina Chamber of Commerce
Government Relations Council, member
of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
Executive Committee and as a director
of the North Carolina Center for Public
Policy. In 2009, she was the recipient of
the Charlotte Business Journal Women in
Business Award. She earned a bachelor’s
degree in political science from UNC
Chapel Hill. She is recently married to
Simms Doster; they reside in Charlotte.
“UNC Charlotte has Doster has a 20-year record of
involvement with UNC Charlotte. In
attracted one of the the early 1990s she helped advocate to
the General Assembly in seeking doctoral
top government and programs for the University, and later
the bioinformatics program, Energy
community relations Production and Infrastructure Center,
Center City Building and funding for
professionals in lateral entry for teachers. She joined the
University’s Athletic Foundation Board
North Carolina.” in 1990.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 3
UNC CHARLOTTE | n e w s briefs

news briefs
English Professor it was time for the community librarian Stanley Wilder moderated a panel
Organizes “A Tribute to show its appreciation to the on mystery writing, and students from a
to Novello” library for what the festival has number of classes served as volunteers.
Mark West, a faculty come to mean,” West explained.
member in the English Instead of a week’s worth of University Volunteers
Department, staked a claim events, “A Tribute to Novello” Help Middle School Kids
to community engagement took place during two UNC Charlotte is staking its claim
by organizing “A Tribute to weekends. The first weekend to community outreach through a new
Novello” in October. featured adult authors, and the educational partnership with Hands On
Novello, a popular literary final day featured young adult Charlotte. Through the Hands On Schools
Mark West
festival normally produced by and children’s authors. initiative, University volunteers will be able to
the Charlotte Mecklenburg UNC Charlotte faculty assist students at James Martin Middle School.
Library, is on hiatus due to budget cuts. members Aaron Gwyn and Aimee Parkison, “Hands On Schools is part of a national
“I felt like the community had benefited English, and Andrew Hartley, theatre, effort to increase academic achievement in
from Novello for all these years, and maybe participated in panel discussions. University elementary, middle and high schools,” said

Laboratory Honors Racing Trailblazer

Friends and family of 1992 Winston Cup Champion Alan
Kulwicki gathered with members of the N.C. Motorsports
and Automotive Research Center Advisory Board and UNC
Charlotte representatives to dedicate the Alan D. Kulwicki
Motorsports Laboratory on Oct. 13.
In the fall of 2009, Thelma Kulwicki made a gift to support
the Motorsports Engineering Program in The William States Lee
College of Engineering. The University’s existing motorsports
research laboratory has now been named in memory of Alan
The Alan D. Kulwicki Motorsports Laboratory was named in honor of
deceased Winston Cup Champion Alan Kulwicki. His mother, Thelma
Kulwicki, whose philanthropic efforts have bolstered motorsports
engineering programs in both Charlotte and Wisconsin, attended the
dedication ceremony.
Kulwicki, whose promising career
was cut short when he died in a
plane crash.
“Thelma’s philanthropy
in honor of her son provides
resources for future motorsports
engineers and is already helping
reinforce classroom instruction
with hands-on experience,”
said Robert Johnson, dean of Alan Kulwicki
The William States Lee College
of Engineering. “Her generous gift will lead to innovations in
motorsports safety and advancements in vehicle performance.”
The first college graduate to win stock car racing’s premier
title and the first person to both own and drive for his own team,
Kulwicki was a trailblazer in the modern era of NASCAR racing.
The University’s connection with the legacy of Alan Kulwicki
began in 1994 when R.J. Reynolds and Kulwicki’s fans helped
establish the Alan Kulwicki Memorial Scholarship. In addition,
with contributions from Felix Sabates, a wing of the athletic
complex located adjacent to the softball field was named in
Kulwicki’s honor. The Kulwicki family has also agreed to
donate racing memorabilia for display in UNC Charlotte’s new
motorsports facility, which is currently in the planning stages.
UNC Charlotte’s Motorsports and Automotive Engineering
program was created in 1998 with the formation of a
motorsports concentration within the Department of Mechanical
Engineering and Engineering Science. The program offers one
of the most innovative, hands‐on educational experiences in
the country. As a result, roughly 10 percent of all NASCAR
engineers are UNC Charlotte graduates.

4 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


Edna Dash in the Division for University
Relations and Community Affairs who is
coordinating the University’s involvement.
“The Cougars of James Martin Middle
School number more than 1,300 students in
sixth through eighth grades. Last year, only
54 percent of the attendees performed at or
above grade level, so the need is great,” she
said. “With the efforts of UNC Charlotte
faculty, staff and students, we can increase
student achievement and make a difference in
the students’ lives.”
According to Dash, members of the
campus community can choose from a variety
of volunteer opportunities.
“Not only will faculty and staff help
students with their academic needs, but they
will provide students with a positive role
model,” Dash noted.
Located three miles from campus, James
Martin Middle School has a student population
of which 65 percent qualify for free or reduced
lunch, a common indicator of need.
UNC Charlotte Eliminates
Graduation Rate Gap
Nationwide, significant gaps exist between
six-year graduation rates of white students
and graduation rates of African-American
and Hispanic students. Recent reports by the
Education Trust list UNC Charlotte among a
handful of public and private institutions that
have systematically closed the race gap.
According to the Education Trust, 60
percent of whites but just 40 percent of African
Americans and 49 percent of Latinos who start
college earn bachelor’s degrees six years later.
The organization’s researchers reviewed
graduation data from four-year colleges and
universities across the country and compiled
a list of schools that have eliminated
graduation-rate disparities. The researchers
then published their findings in two reports.
One examines African-American student
graduation rates, and the other focuses on
Hispanic students.
UNC Charlotte joins the University of
California-Riverside and UNC Greensboro
on the list of institutions that have eliminated
white-black graduation disparities.
Continued on p. 6
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
n ew s b r i e f s | UNC CHARLOTTE
Jeffrey Price, associate professor of music, accepts the Bank of America Award for Teaching
Excellence from Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and Robert Qutub, managing director of finance
for global banking and markets, Bank of America. Also pictured are provost Joan Lorden and
selection committee chair Meg Morgan.
Price Wins University’s
Top Teaching Award
Associate Professor of Music Jeffrey Price was selected as the 2010 recipient of the
highest teaching honor bestowed by UNC Charlotte – the Bank of America Award
for Teaching Excellence.
In announcing the winner, Meg Morgan, associate professor of English, 2008
winner and chair of the selection committee noted, “Dr. Price’s students are
encouraged to apply what they learn in the classroom in a performance setting, and
throughout the process they know Dr. Price will support their efforts.”
According to one student, “Dr. Price is a very approachable teacher,
knowledgeable, articulate, positive and caring. Students respond very positively to his
instructions and achieve success in their efforts.”
Another student said: “He brings out the best in all his students and sees qualities of
goodness that we did not know existed. He’s always cheerful and will present all of your
positive attributes to you before explaining what needs to be worked on. He’s a talented
vocalist and makes you believe you will sing like him one day if you apply yourself.”
For Price, the essence of his teaching philosophy and activities is rooted in a love
and pursuit to help others attain knowledge, successfully apply information and
experience wholeness. “I adopt my students in such a way that, when I am with
them, they are the most important thing in the world to me at that particular point
in time,” he said. “I do not teach music; I do not teach voices; I teach people.”
Price joined UNC Charlotte in 1992. After completing bachelor’s and master’s degrees
from UNC Greensboro, he earned a Ph.D. in 1989 from Florida State University. Prior to
joining UNC Charlotte, he served on the faculty of Marshall University.
Price was selected from a prestigious list of finalists for the award. The other
nominees were: Matthew Davies, associate professor, mechanical engineering and
engineering science; Janos Gergely, associate professor, civil and environmental
engineering; Jeanneine Jones, professor, middle, secondary and K-12 education; and
Beth Whitaker, associate professor, political science.
The five finalists were honored during an September ceremony and gala attended by
UNC Charlotte faculty members and their guests at Bank of America’s Founder’s Hall.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 5
UNC CHARLOTTE | n e w s briefs
news briefs
Continued from p. 5
In an interview with Inside Higher Ed,
UNC Charlotte Associate Provost for
Academic Services Cynthia Wolf Johnson
discussed the University’s summer bridge
program, which just celebrated its
25th anniversary,
and the Student
Advising for
Freshman
Excellence
program, which
provides intensive
advising and
support for
between a third
and half of first-
Cynthia Wolf Johnson
year students.
Wolf credits the University’s “longstanding
commitment to retention and graduation
of minority students” for a black student
graduation rate that mirrors white students’
six-year rate of 50.1 percent. Overall
graduation rates are significantly higher for
participants in the University’s bridge and
advising programs.
That commitment could factor into
prospective students’ decision making.
This year’s freshman class is more diverse than
last year’s with 7.7 percent more African-
American and 22.3 percent more Hispanic
students. Those percentages don’t include
students who identify themselves as belonging
to two or more ethnic or racial groups.
University/Industry
Partnerships Critical
to Economy
UNC Charlotte welcomed representatives
from industry, public and private universities,
foundations and government agencies for
the fall meeting of the University-Industry
Demonstration Partnership (UIDP) group on
the Charlotte Research Institute campus.
According to the UIDP, successful
university-industry partnerships result
in benefits to society such as economic
growth and increased public accessibility to
scientific discovery and development through
commercialization. However, issues such as
intellectual property and conflicting views on
6 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu
Schley Lyons
1933-2010
A service in memory of former College
of Liberal Arts and Sciences dean Schley
Lyons was held on campus Oct. 25. Lyons,
whose service to UNC Charlotte spanned
more than two decades, was remembered
by colleagues, friends and family for his
leadership, competitive spirit and grace.
Lyons served as the first chairman of UNC
Charlotte’s political science department and
later became the first dean of the College of
Liberal Arts & Sciences. Lyons passed away
July 17, 2010.
the dissemination of information often lead to
a break down of negotiations.
The UIDP aims to identify and produce
solutions for the major roadblocks to
productive university-industry partnerships.
“Industries and universities represent starkly
different cultures, making collaboration
difficult at times. And yet we must collaborate
effectively if we’re going to move university
ideas into the marketplace,” said Stephen
Mosier, UNC Charlotte Vice Chancellor of
Research and Federal Relations.
“UIDP was convened by
the National Academies for
this very reason, namely to
bridge these disparate cultures,
and Executive Director Tony
Boccanfuso has done an
absolutely remarkable job of
bringing us together to find
common ground for tackling
important issues.”
UNC Charlotte is among
select institutions piloting an Steve Mosier
effort launched a year ago as
part of the UNC General Administration’s
strategic vision for the university system,
known as UNC Tomorrow. With guidance
and analysis from leadership at IBM, the
Innovation and Technology Development
Initiative was created to “leverage our
intellectual capital and private partnerships
to create and transfer university discoveries
to the marketplace, and ultimately to
the public, and to do it better than any
other university in the world,” as noted by
outgoing UNC President Erskine Bowles.
The idea behind this initiative — that
university research can and should find its
way to the marketplace — is as old as the
modern university itself. As early as the
18th century, research discoveries made
at universities began to trickle into the
mainstream. The initiative provides a road
map for UNC institutions to approach
technology innovation
and transfer in a modern,
collaborative way. Conference
participants learned more
about the successful initiative
in a workshop led by
representatives from the
pilot campuses.
“UNC Charlotte has a
strong record of partnering
with industry, and so when we
were asked if we’d like to host
a meeting, we quickly said
yes,” Mosier said. “We’re very proud to be a
member of UIDP.”
The meeting, organized around
the theme, “Accelerating Innovation:
System-level Strategies for University-
Industry Collaboration,” was sponsored
by UNC Charlotte, the UNC General
Administration and IBM.
 n ew s b r i e f s | UNC CHARLOTTE

Runners and walkers enjoyed a beautiful fall morning on UNC Charlotte’s campus at the second annual 4.NINER K run/walk.
Funds raised at the event will provide need-based scholarship support to students.

2nd Annual 4.NINER K Draws Over 600 Participants

UNC Charlotte now has a record enrollment of more
than 25,000 students. A significant number of these students
may not have the resources to continue their studies without
financial assistance in the spring.
The 4.NINER K community run/walk for need-based
scholarships was created in 2009 to help these students remain
in school. Now in its second year, roughly 620 people joined
UNC Charlotte men’s and women’s basketball coaches, Alan
Major and Karen Aston, on Oct. 23 to kick off the race. The
race began at 8:49 a.m. at the Student Union on Craver Road.
Ashley Oster, director of community affairs in the Division
for University Relations and Community Affairs, noted that the
beautiful day “was full of energy and hope and a great chance
to come together for students. We appreciated the opportunity
to host alumni and the community on campus and know they
left feeling positive and with a renewed appreciation for our
changing campus landscape.”
All race proceeds will be used to fund need-based
scholarships for current students. Last year’s race raised $27,000
in scholarship support. This year, the number of financial-aid
applications has increased by almost 30 percent over last
year’s numbers.
Prizes went to the overall top three male and female
participants, top three teams, and top three men and women
in each age group. UNC Charlotte Assistant Track Coach Ed
Schlichter was the overall race winner. His finishing time of 16
minutes, 10 seconds, trumped last year’s winning time by two
minutes. In addition, this year marked the first for team sign-
ups; 14 teams competed.
A number of faculty and staff members participated in the
event, including Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and his wife Lisa
Lewis Dubois; Art Jackson, vice chancellor for student affairs;
Niles Sorensen, vice chancellor for development and alumni
affairs and interim vice chancellor for university relations and
community affairs; and Judy Rose, director of athletics.
Major sponsors for the event were the UNC Charlotte
Alumni Association, OrthoCarolina, Carolinas Medical Center
University and Fifth Third Bank.

www.UNCC.edu  Q410 | UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 7

 Researchers
investigate
“green”
mystery

Urban
By James Hathaway

Sleuths

8 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


Charlotte is a rapidly growing city. It is
also a green city. Some people might see that
as a contradiction.
In Charlotte, wooded lots and remnant
farms plots are almost in the shadow of
the towers of the nation’s second largest
financial center. There are also many
sizable tracts of undeveloped land within
the city’s boundaries. Social scientists find
the co-existence of strong urban growth
and persistent green areas puzzling. The
National Science Foundation (NSF) thinks
that Charlotte’s complex environment
might make an interesting site for long-term
research in urban growth and sustainability.
After more than 12,000 years of
civilization, more people now live in cities
than in any other environment, yet our
understanding of urban dynamics is still
incomplete. Cities’ paths to prosperity
or failure, sustainability or decay are still
mysterious to us because, like the humans
that created them, urban systems are
extremely complicated.
For this reason, the NSF has been funding
innovative, interdisciplinary research aimed
at studying the phenomenon of how cities
grow and function as ecosystems, beginning
with the 1998 establishment of two urban
Long-term Ecological Research sites in
Phoenix and Baltimore. Some important
things have been learned, but now the NSF
is considering establishing new study sites,
and is looking at 17 different cities as possible
locations. Charlotte is one of them.
Researchers at UNC Charlotte have
already been awarded $300,000 by
NSF’s Urban Long-Term Research Areas
Exploratory Research Projects (ULTRA-
EX) competition — one of the 17 national
awards given for pilot urban research
projects. The exploratory projects are research
trials that may lead to the later award of an
ULTRA site, which would be a long-term
study site with major NSF funding for
urban-environment research.
Charlotte, which has experienced dynamic
urban growth without losing all the pastoral
charms of the North Carolina piedmont,
may offer scientists an ideal living laboratory
to study what makes a “human-dominated
ecosystem” tick. “We have the opportunity
to track and understand what is going on
because we are catching Charlotte early
enough in its growth trajectory,” said Ross
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
Meentemeyer, UNC Charlotte professor
of geography and earth sciences and the
ULTRA-EX grant’s principal investigator.
‘OPPORTUNITY TO
WATCH DEVELOPMENT’
“Because of that we have a chance to
determine if there are possibilities for
alternative futures for Charlotte,” he
continued. “Charlotte might be one of the
best examples of a city projected to grow
so fast and so big — we have a unique
opportunity here to watch development.”
If Charlotte’s “city-in-transition” status
makes it an attractive site to observe urban
social and environmental dynamics, its
conditions are also ideal for performing
laboratory-like experiments in how the
research findings might be applied and how
urban change might be managed.
“The beauty of the situation is that if,
working with public officials, we find a
The Charlotte
ULTRA exploratory
project will focus
on the issue of the
“persistence” of
forest and
farmlands within
urban boundaries.
fe a t u re | UNC CHARLOTTE
different course of action that can be followed,
it could be very informative to the local
stakeholders,” Meentemeyer noted.
According to NSF, the grant will “provide
support to enable teams of scientists and
practitioners to conduct interdisciplinary
research on the dynamic interactions between
people and natural ecosystems in urban
settings in ways that will advance both
fundamental and applied knowledge.”
Meentemeyer, a landscape ecologist and
director of UNC Charlotte’s Center for
Applied Geographic Information Science,
heads the inter-disciplinary research team.
Other members of the group are Jean-Claude
Thill, Knight Distinguished Professor of
Geography and Earth Sciences at UNC
Charlotte, who is an authority on urban
systems and modeling; William Ribarsky,
chair of the Department of Computer Science
and director of the Charlotte Visualization
Center; Chunhua Wang, an environmental
economist in the Department of Geography
and Earth Sciences; and Todd BenDor,
assistant professor in the Department of
City & Regional Planning at UNC Chapel
Hill and an authority on land-use planning
and public policy. Meentemeyer, Thill and
Ribarsky are affiliated with the Renaissance
Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC
Charlotte, part of a statewide network of
engagement sites that bring academic expertise
and computing technology to bear on real-
world problems.
So, while the project will perform basic
research on urban dynamics and links between
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 9
UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re

economic and environmental sustainability,

the science will be tied to real-life issues and
will closely involve the ongoing work of local
agencies and land-management professionals.
The UNC Charlotte Urban Institute,
another RENCI partner, will lead the project’s
community engagement efforts, convening
stakeholder meetings to gather feedback from
community partners on research design,
landowner recruitment, interpretation and
application of results. Community partners
currently include the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Forest Service, the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, the North Carolina
Wildlife Resource Commission, the Catawba
Lands Conservancy, the North Carolina State
University Forestry Department Extension,
Gaston County Cooperative Extension,
Catawba Regional Council of Governments,
Centralia Council of Governments, Land
Trust for Central North Carolina and Nations
Ford Land Trust.
The Charlotte ULTRA exploratory project
will focus particularly on the issue of the
“persistence” of forest and farm lands within
the urban boundaries. In Meentemeyer’s
words, the project aims to answer the
essential question: “Hidden in Charlotte’s
current dynamic urban environment, are
there alternative futures for growth where
urbanization, forest and working lands can
co-exist in an economic and environmentally
sustainable fashion?”

Ross Meentemeyer

At the heart of the project is a two-year
plan to develop a complex and sophisticated
computer model that will allow the researchers
and land-planning partners to examine
“alternative futures” that might result from a
wide variety of new variables — new laws and
regulations, changing economic, political or
environmental conditions or emerging social
and cultural forces.
BETTER DATA, BETTER MODELS
Charlotte already presents a mystery the
researchers will need the model to understand:
according to researchers’ and planners’ basic
theories of how economic forces drive land
use, the city’s many pastoral areas should have
already been swallowed up by the surrounding
development. Curiously, they have not been.
“There’s a top-down hierarchy of factors
that should influence landowners’ decisions
to develop,” Meentemeyer said. “Yet we often
see locations where the development value far
exceeds the human or ecological intrinsic value
of the land, but the forest or agricultural area
still persists. Why is that? There is something
going on there that we don’t understand.”

10 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


“It is really well studied why things change,”
agreed Douglas Shoemaker, UNC Charlotte
Center for Applied GIScience associate director,
“yet we are seeing an unexpected pattern.
Why doesn’t everything go? In principle,
urbanization and agriculture and forestry
cannot co-exist but, despite that, we see it in
Charlotte. ‘Why’ is a great research question.”
A casual observer driving around greater
Charlotte can see what the researchers are
talking about: The occasional still-wooded
lot found amid the lawns and willow oak-
lined streets of Myers Park, one of Charlotte’s
oldest suburbs. Small tracts of farmland
nestled among luxury home developments,
high density housing and golf courses in the
SouthPark area. Sizable fields and farms in
University City (including UNC Charlotte’s
considerable tracts of still undeveloped
woodland) adjacent to apartment complexes
and business parks.
Finally, there is the fact that the Charlotte
urban area extends significantly beyond
Mecklenburg County, though quite large
pieces of open land lie between developments.
As the city continues to grow, the boundaries
between what is urban and what is countryside
become confused.
The researchers believe the secret to
developing a model that can help analyze
such complex urban development issues
is to incorporate into the calculations not
only all the complicated interconnected
variables of regulations, economics and
physical or environmental conditions, but
also something equally intricate and far
more elusive — the values, attitudes and
preferences of the people who currently own
and occupy the city’s landscape.
To get a realistic version of these personal
factors into the model, a major part of the
research involves the sophisticated surveying of
a large sample of the city’s current landowners
to get detailed information on their attitudes
and values, which, when added with all the
other data, will help the computer model
predict how they would react in any number of
hypothetical situations. In essence, the culture
and attitudes of real people will become a
critical part of an abstract, analytical system.
“We will use a set of methods that will get
at people’s motivations, not on the basis of
actual choices, but to reveal their preferences
with respect to hypothetical future situations,”
Thill explained. “That’s pretty innovative, and
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
we’ll try to feed that into some of the modeling
later on. Once the model is put in place, we can
try to look at some policies hypothetically.”
Thill pointed out that both individual
choices and larger, impersonal forces control
changes in urban land. “When you make
the decision to develop your own land, that
is a personal decision, but your action is also
within the context of what is going on within
the municipality, which has inferences as well
from what is going on at the regional level,
political and cultural influences, the tradition
of the community and so on,” Thill said,
illustrating the human complexity of creating
an accurate model.
“It is novel that we are using a survey-
based analysis to guide the parameters of the
agent-based model,” Meentemeyer agreed.
“Agent-based models are trendy, but they are
not always that well guided — they are often
very hypothetical. We want to ground ours
with real data.”
INTERDISCIPLINARY
APPROACH CRITICAL
Such a complex research project is possible
because unusual connections have developed
at UNC Charlotte under the aegis of RENCI.
Connections across academic disciplines in
natural, social and technological sciences allow
an interdisciplinary approach to the mind-
boggling intricacies of interacting human and
natural systems.
A UNC Charlotte research specialty that
comes into play is the university’s Charlotte
Visualization Center, a multi-disciplinary unit
that studies advanced data analysis through
developing visualization tools.
“A project like this involves tens, if not
hundreds of variables,” explained Charlotte
Visualization Center Director and co-
principal investigator Ribarsky. “We will need
to look at the behavior of those variables
as they interact — things like pressure to
develop, which is influenced by a variety of
conditions, combined with the effects of open
land, the effects of resources like water and
transportation and power… economic and
social and cultural details also come into play.
There are all of these ‘dimensions,’ as we call
them in visualization research — they can all
change the development pattern.”
Ribarsky noted that the problem with
complex interactions that involve a multitude
of variables is that it is often very difficult to
fe a t u re | UNC CHARLOTTE
see and understand what the nature of the
interaction is.
“We need to see how the dimensions behave
with respect to one another and also how a
growth pattern in one area correlates with a
growth pattern in another area,” he said. “Using
visualization techniques, we will develop tools
changes in urban lands are controlled by ‘probes’
that will allow us to see how the variables are
changing and developing and compare them to
find differences for any regions we choose.
“The tools are highly interactive and can
be used in an exploratory way to help the
researchers see the dynamics of the system they
are studying,” he continued. “Their use can reveal
the detailed behavior of the model in a way that
had not been revealed before.”
In the end, the team hopes to develop a
sophisticated model that will give land planners
a valuable and versatile tool to look into the
future and to see with greater clarity the effects
of a multitude of potential future conditions and
policy decisions.
“It’s a simulation,” Meentemeyer said. “We
can change the parameters any number of
possible ways and then see what kind of human
and ecological landscape gets created. This
will allow us to understand what policies will
actually work to build a more sustainable city.
“Decision makers can make policies, but
no one knows right now if they are going to
work,” he added. “It’s a tricky thing to try to
figure it out. If we can help a bit, it will be an
important contribution.”
James Hathaway is research
communications manager at
UNC Charlotte.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 11
UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re

Not

AWAY
By Lisa A. Patterson
Simple
Behaviors
Can Improve
Illustrated by Myron Macklin

Brain Health
12 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu

On a beautiful October day in 2008, Greg
and Laura Mercer left Duke Medical Center
to visit their adult children, one a student
at UNC Chapel Hill, the other a student at
UNC Asheville. Their road trip had a distinct
purpose — to tell their daughter and son that
they had finally received a diagnosis for the
mysterious, frustrating medical condition that
had been plaguing Laura for at least two years:
early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
While rare, it is possible for someone as
young as Laura (she was 48 at the time of
diagnosis) to develop Alzheimer’s, a progressive
brain disease affecting memory, personality
and cognitive abilities.
From that day forward, the Mercers
committed to live life to the fullest. For
Laura, then a high-powered public relations
executive, jet-setting around the world held no
appeal. Rather, she longed to spend as much
time as possible at home, surrounded by the
people and possessions she loves.
Since the diagnosis, the Mercers have
become steadfast supporters of the Alzheimer’s
Association and vocal advocates for research
to find a cure as well as services to help the
millions of families touched by the disease.
After all, Laura emphasized, every 70 seconds
someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of
dementia, a general term for loss of memory
and other intellectual abilities serious enough
to interfere with daily life.
“Dementia is more widespread than
people may think — it’s a broad spectrum
illness,” said Jim Laditka, UNC Charlotte
associate professor of public health sciences.
“People think about memory loss when
they think of Alzheimer’s and dementia. But
dementias also involve all sorts of brain and
behavior changes — loss of language and loss
of executive functions, such as the ability to
plan, evaluate, and make judgments.”
Alzheimer’s accounts for 50 to 70 percent
of dementia cases.
According to the recently released
“Shriver Report,” it is a disease that
disproportionately affects women. Nearly
two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s
are women, and it is the second most
prevalent disease among women in
Mecklenburg County.
Alzheimer’s cases are expected to rise to as high
as 16 million by 2050 as baby boomers age. The
report said there currently are an estimated 5.3
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
“Alzheimer’s
cases are
expected to
rise to as high
as 16 million
by 2050.”
million people with Alzheimer’s in the United
States, and 10.9 million unpaid caregivers.
“Alzheimer’s has the potential to bankrupt
the American healthcare system — it’s a huge
policy issue and much needs to be done to
raise awareness with our public officials and the
general public,” Greg Mercer said. “On a local
level, we’re trying to get the word out about
resources available through the Alzheimer’s
Association which can make a real difference to
those affected by this devastating disease.”
Lori Walker, executive director of the Western
N.C. chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association,
said the Mercers’ experience encapsulates the
experience of many families before a diagnosis
is granted. “You never really get a diagnosis the
minute the disease process starts. The family has
been dealing with something for years before
they can really put their finger on what the
problem is,” Walker noted.
The Alzheimer’s Association lists 10 warning
signs of Alzheimer’s on their Web site (www.alz.
org). The first is memory loss that disrupts daily
life. But microscopic changes in the brain begin
long before the first signs of memory loss.
Signs of Illness
Looking back, the Mercers recognize that
incidents they thought might be products of the
stress and fatigue brought about by Laura’s job
were actually signs of illness.
“One of my specialties was media interview
training in crisis communications,” Laura said.
A trip to Houston to administer training to
executives at a forestry company was an early
fe a t u re | UNC CHARLOTTE
indicator something was amiss. “It was near the
end of the second day — I assumed I was tired
— I asked a question, the client answered, and
it occurred to me that I didn’t remember what
that person said, so I turned to my colleague
and asked him how he would answer the
question. I did that three or four times.”
Not long after the Houston trip, Greg and
Laura met at a restaurant for dinner. As they
were driving home in separate cars, Laura
missed the turnoff to their street. That night,
she began to hallucinate. “She had the phone
and had it turned upside down, and she was
saying words I recognized, but they made no
sense,” Greg said.
Laura’s journey to a diagnosis began with
an internist who sent her to a psychiatrist.
Two years and several different ineffective
medications later, she went to a neurologist
for a battery of cognitive tests. More extensive
testing at Duke Medical Center followed.
Laura, who was accustomed to working
60- to 80-hour weeks, has had to adapt to
a new, more self-focused life. She exercises
daily, eats healthy “brain rich” foods, works
jigsaw puzzles and writes a blog. “All these
activities are designed to maintain cognitive
abilities while we pray for a medical
breakthrough,” Greg said.
Alzheimer’s disease was first recognized
and described in 1906 when Dr. Alois
Alzheimer performed an autopsy on a
patient who died after years of severe
memory problems, confusion and difficulty
understanding questions. The doctor
discovered dense deposits, known as
plaques, surrounding the nerve cells, and
twisted bands of fibers, or tangles, inside the
nerve cells.
Today, the plaques and tangles identified
by Alzheimer are considered definitive
markers of the disease. But it wasn’t until
the 1960s that Alzheimer’s was formally
recognized as a disease and not a normal part
of aging, when scientists discovered a link
between cognitive decline and the number of
plaques and tangles in the brain.
In the ensuing decades, scientists have
identified potential environmental, genetic
and other risk factors for the disease and
several drugs have been approved to treat the
cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer’s. However,
Alzheimer’s remains incurable, its cause
unknown. The available drugs only slow the
progression of cognitive decline.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 13
UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re

Promoting Health
to Reduce Risk
Like the Mercers, the Laditkas are partners
in every sense of the word. But unlike Laura
and Greg, Jim and Sarah Laditka, both of
whom are UNC Charlotte associate professors
of public health sciences, made the choice to
battle Alzheimer’s disease through academia.
The weapons in their arsenal are trained on
information, research and education.
In 2005, Congress appropriated money for
the first time to study the possibility of promot-
ing health to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s dis-
ease, and more generally to promote brain health.
Jim was tapped to lead a national research
effort funded by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, with support from
the Alzheimer’s Association, known as the
“Healthy Brain Study.”
One of the largest qualitative research
studies to be conducted in the United States,
the project involved nine universities and took
four years to complete. Researchers held 85 Jim and Sarah Laditka led a national research effort funded by the Centers for Disease Control and
focus groups and many extended interviews in Prevention, with support from the Alzheimer’s Association, known as the “Healthy Brain Study.”
four different languages at multiple locations.
“We collected data to understand people’s
views, thoughts, beliefs and concerns about ‘Desperately Concerned risk of cognitive decline,” Sarah said. “I can
brain health generally, to better understand About Brain Health’ say from my reading of the literature in the
how they view the role of brain health in aging National surveys indicate that among last five or six years that the evidence in terms
well,” Jim said. “That allowed us to gain data people ages 50 and older, cognitive health is of epidemiology is very compelling to me that
from various population groups that would the primary health concern. being physically active reduces cardiovascular
help us identify differences in the way people “They are desperately concerned about risk and is directly tied to reducing risk of
thought about these issues, as well as differ- their brain health. When they learn there is cognitive decline.”
ences in their views about the behaviors now the possibility to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s Working in concert with confusing
thought to be associated with brain health.” disease and increase the likelihood of media messages are cultural norms that
Sarah led the massive task of analyzing the maintaining their brain function over time conflict with healthy behaviors, community
Healthy Brain Study data, managing and cod- through relatively simple behaviors, that’s environments that inhibit behavior change
ing thousands of pages of transcripts. The data a motivator we haven’t had before. That’s and the all-too-human tendency to seek a
has been used in nearly 20 peer-reviewed pa- a motivator for good health habits that are simple solution for complex problems —
pers, published in premier academic journals. associated with all sorts of tremendously taking a pill is far more convenient than
Ultimately, the Laditkas hope the information positive health outcomes,” Jim explained. changing one’s health behaviors.
will reach policy makers and researchers. Sometimes even the most clear-cut health Complementary and alternative medicines
“There were relatively few publications in messages — for instance, being physically (CAM) seem to have gained a foothold in
this area prior to this work; we helped to estab- active, eating a heart healthy diet and the vacuum of pharmaceutical solutions. A
lish the field through this publication stream,” staying socially involved will reduce one’s research study conducted by the Laditkas and
Jim said. risk of cognitive decline — get convoluted two UNC Charlotte health services research
The Laditkas see a chasm between the by competing messages in the media. For doctoral students found that approximately
information resulting from the study and example, Sarah noted that a recent New York 10 percent of older people are using CAM
widespread understanding of cognitive Times article presented a confusing picture of specifically with the expectation that it will
health. They are hoping to bridge the divide the evidence about the relationship between improve their cognitive health.
by crafting public health interventions and healthy behaviors and brain health. “Gingko biloba is one of the most widely
communications that help people under- “That data was being promoted through used herbal supplements for cognitive
stand the potential that exists in maintain- the lens of popular communication, and it health, and that’s one area where we have
ing and promoting cognitive health through gave the impression that it doesn’t matter what very strong science that there’s probably
healthy behaviors. you do — that there’s no way to reduce your no benefit, and it can have a negative

14 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


interaction with drugs older people
commonly take,” Sarah said.
To combat misinformation, the Laditkas
emphasize the importance of healthy behavior
modification, chiefly exercise, to anyone who
will listen.
“The most wonderful thing about the
physical activity results is they are very easily
attainable by large numbers of people,” Jim
said. There is no generally accepted amount of
physical activity that might protect the brain.
Sarah and Jim agreed that the best current
advice is to meet the CDC’s recommended
physical activity level. For adults, that’s 150
minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity,
such as brisk walking every week, or 75
minutes of vigorous aerobic activity such as
jogging or running every week.
Jim stressed that even people with
perfectly healthy behaviors may develop
cognitive problems, including Alzheimer’s.
“The evidence from epidemiology and
animal studies increasingly suggests that we
may be able to dramatically increase our
chances of staying sharp through healthy
behaviors,” Jim said. “This is extremely
positive news. But some individuals
with healthy behaviors will still develop
Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder.”
Living Independently,
Changing Roles
At the heart of the burgeoning interest
in cognitive health is the desire to maintain
independence. The degree of an individual’s
cognitive health equates to the degree to which
he or she can live independently.
While some cultures embrace caregiving
as a natural part of the lifecycle, economic
and medical issues sometimes preclude
even those who relish the role from doing it
well. Whatever the cultural context of the
situation, individuals who find themselves
in the caregiver role often experience
tremendous stress.
“I will tell you that Greg is a wonderful
caregiver,” Laura said. “He does get
frustrated, and I try not to frustrate him…I
do the best I can…”
Since Laura got sick, Greg’s role in the
marital relationship has changed. The
couple jokes about Laura’s “husband-
approved driving zone,” and Laura’s
propensity to move around the medicines
Greg sets up each day. “It’s in Laura’s nature
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
to mess with the medicine,” Greg said with
a laugh.
Thus far, Greg explains, the transition to
caregiver has been less onerous than taking on
many of the tasks Laura used to handle with
aplomb — the family’s taxes, for example.
Among the attributes that define the
Mercers’ 28-year marriage is shared decision-
making. Alzheimer’s has drastically changed
that aspect of their lives. “I miss a partner
in that more than anything else,” Greg said.
Laura Mercer was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in 2008. Now
Laura and her husband, Greg, advocate for awareness and research of the disease,
which affects more than 5 million people in the United States.
“My dad passed away two years ago, and if
Laura had been well, she would have taken
on a lot of the tasks that had to be done with
settling the estate.”
“Taking care of Laura is not hard,”
he continued. “I don’t know what it’s
going to be like five or 10 years down the
road. …Right now I get frustrated with
bureaucracies and the things Laura used
to insulate me from,” Greg said. “My
frustration has come from having to handle
these chores, more than making sure she
gets her medicine or gets to the doctor.”
Greg, an advertising executive by day,
confronted bureaucracy in its many forms
during the long journey to diagnosis, as
well as throughout the treatment process.
“I don’t know how people with ‘regular’
jobs can do this — I would be on the
phone for well over an hour at times
trying to get the right forms, and the right
information,” he said, noting that his
schedule is relatively flexible.
fe a t u re | UNC CHARLOTTE
The Mercers have learned to take life day-by-
day. They use their experience to educate others
and to raise awareness of the resources that are
available through the Alzheimer’s Association.
Most recently, the couple served as honorary
chairpersons for the Charlotte Memory Walk,
an annual fundraiser for Alzheimer’s research,
and Laura was selected as a member of the
Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Advisory Group, which
provides feedback to the national organization.
“The kids are grown, we’re not ready to retire,
and this is our mission in life,” Greg said.
The Laditkas have adopted a similar mission
in the hope of raising awareness of Alzheimer’s
disease and other forms of dementia, while
also providing research-based approaches to
reducing risk of cognitive decline.
“Many people don’t give much thought
to how long they might live. If an individual
reaches 65, their life expectancy is roughly
to live to an average of 85,” Jim said.
“Roughly half of people who make it to 65
will live beyond 85. The risk of developing
Alzheimer’s-related disorders rises dramatically
from 85 onward.”
All the more reason to invest in brain health:
“Brain health is a continuum. Even though
there may be some decline with age, you want
to slow it or delay it. The idea is to maintain
brain health at its optimum throughout the
lifespan,” Jim said.
Lisa A. Patterson is senior writer
in the Office of Public Relations.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 15
UNC CHARLOTTE | s t a ke yo u r c l a i m p ro f i l e

Unabashed and Loving it

Gene Johnson, first alumnus to lead Board of Trustees
By Paul Nowell

Gene Johnson recently was installed as

the chairman of the UNC Charlotte Board
of Trustees, taking over from Ruth Shaw.
Making it an even more historical event is
the fact that Johnson is the first alumnus to
lead the University’s governing board.
While Johnson is retired, he is far from
retiring in his affection and dedication to
his alma mater. Unabashed in his fanatic
support for 49ers sports, his personal
mission statement also features a goal
to improve the academic reputation of
UNC Charlotte.
Johnson has been involved with UNC
Charlotte for most of his life as a member
of several boards and committees and as a
generous supporter. The former chairman
and chief executive officer at FairPoint
Communications Inc., Johnson has served
on the Belk College of Business Advisory
Council, the Alumni Board of Governors
and the board of directors of the 49ers
Athletic Foundation. He was inducted into
the UNC Charlotte Alumni Hall of Fame
in 1997 and was named a Distinguished
Alumnus in 2000.
Media Relations Manager Paul Nowell
recently caught up with Johnson after his
morning workout at the Dowd YMCA. An
avid cyclist, Johnson recently completed a
ride from Asheville to Ocean Isle Beach.

Q: What brought you to UNC

Charlotte in the first place?
I was in the Army stationed at West Point
and my wife Vickie had gone for two years
to Campbell University (then Campbell
College). I was given the chance to transfer
anywhere I wanted and I picked Charlotte
because of the University and the fact that
there were military installations here. I
started in night school and ended up going
full-time when I got out of the service.

16 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


Johnson makes an observation at a recent board meeting,
flanked by fellow trustees Karen Popp and Dale Halton.
I was a captain in the Army at the time
and I remember I wore my uniform to class
the night of the Kent State shootings. People
were very respectful, but you also need to
remember that a huge percentage
of the students had military backgrounds
at that time.
Q: Did you have any mentors
or favorite professors?
Tom Turner was the chairman of the
Accounting Department, and every student
thought he was just the most remarkable
teacher you could ever find. I worked for
him as a teacher’s assistant my senior year. I
remember making something like a 32 on
a test and I came back to his office and told
him. He said: “Gene, that’s terrible. I could
have guessed and done better.”
Q: It’s obvious you are a big UNC
Charlotte sports fan. Were you just
as fanatic back in the early 1970s
when you attended the University?
There wasn’t much to be a sports fan about
back then. It wasn’t until after I graduated
that the basketball team started excelling. We
went to the Final Four in 1977 and in 1976
we went to the NIT Finals. Vickie and I were
members of the Grubstake Club, which is
a predecessor to the athletic association. We
were very active and we would sell things
like poms poms and buttons at games. I
remember when we went to the Final Four we
had items on every UNC Charlotte fan’s seat.
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
s t a ke yo u r c l a i m p ro f i l e
Q: What is your greatest athletic
memory at UNC Charlotte?
That’s a great question. I can think of a lot
of things. Certainly going to the Final Four
was a huge thing for the athletic program.
It really made the basketball program. I
think football is right up there. Football is
going to be so important to the long-term
future of the University. It sort of puts you
on the map. You’ve heard statistics about
us being the largest university that does not
have football. And this adds so much to the
experience of the students. They really rallied
for this and made it happen. I’m really proud
of the student body.
Q: Can you picture the Gene
Johnson in 1973 and envision
that he would someday become
chairman of the UNC Charlotte
Board of Trustees?
No, I had no concept at that age what
I might become. I had a mother who told
me once you can do anything you want if
you made your mind up. She always put
a lot of positive thoughts in my head and
I’ve always been a positive, upbeat kind of
person. I also was active all my life at the
University. I’ve been fortunate to have done
so much, but I never would believe I’d one
day be on the board of trustees, let alone
the chairman.
Q: Your mother was a huge
influence on your life?
| UNC CHARLOTTE
A 1973 graduate, Johnson is pictured
“back in the day” along side an icon
of the era — an AMC Gremlin.
She was a very unusual person. I have a
brother and sister, and they used to kid me,
saying: “You’re special.” But I do know she
would be very upset if I underperformed.
She said, “You know you can do so much
better, but it’s up to you.”
Q: What significance do you
attach to being the first alumnus
to become chairman of the
Board of Trustees?
I think it says the University has come of
age. There has been a concerted effort by
(former Chancellor) Jim (Woodward) and
then by Phil (Dubois) to add more alums to
the Board of Trustees. During my tenure on
the board, I believe we now have a majority
of alums. There has been concerted effort
to do this, as more alums have achieved
positions of importance or careers have
ascended. It says a lot about the University.
Q: Does it instill a feeling
of accomplishment?
I think one has to feel a tremendous sense
of pride to serve on the Board of Trustees at
the University you attended. Being the first
alumni chairman is a huge sense of pride
for me. And to see what the University has
accomplished and how the University has
changed. Much of it comes from unbelievably
talented and perfectly situated lineage of
chancellors. We seemed to have had the right
person at the right time, and when you see
that, you can’t help but have a sense of pride.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 17
UNC CHARLOTTE | s t a ke yo u r c l a i m p ro f i l e
Q: What do you see as your
biggest challenges the next couple
of years as chairman of the board?
One of the greatest challenges facing the
entire University system, and we are no
different, is the funding crisis. It looks as if
it is going to continue for some time. We’re
OK now, and we’ve been extremely lucky
and been treated very well by the
state legislature.
We will continue to try to build new
buildings to meet the demands, we have
the most rapidly growing campus in the
UNC System and that is intentional. But
in order to grow, we have to hire more
faculty and we need to put up new
buildings to provide places for our campus
community to work and teach and learn. It’s
going be a real challenge moving forward.
Our faculty is doing a superb job, but we
are just not bringing in as many new faculty
members as we once did. We need their
vitality and experience.
Q: Are you confident in the
University’s capacity to meet
these challenges?
We’ve been extraordinarily blessed with
great leadership at the University. All of
our leaders, starting with Bonnie Cone to
Phil Dubois, have been not only the right
person for the time but just tremendous
people. And I’ve been blessed to know all
of them personally.
Q: You have big shoes to
fill in Ruth Shaw?
Ruth and I are different people. She is
an intellectual, exceptionally talented and
full of energy and vitality. She ran the board
with such passion and uncommon good
sense. What we share is we are both really
sincere about what we are doing and doing
it from the heart.
Q: So how would you describe
Gene Johnson’s leadership style?
The thing about me stylistically is I’m
kind of laid back and relaxed on the surface;
although, I churn like crazy on the inside
and I have an exceptionally high level of
energy. I like to be around people. The only
reason I’m where I am is that I happened to
be in the right place at the right time. I’m
willing to do things a little differently.
18 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu
“I think one has to feel a tremendous sense of
pride to serve on the Board of Trustees at the
university you attended.”
Let me describe it this way: You’re in a
small North Carolina town. It’s the Fourth
of July and there’s a parade going on. Here
comes the high school band on the back
of a flatbed truck, pulling the proverbial
bandwagon. Most people watch the
bandwagon go by, but I just jump on it.
I’m a bit of a risk taker, but I do think that
people are what make the world go round.
Q: Why do you continue to work
so hard when you could be playing
golf or lounging by the pool?
I think it is really important to give back.
Everyone has to do it in a different way.
No one person can do it the way the next
person does it.
Q: OK, now I need to go back to
the topic of football. Do you think
UNC Charlotte might surprise
some people?
(Laughs). Some of us are already talking
about next year, when (Athletics Director)
Judy (Rose) starts hiring the staff. We’ll get
our head coach and some assistants and start
recruiting and practicing. The facilities need
to be ready. Yes, I hope to surprise someone.
If we can have the kind of success South
Florida has had, it would be a lot of fun. I
think we might do very well. I can’t wait!
Q: Now that you have a little more
time on your hands, do you enjoy
different activities and hobbies?
I have the best life in the world. Most
of the time I spend that is structured in
any way involves the University. One of
the other trustees told me being chairman
is significantly more involved than simply
being on the board. And it is exponentially
more work.
I do play a little golf, but recently not
nearly enough. But the reason is that Vickie
and I spend the summer in the mountains
Gene Johnson, Chairman,
UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees
and I was training for a long bike ride. I
just got back from taking a bike ride from
Asheville to Ocean Isle. I put in more than
1,700 miles this summer. We also like to
hike and kayak and play golf, and I have a
few business interests. I’m having the best
life and the stress is gone. You can tell by
looking in my vehicle. The back seats are
folded down most of the time and there’s
stuff in there like bikes and hiking boots
and golf clubs.
Q: So how did you get involved
in serious biking?
Back in 2001, I did a bike ride in the
mountains of Colorado. We went 500
miles over seven days, and we climbed
33,000 feet. I decided I needed to get
back into it. I did a lot of riding this
summer and I entered the Cycle North
Carolina event from the mountains to the
coast. I can tell you, there is never a better
feeling in the world than to crest the top of
that bridge and see the ocean and the
finish line.
Q: Other than health, are
there other benefits you get
from biking?
There’s a great life lesson in cycling.
These things are very hard to finish when
you have to ride some 83 miles one day
and get up the next day and do another
75 miles. You need to remember it’s just
like anything else; you get it done one
pedal at a time. You start out with 83
miles to go and then its 80 miles and
then 30 and then 10 and then you are
done. It’s just a great lesson. The hardest
journey begins with a single step and
you keep stepping and pretty soon you’ll
be there.
Paul Nowell is media relations manager
in the Office of Public Relations.

Levine Scholars Back
from High Country
Westward bound — that’s where UNC
Charlotte’s first class of 15 Levine Scholars
headed before the fall semester for a challenging
and inspirational 25-day leadership expedition in
Wyoming’s magnificent Absaroka Range.
“The Levine Scholars Leadership Expedition
to Wyoming was a wonderful way to begin
the scholars’ UNC Charlotte experience,” said
Diane Zablotsky, director of the Levine Scholars
Program. “They discovered and experienced the
rugged beauty of a new place while getting to
know each other, develop leadership skills and
begin to feel like a group.”
The Levine Scholars hike in Wyoming’s Absaroka Range during a 25-day leadership expedition.
The wilderness expedition kicked off the
academic year for the students. The first class of
Levine Scholars includes 10 young leaders from
North Carolina and five other states.
“At this important time of transition,
each of the students grew individually while
contributing to the mission and success of
the whole,” said Zablotsky. “The insight and
awareness they brought back from Wyoming
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
will help them to be poised and ready for the
challenges and opportunities they will discover
in their college experiences.”
On July 11, the group traveled to Wyoming’s
spectacular Absaroka Range, a vast wilderness
region with some of the most remote territory in
the nation. The Absarokas are near Yellowstone
National Park. The area features broad river
valleys surrounded by sheer glacier-carved cliffs,
n ew s b r i e f | UNC CHARLOTTE
where the students camped under towering
conifers and hiked across alpine plateaus where
the tallest plants are only a few inches high.
Along with grizzlies, other wildlife in the region
includes eagles, bighorn sheep, elk, moose,
coyote and gray wolves. The area also is famous
for fishing and climbing, and the students
learned new leadership and teamwork skills over
a 25-day period.
The program is run by the National Outdoor
Leadership School (NOLS), which has taught
leadership, wilderness skills and environmental
studies to more than 120,000 students since its
inception in 1965.
The scholarships were made possible by
philanthropists Leon and Sandra Levine, who
committed $9.3 million to UNC Charlotte
for the scholarship program to develop
community service leaders. Leon Levine is the
founder and chair emeritus of Matthews-based
Family Dollar Stores Inc. The scholarships
cover the cost of all tuition and fees, housing
and meals, books, a laptop computer and
summer experiences, including the Wyoming
trip. The value of the scholarship is about
$90,000 for each in-state student and
$140,000 for each out-of-state student.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 19
UNC CHARLOTTE | 49 e rs n o te b o o k

Gunn, Cuero Oversee

Men’s Soccer Resurgence
By Carmen Matos

With victories over Clemson and Wake

Forest preceding an eight-game win streak, the
Charlotte 49ers men’s soccer team returned to
the national rankings, peaking at No. 16 in the
National Soccer Coaches Association of America
poll. In addition, the 49ers found themselves
atop the Atlantic 10 Conference standings
heading into the final week of the season.
Since head coach Jeremy Gunn and senior
standout Andres Cuero arrived at Charlotte
four years ago, the Charlotte 49ers men’s
soccer team has resurged onto the national
scene. Since 2006, the Niners earned their first
NCAA tournament appearance since 1997,
tallied 46 wins, compiled a home-winning
percentage of over 80 percent at Transamerica
Field and returned to the national rankings.
Coming to the 49ers in December 2006,
Gunn was excited about his transition from
Fort Lewis College in Colorado. He faced a
new city, a new team and a lot of work. With
most of the team’s starters graduating, Gunn
quickly put together a program.
The UNC Charlotte men’s soccer team celebrates victory
“It was a great situation, one that I could
after earning the top seed in the A-10 championships.
really see myself going forward with and having
an exciting future,” Gunn said. “The first two
seasons it was really about bringing the group Cuero came to the 49ers in 2007 from leadership. In previous seasons there were
together, creating a culture and environment for Austin, Texas. Since his arrival, Cuero has multiple seniors and multiple captains.
everybody within the program.” earned NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region Being the only senior, Cuero carries a load
Since Gunn’s first season, several 49ers have honors as well as notching Atlantic 10 All- that was spread among several players in
earned national awards as the team returned to Tournament honors and A-10 Player of the previous years.
the national rankings, reaching as high as ninth Week awards.  “As team captain, I am accountable for
in the country. No one knows the growth and “He’s one of those guys you look forward everyone and making sure they are doing
change of the team since Gunn’s arrival better to seeing every day — he is hard working what they are supposed to do,” Cuero said. “It
than lone senior, Andres Cuero.  and dedicated — and an outstanding young would be a lot easier if I had somebody else.
“It’s been great here,” Cuero said. “Being here man,” Gunn said of Cuero. “As a player he’s There were five guys that graduated before me
for four years I have had the best times in soccer got wonderful skill and vision and can make and they all took part in leadership and took
I have ever had in my life. And a lot is because of some of those really intelligent plays that other the load off each other’s shoulders. All of the
Coach Gunn. I’m lucky that Coach Gunn took players do not see.” guys are good and take care of what they’re
the job when he did. He’s a very good coach and Cuero is a team captain this season, and supposed to for the most part. So they make
has taught me a lot over the last four years.” with such a position comes responsibility and my job a lot easier.”

20 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


Women’s Soccer Claims
Share of A-10 Crown
The 49ers women’s soccer team reeled
off six straight conference wins to close
the regular season and claim a share of the
Atlantic 10 Conference Championship.
During the six wins, they outscored
opponents 18-1.
On the season’s final weekend, they
locked up the top seed for the A-10
tournament based on their goal differential
over fellow co-champion Dayton. To clinch
the top berth, the 49ers defeated Saint
Joseph’s 5-1 and Temple 7-0 on the road.
The outstanding regular season brought
other honors as well. All-time leading
scorer Whitney Weinraub, senior defender
Megan Minnix and senior midfielder Sam
Huecker all earned first team All-Atlantic
10 honors. In addition, Minnix became the
fourth straight 49er to be named the A-10
Women’s Soccer Student-Athlete of the Year.
She follows in the footsteps of Hailey Beam
(2008, 2009) and Lindsey Ozimek (2007).
Whitney Weinraub
Weinraub Becomes
All-Time Leading Scorer
Senior Whitney Weinraub, a two-time
Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year,
became Charlotte’s all-time leading scorer in
women’s soccer this season.
After tying the mark of 36 held by both
Hailey Beam and Courtney Cook, the
Philadelphia-area native headed into the
final weekend of the regular season, playing
on the road at Saint Joseph’s, close to her
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
49 e r s n o te b o o k | UNC CHARLOTTE
Plan to Attend
49ers Home
Basketball Games
The 49ers 2010-11 basketball season includes
some great home contests in the non-
conference season before getting ready
for Atlantic 10 play. Head coach Alan Major
takes over the helm of the men’s team as
the 49ers celebrate the 15th year of Halton
Arena. Meanwhile head coach Karen Aston
looks to lead the women to their school-record
ninth straight post-season appearance. For
full schedules, including TV listings, go to
Coach Alan Major www.charlotte49ers.com.
2010-11 Men’s Home 2010-11 Women’s Home
Basketball Games Basketball Games
Dec. 22 — Wright State Dec. 22 — Maryland-Eastern Shore
Jan. 15 — Fordham Jan. 2 — Virginia Tech
Jan. 19 — Massachusetts Jan. 7 — Temple
Jan. 29 — La Salle Jan. 12 — Fordham
Feb. 2 — Xavier Jan. 22 — Xavier
Feb. 5 — George Washington Feb. 9 — George Washington
(Homecoming) Feb. 12 — Dayton
Feb. 16 — Dayton Feb. 19 — Saint Louis
Feb. 26 — Richmond Feb. 23 — Duquesne
Mar. 5 — Saint Joseph’s
home. She scored two goals in the Volleyball Raises $10,000
5-1 win at Saint Joseph’s to take sole for Breast Cancer Research
possession of the 49ers all-time With the help of the community,
scoring record. the Charlotte 49ers volleyball program’s
fundraising efforts for this year’s Dig
Wingo Named National Pink campaign reached the team’s goal
Player of the Week of $10,000.
Junior Macky Wingo earned National Since the 2002 season under head coach
Player of the Week honors from the Lisa Marston, Charlotte has been raising
National Soccer Coaches Association money for breast cancer research via an
Nov. 2. She scored five goals in a pair of October home match, coinciding with
road wins on the final weekend of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
regular season to help the Charlotte 49ers The team has raised money by soliciting
claim a share of the Atlantic 10 regular donations for each dig recorded the match.
season title. She netted her first career hat Fellow conference teams joined the cause
trick with three goals in a 5-1 win at Saint a year later and soon teams around the
Joseph’s and added two more goals in a 7-0
route at Temple. Continued on p. 39
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 21
UNC CHARLOTTE | c e n t e r stage

22 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu

 c e n te r s t a g e | UNC CHARLOTTE

This Is
Your Brain
on Music
The Charlotte Symphony appeared
in concert to a sold out crowd in the
Anne R. Belk Theater. But this was no
ordinary concert — the performance
doubled as a neuroscience
experiment. Dr. Joan Lorden, provost
and vice chancellor of academic
affairs and a neuroscientist by
training, spoke from the stage about
how the human brain perceives
sound. Ken Lambla, dean of the
College of Arts + Architecture, had
his heart rate, blood pressure and
temperature measured on stage
during part of the concert to explore
the physiological affect of music
on the human body. The diverse
audience consisted of faculty, staff,
students and community members.

www.UNCC.edu  Q410 | UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 23

UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re
Harambee!
By Lisa A. Patterson
Freedom School It’s the day of the grand finale celebration for
a very special class of UNC Charlotte scholars.
program a
A woman in a yellow dress is rushing around
the large room in the Student Activities Center,
herding cats, er, children. Parents begin to
proven success file in, small siblings tagging along. Children
recognize their family members; they are giddy
and can’t wait to strut their stuff.
When the program finally gets under way,
Sherell Fuller, the energetic woman in yellow,
continues a tradition the scholars have repeated
every day of their summer instruction. She
exclaims into the microphone: “Freedom
School, how are you feeling?”
“Fantastic, terrific, great all day long!” the
children shout.
Normally, this exchange would mark the
start of a full day of song, dance, learning
and sharing called “Harambee,” a Swahili
word meaning “all pull together.” Today it
24 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu
marks the culmination of six weeks of an
unconventional literacy program birthed by
the Civil Rights movement.
The 50 elementary and middle school
students are enrolled in Freedom Schools,
developed by the Children’s Defense Fund
(CDF) in 1995 to help close the equality
gap in the U.S. education system. The free
program is modeled after efforts in Southern
states in the 1960s to educate African
Americans in sub-par schools.
Organizers designed the curriculum to “help
children fall in love with reading, increase their
self-esteem and generate more positive attitudes
toward learning,” according to the CDF
website. The program also seeks to prevent the
learning loss that students often experience
during summer months.
In 2010, nearly 10,000 children participated
in Freedom Schools at more than 140 sites

around the country. The program costs a total
of about $60,000 for six weeks, according to the
CDF. Each site pays for books, food, field trips
and stipends for staff.
The schools, usually hosted by churches,
have been in the Charlotte region for more than
six years. This year, with funding assistance from
the Chancellor’s Diversity Challenge Fund,
UNC Charlotte was chosen as one of two new
Charlotte sites, and became one of few sites in
the country housed on a university campus.
Fuller, a clinical assistant professor of
education, has been at this a long time. For
her first service project as a faculty member,
Fuller sent student interns to the Seigle Avenue
Freedom School and volunteered as a reader.
For six years Fuller has served as a volunteer as
new sites crop up in the Charlotte region.
When the idea to bring Freedom Schools
to UNC Charlotte came to fruition, Fuller
accepted the site coordinator position by
default, and with characteristic enthusiasm.
“I happened to be the faculty member who’d
done it, and knew it and wouldn’t have to start
from scratch,” Fuller said. “We waded through
the parking problems and space issues — we
made it work for us.”
Freedom School scholars are selected from
schools with high percentages of students
receiving free and reduced lunch. On a
typical day, the scholars were bused to the
University, ate breakfast, started instruction with
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
The exposure to
the UNC Charlotte
campus made a big
impression on the
50-plus Freedom
School scholars.
Harambee chants and cheers and delved into
the proscribed integrated reading curriculum.
A presentation by an outside speaker, field trip
or other activity occupied the afternoon, until 3
p.m. when the scholars departed for home.
Fuller explained that the scholars benefit
from and enjoy the exposure to new and
different activities. They went swimming at the
YMCA, visited the Lazy 5 Ranch in Mooresville
and historic Cane Creek Park and participated
in scavenger hunts in Uptown Charlotte.
fe a t u re | UNC CHARLOTTE
But, she noted, the exposure they received
to the University campus might have made the
biggest impression.
“We got into a discussion about what a
college degree looks like, so I brought them
to my office,” she said. Fuller explained to the
scholars that she isn’t the kind of doctor that
gives shots; a second grader then declared that
she was going to be a doctor, possibly one that
gives shots, or maybe one that doesn’t.
UNC Charlotte faculty from various
disciplines volunteered to host workshops for
the scholars, including goal setting
and neuroscience workshops for the
older students.
“We talked about junior college and
community college, and we talked about trades
because everyone might not want to go to college
— we talked about the importance of education,”
Fuller said. “They were asking questions about
what it’s like to stay on a college campus. This is
a powerful, unintended consequence of having
UNC Charlotte as a site.”
When representatives from the Washington,
D.C., headquarters of the CDF visited the new
site, they were fascinated that a large public
university was able to cut through the red tape
and partner with the local public school system
to make it work. They intend to use UNC
Charlotte as a model for future sites, Fuller said.
At a time when test scores show a persistent
achievement gap between white students and
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 25
UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re

black and Latino students, proponents say

literacy efforts like Freedom Schools can
improve outcomes. A 2009 pilot study of two
Freedom Schools’ programs in the Charlotte
region, conducted by UNC Charlotte’s
Institute for Social Capital (ISC), lends
credence to this assertion.
Bruce Taylor, one of the researchers behind
the ISC study and director of the Center for
Adolescent Literacies at UNC Charlotte, said
the findings from the evaluation indicate the
Freedom Schools’ model positively impacted
children in grades two through five, increasing
their ability to read. More than 60 percent of
the 52 children in the study showed moderate
to significant improvement, while 27 percent
“maintained,” meaning they did not experience
summer learning loss.
For 2010, Taylor spearheaded a similar study
of 11 Freedom Schools and more than 200
scholars in the Charlotte region. The researchers
are in the process of preparing the new report
for publication, but Taylor said initial data
analysis mirrors the findings of the pilot study. UNC Charlotte became one of the first public universities in the nation to host a Children’s Defense
Fund Freedom School. College of Education faculty Sherell Fuller and Bruce Taylor were involved in
“This is a group of kids we’re most coordinating and assessing the program.
concerned about — they’re struggling,
and we’re struggling to meet their needs,” Taylor
said. “If Freedom Schools have found a way dumb,’ and they know when to use it, so you hours of meetings through the Charlotte-
to effectively engage them, I’d like to see what know they’ve heard it from someone and Mecklenburg Schools’ Parent University and
elements of the Freedom Schools’ experience have internalized this idea of themselves,” assisted in classroom activities, chaperoned
can be brought into their regular classrooms.” Fuller explained. “More than anything I look field trips, provided snacks — whatever they
For Fuller, the message behind the program at this as a program to build the esteem of were able to do.
is simple: Words have power. these students.” As the finale celebration continued, the
“Semantics are very important to the The research bears out that in order students performed with gusto. Their heads
CDF,” she said. That’s why Freedom School to build self-esteem and get the students were held high, their voices rang out loudly,
participants are referred to as scholars, not as engaged, they have to read books that reflect proudly. They stomped, they sang, they read
students. It’s amazing when you start calling their experience, tell their stories and feature poetry they’d composed. They smiled broadly
yourself a scholar, that self-fulfilling prophecy.” characters who look like them. The scholars at the faculty and staff who served as readers
But, she said, sometimes the scholars find read several carefully chosen books each week and at the instructors who became mentors
overcoming the words others have hurled at in groups, with their teachers, with guest and role models. Most of all, though, they
them to be more of a challenge than reading a readers and silently. And, they get to keep the beamed out at their loved ones, and the
new text. books they read — some took extra copies parents and siblings smiled back and cheered.
“A lot of what we do is about building home to siblings. Their scholars had expanded their knowledge
self-esteem — I had a first grader say ‘I’m As important as reading about characters and horizons in six short, full weeks.
that look like them might be, the scholars It’s not a stretch to imagine the same
benefit as much or more from interacting with scene, with some of the same scholars,
college students who become role models. playing out years from now at a UNC
At the UNC Charlotte site, five of the six Charlotte commencement ceremony. But
instructors were UNC Charlotte students, and wherever the scholars go, they will carry
half were education majors. Seventeen UNC with them a new attitude toward learning
Charlotte students taught at Freedom School and a new way of being in the world — the
sites in the region last summer. Freedom School way.
Another interesting aspect of the Freedom
Schools’ experience is required parental Lisa A. Patterson is senior writer
participation. Parents attended nine in the Office of Public Relations.

26 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu

UNC CHARLOTTE | s t a ke yo u r c l a i m p ro f i l e
Coming Home
to UNC Charlotte
Marc Horgan active in building long-term value
By Arthur Murray
UNC Charlotte literally had Marc Horgan
at hello.
And the University still has Horgan, area
executive for Raleigh-based First Citizens
Bank. That makes him the bank’s top executive
in the Queen City. Founded in 1898, First
Citizens is the state’s third largest bank by assets
and deposits, and it has extended its presence
nationally in recent years. The bank has not
been hit with some of the problems peers have
faced during the financial crisis. As a result, its
parent company, First Citizens BancShares, has
grown to one of the top 50 financial institutions
in the country.
28 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu
As for Horgan, the 1993 graduate continues
his love affair with the University since his return
to Charlotte. He believes in the University and
its continuing role in shaping Charlotte as it
expands both its student population and its
academic reputation.
His first contact with the state, however,
wasn’t in its largest city. He was born in
Cincinnati, the son of a Hewlett-Packard
executive and a nurse. He stayed there through
junior high, when the family — including
a brother and twin sisters — moved to
Damascus, Md., not quite midway between
Frederick and Baltimore. The family enjoyed
vacationing at North Carolina’s beaches,
particularly Ocean Isle Beach and Sunset
Beach in Brunswick County. His parents, in
fact, now have a home at Sunset Beach.
“North Carolina had always been very
intriguing to us,” Horgan said from his office
downtown Charlotte. When it came time to
look for a college, he decided to look at the
state, including UNC Charlotte.
“I still remember the day we did the
campus tour,” he said. “Something just
grabbed me.” He can’t put his finger on
exactly what, but he was hooked. “First
impressions are lasting impressions.”

More 49ers helping lead First Citizens Bank
Marc Horgan isn’t the only UNC
Charlotte alum to be staking his claim
at First Citizens Bank. Several other
senior managers in the Charlotte area
also are proud 49ers.
Robertette “Robbie” Adams-Padgett
Year graduated, degree: 1995,
bachelor of arts (triple major)
in English, political science and
history (AA)
Hometown: New London, N.C.
Years with First Citizens: 7
Current job title/description: vice
president/manager of retail banking
About UNC Charlotte: Both my
parents were teachers. With that said, I
grew up with education as a mainstay.
As a younger adult, I needed exposure
to more genres of literature, political
philosophies and history from varying
viewpoints. I got that opportunity
during my undergrad years at UNC
Charlotte. The diverse perspective I
gained has allowed me grow and thrive
both personally and professionally.
  
John Ager
Year graduated, degree: 1992,
bachelor of science in accounting
Hometown: Charlotte
Years with First Citizens: 10
Current job title/description: senior
vice president/ client advisor in the
private wealth advisory service group.  MBA through UNC Charlotte was a
About UNC Charlotte: UNC Charlotte
is a wonderful university. It has been
great to watch it grow over the last
decade. Over the last six years (until
rolling off the board a year ago), I have
been involved with the UNC Charlotte
When he moved on campus in the fall of
1989, he found a vibrant University that was
in the middle of change, much as he was. “I’d
played high-school golf, but I quickly learned
that I wasn’t as talented as the others,” he said. “I
had to buckle down with the books.”
The university, meanwhile was just starting
a growth spurt that was to take it from about
14,000 students when he got there to more
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
s t a ke yo u r c l a i m p ro f i l e
Alumni board. Here, we were very
active in helping to set up a needs-
based scholarship. I also had the
privilege of meeting potential students
and helping to determine academic
scholarships. It was nice to see such a
high caliber of new talent want to join
my alma mater. From playing soccer on
the front fields years ago to seeing all
the new developments – it’s an exciting
time to be a UNCC grad.
Angela A. Broome
Year graduated, degree: 1997, master
of business administration
Hometown: Charlotte
Years with First Citizens: 14
Current job title/description: senior
vice president/commercial banking
About UNC Charlotte: Getting my
wonderful experience. I was exposed to
so many different schools of thought
from my professors, fellow students
and the cases we studied and all of
these views have made me a more
rounded individual in my career. I left
than 25,000 now. “It was a community in
transit, with a lot of buzz.” The hustle and
bustle appealed to him — and to his now wife,
Catherine. Despite all the changes, he said,
“UNC Charlotte helped us establish roots.
Once I got in business school, I loved it.”
He won’t pinpoint particular favorite
professors, he said, noting that many helped
him develop his skills. He’s particularly
| UNC CHARLOTTE
the program with tools that I could put
to use immediately in my profession.
It was not just theoretical learning but
practical information and skills that
I could use in the real world of work.
And the professional relationships that
began at UNCC have lasted. 
Phil Hains
Year graduated, degree: 1985,
bachelor of arts in business
administration
Hometown: Pittsboro
Years with First Citizens: 18 years
Current job title/description:
senior vice president and regional
business executive for the Central
region of North Carolina (Charlotte
to Fayetteville, including Triad and
Triangle).  My role focuses on the
management of the credit quality of
the business and commercial portfolio,
providing development opportunities
for business and commercial bankers,
and enhancing operational efficiency
in the region and the bank.
About UNC Charlotte: My adviser
at UNC Charlotte was Daryl Kerr, who
gave me some advice in my first weeks
that I have used since. He told me
that my diploma would not specify a
skill set that I would be able to put to
use when I left UNCC, rather it would
tell a potential employer about my
ability to learn and grow. It changed
my perspective from one of getting
through a class and moving on to
connecting all of my classes, and it set
me on a course of life-long learning
that has served me very well in my
career and my personal relationships.
thankful for an institutional push that valued
getting hands-on experience. “The University
assisted me with connecting education with
a business career through internships and
networking,” he said, recalling an internship at
a brokerage house as one of the highlights of
his college career.
Continued on p. 37
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 29
UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re

Do You Know a UNC

Charlotte ‘Fallen Hero’?

Honoring
Our Own

By Jane Lee Watson

“The importance that the University has placed on this
project displays the resolve and support the community
has for those who have served and are still serving
today,” said Maj. Scott Siegfried, assistant professor of
military science, Army ROTC. “This new memorial plaque
will remind us of what composer and lyricist Randy Vader
once wrote, ‘The story of America’s quest for freedom is
inscribed on her history in the blood of her patriots.’”
Maj. Scott Siegfried, assistant professor
of military science, Army ROTC
Our American service men and women
defend our basic freedoms, and we, as a
University, want to show our gratitude for our
UNC Charlotte “Fallen Heroes.”
And we need your help.
We are looking for the names of any UNC
Charlotte students, alumni, faculty or staff
members who have lost their lives in military
service to our country.
A Fallen Heroes memorial plaque is being
designed and will be installed in the Main Lobby
of Memorial Hall, which now houses the Air
Force and Army ROTC programs. Special
citations will be displayed with the plaque,
individually honoring each of UNC Charlotte’s

30 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


Fallen Heroes. Chancellor Philip L. Dubois
will host a special ceremony in late spring of
2011 to unveil and formally dedicate the new
Fallen Heroes Memorial.
In the meantime, we want to identify as
many of our Fallen Heroes as possible. The
criteria for inclusion on the memorial are:
• Must have served honorably on active
duty or in the reserves of any branch
of the United States armed forces —
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or
Coast Guard.
• Must have lost his or her life while in
military service, including a determination
of “killed in action” or “missing in action.”
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
Freitag Leads
Governing Board
A newly established Fallen Heroes
Governing Board will formally
approve each nominee’s inclusion in
the memorial. This board may make
exceptions to the above criteria in the
case of extraordinary circumstances.
Chancellor Phillip L. Dubois has
appointed the UNC Charlotte faculty
and staff members to the inaugural
governing board.
Alan R. Freitag,
associate chair
and associate
professor of
communication
studies, will chair
of the Fallen
Heroes Governing
Board. Freitag,
prior to joining
Alan R. Freitag
UNC Charlotte in
1998, served 22
years active duty in the U.S. Air Force.
He retired as a lieutenant colonel
in 1995.
Other governing board members
are Capt. Brent M. Moore, Air Force
ROTC; Maj. Thomas Pangborn, Army
ROTC; Lt. Col. Christopher Rogers, Air
Force ROTC; and Maj. Scott Siegfried,
Army ROTC.
• Must have attended courses at UNC
Charlotte. (This may include, but is
not limited to, courses in Military or
Aerospace Science.)
• Or must have served in a full-time capacity
on the faculty or staff of UNC Charlotte.
• Must be nominated for inclusion by
an immediate family member or other
appropriate individual such as a fellow
service member or commander.
• The time frame can be as far back as 1946,
the year that the University was founded as
the Charlotte Center.
If you know of someone who fits the
above criteria (even if you are not a family
fe a t u re | UNC CHARLOTTE
“Among the faculty, staff and
alumni of UNC Charlotte is a
substantial representation of
those serving, or have served,
in this country’s great armed
forces,” said Lt. Col. Christopher
Rogers, Commander of
Detachment 592, Air Force
ROTC, UNC Charlotte.
“It is therefore fitting that
this memorial will be dedicated
to recognizing those who
walked along our campus
pathways, studied among us in
our classrooms, but later went
out to confront our country’s
enemies, and gave their life
in its defense. This memorial
will forever remind us that this
nation’s greatest treasure is
its people.“
Lt. Col. Christopher Rogers,
Commander of Detachment 592,
Air Force ROTC, UNC Charlotte
member), please send his or her name and
military service information to det592@
uncc.edu, 704-687-8100. If you have
information about any surviving family
members of the Fallen Hero, please send
that information also. And be sure you
send your contact information in case we
have questions.
For questions about the Fallen Heroes
Memorial, please contact Maj. Scott
Siegfried, Army ROTC, ssiegfr1@uncc.edu,
704-687-8698.
Jane Lee Watson is senior director of events
and special projects at UNC Charlotte.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 31
UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re
‘Food
Deserts’
By Lisa A. Patterson
Shirley, a loquacious woman in her 70s, seems to speak for
the group when she discusses her experience living in a Charlotte
area food desert. When she is able to get a ride to the closest
grocery store, she finds the quality and price of the food to be
disappointing, prohibitive and on one occasion detrimental to her
health. She describes a recent hospital stay that she blames on store
bought, out-of-date chicken livers.
Shirley is one of 10 individuals taking part in a focus group
organized by UNC Charlotte researchers. All of the participants
receive SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program)
benefits, formerly known as Food Stamps.
The group describes what it’s like to try to juggle bags of
groceries on the bus, and how they sometimes travel to multiple
stores to get the quality meats and produce people living in high
income communities can find in one stop. Lorenzo, another focus
group participant, grows his own vegetables and distributes the
excess to his elderly neighbors. But you have to have access to land
to grow food.
The focus group participants say they relish the opportunity
to eat fresh fruits, and the majority enjoy cooking from scratch.
When asked what their ideal grocery store would include, they
enthusiastically chime in that it should be clean, the foods should be
fresh and appealing, the staff should be welcoming; most of all, they
say, they want equal opportunity.
32 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu
Researchers Find 60
Such Neighborhoods
in Mecklenburg County
Scarcity in the Land of Plenty
Americans are plagued by high rates of obesity and related chronic
diseases. In fact, the adult obesity rate in two-thirds of states tops 25
percent, while 20 percent of children in the United States are obese.
The profound social and economic impact of these health concerns
has prompted researchers to study the causes of what has become a
national crisis.
Even in the land of plenty, access to
fruits and vegetables and other non-
processed food items varies significantly
across communities. UNC Charlotte
Assistant Professor of Public Health
Sciences Elizabeth Racine has studied
incentives and disincentives to healthy
eating, as well as the neighborhood
environment as it relates to food access.
According to Racine, many studies have
found that residents in low income and Beth Racine
minority neighborhoods have poor access
to grocery stores and healthy food products. Residents of these
areas, known as “food deserts,” are less food secure and suffer from
diet-related diseases.
Time, energy and resources are needed to identify the food deserts
within an urban area. In 2009, the Mecklenburg County Health
 fe a t u re | UNC CHARLOTTE

Department approached Racine to lead
phase one of the process — a thorough
food assessment study.
“A food assessment is a powerful way
to tell the story of what is happening
with food in a community,” Racine said.
UNC Charlotte researchers, including
Racine, Associate Professor of Geography
Qingfang Wang and public health
major Christina Wilson, worked with
the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Qingfang Wang
Council, the county’s GIS department
and the health department to collect and analyze data for
the assessment.
Surprising Results
The study yielded surprising results.
The team counted 721 food stores in the county. After verifying
the stores were open for business, the stores were classified as non-
full-service or full-service based on their inventories. Stores were
considered full-service when their inventories included fresh meat,
dairy, at least 10 fruits and vegetable varieties, and processed foods.
Of the 721 stores, 186 were considered full-service food
stores. The numbers alone were telling, but the deserts clearly
emerged when Wang divided the county into census block
groups and plotted the stores on a map; the map revealed that 60
neighborhoods in Mecklenburg County qualified as food deserts.
The vast majority of the deserts are located in and around Charlotte,
mainly to the northeast and west of the city.
“Our original objective was to see whether availability of full-
service stores was related to race, income, ethnicity and population
density,” Racine said.
The majority of food deserts were found in mostly Black
neighborhoods. In high-income communities that lack full-
service stores, researchers presume residents have access to reliable
transportation, allowing them to travel to full-service stores.
The assessment also revealed that Mecklenburg County’s Asians
and Hispanics live in more densely populated areas and have access
to high numbers of both full-service and non-full service stores.
We Are What We Eat
The relationship between nutrition and chronic disease is
well-established.
In Mecklenburg County, nearly 73,000 people in low-income
neighborhoods are at a greater health risk because they have little
to no access to foods that promote health, and too much access to
foods that are detrimental to health.
Racine, who has extensively studied food assistance programs,
including SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program),
used the county food-assessment data to examine the relationship
between chronic disease and food access.
“We didn’t have information on obesity rates by census block
group, but we do know how many people died in each census block
group,” Racine said.
The researchers calculated the rate of death due to heart
disease and diabetes for the last five years in individuals ages 65
and younger.
Continued on next page

Food Recovery Program Going Strong

The UNC Charlotte Food Recovery
Program has come a long way since
1991, when undergraduate and
University Honors student Glenn
Hutchinson noticed that cafeteria staff
were throwing away leftover food. By
spring of 1992, the program was up and
running, bringing high quality food to
Charlotte soup kitchens.
After one successful semester, the
program was shut down by a new
campus food manager but quickly
resumed after petitions, protests, media
attention and involvement from the
Student Government Association. The
program has since been going strong
and, with help from Chancellor Philip
L. Dubois and Hutchinson, recently
celebrated the start of its 18th year with
the unveiling of a new van.
Volunteers and donations remain
the lifeblood of the program, which
provides an estimated 60 pans of
food per week to local organizations.
NationsBank, now Bank of America,
donated the program’s initial van in
1994. Prior to that time, volunteers
transported food in their own vehicles.
Other organizations, including
Hunter Dairy Farms and Coleman
Company have donated containers
for transporting food and coolers. In
addition, the program received
a grant from the North Carolina
Office of Waste Reduction to buy a
refrigeration unit for the first van.  The Food Recovery Program
“UNC Charlotte is not only able
to employ students out to the work
force, we’re able to give back to
the community, as well,” said Sean
Langley, the
assistant director
for off campus and
volunteer outreach.
“A lot of times people see
UNC Charlotte as an economic
hub and that we produce
qualified candidates out in the work
force, but it’s also us really staking
our claim in the community.” 
The new van bears UNC
Charlotte’s bold Stake Your Claim
message and imagery, which is
exactly what volunteers have done
in the fight against hunger.
is organized through the Dean of
Students Office in the Office of
Volunteer Outreach. Food runs are
made Tuesdays and Thursdays at 2 p.m.

www.UNCC.edu  Q410 | UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 33

UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re

Continued from p. 33

According to Racine, significant health implications follow from the

dearth of full-service stores. “Each additional full-service food store is
associated with a decrease in premature deaths to heart disease,” she said.
The decrease amounts to 23 deaths per 100,000 residents.
Research also suggests a phenomenon that, at first glance, seems
contradictory — areas with a high concentration of food stores are
associated with poor health. In this instance, the distinction between non-
full-service and full-service stores is critical.

‘Food Swamps’
“Each time the ratio of non-full-service stores to full-service in a census
block group went up by one, the number of heart disease deaths increased
by 18.5 per 100,000,” Racine said. These areas are referred to as “food
swamps,” rather than deserts.
Lower-income residents are less likely to have reliable transportation
and as a result they may spend their dollars and SNAP benefits at stores
that do not offer a variety of healthy choices, such as small corner grocers
or drug stores.
“Right now, if you are SNAP approved, you can spend your benefits
on just about any food product other than alcohol. You can buy
Hawaiian Punch, chips, fake cheese,” Racine said. “The government is
looking at how to encourage people receiving SNAP to choose more
healthy options.”
In a draft version of the federal government’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines,
obesity is identified as the nation’s greatest public health threat. The report
points to fast food and physical inactivity as precursors to unhealthy
weight gain, as well as to the benefits of a diet rich in plant-based foods. UNC Charlotte researchers produced this map to illustrate the findings of
As the personal and economic costs of obesity have garnered national Mecklenburg County’s first food assessment. The dark areas on the map
attention, local policy makers have taken note. In August, the UNC indicate that nearly 73,000 people in Mecklenburg County live in “food
deserts,” or low-income areas where there is a scarcity of healthy food.
Charlotte researchers were asked to present their findings at a meeting of
the Mecklenburg County Commissioners. The team, in conjunction with
the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Food Policy Council, has recommended that hope we can talk to the person in the family who does the shopping,”
commissioners work with developers and planners to consider bringing in Wang said. “More research into family structure related to consuming/
full-service food stores and food stands when redeveloping a community. cooking styles is needed.”

Second Phase Big Challenge

While not a final step, the food assessment has proven a positive first
step in the monumental task of improving community health. The
researchers are about to embark on the second phase of their work, which
includes a new study and a different set of questions.
One component of the second study was developed at the behest of the
county commissioners. The team gathered fast-food restaurant data during
Phase 1, and commissioners have asked the team to analyze the data to
determine where these restaurants are concentrated.
In addition, the researchers continue to conduct focus groups in the
food-desert communities to find out what types of perceived barriers to
getting healthy food exist.
“We might say ‘from a location perspective it looks like you don’t have
any healthy food in your neighborhood, and is that a concern for you?
And how do you get to the store because clearly you have to drive to get
food — is that a problem for you? If you’re on food stamps what makes
you choose which stores you go to?’” Racine said.
“We’d like to interview individuals from different ethnic groups, and I
Even with improved access to healthy food, Racine acknowledged that
influencing behavioral change can be an uphill battle.
Some research has shown that when you give people access to healthy
food the intake of that food increases by about 30 percent but, Racine
explained, other studies have indicated that even after healthier food
options are more widely available in food deserts, many consumers
continue to make unhealthy choices based on personal preferences.
“It’s important to have the nutrition knowledge, but you have to take it
a step further to figure out what incentives are going to lead to changes in
behavior,” she said.
Education alone won’t result in behavior change, but it’s in the public’s
best interest to make the effort, Racine said. “Even if residents of these
communities are happy with the way they are eating, it could be resulting
in shorter lifespans or higher medical costs for the community, which is
devastating to the affected families and the community,” she added.
Lisa A. Patterson is senior writer in the Office of Public Relations.

34 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu

U.S. NATIONAL TEAM
SOCCER PLAYER.
ACADEMIC
ALL-AMERICAN.
MUST BE A 49ER.
UNC Charlotte is home to the spirited. The tenacious.
Can-do kind of pioneers who raise eyebrows and leave
a mark. Whether it’s academics, athletics, or the arts,
we’re home to world-class achievers and leaders.
25,000 students strong and growing, UNC Charlotte
boasts an award-winning faculty, notable alumni,
and a student body of winners. Stake your claim
to a university that doesn’t just try – we succeed.

Lindsey Ozimek
Women’s Soccer MVP
B.A. Special Education
Class of 2008
UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re

Giving Women
a Voice
By Buffie Stephens

On average, women in the Charlotte-

Mecklenburg region earn 77 cents for every
dollar earned by a man. For women of
color, the pay disparity is greater. The loss of
earning affects a family’s ability to secure the
essentials — shelter, food, and healthcare;
it affects a family’s ability to ensure that
children are safe, secure and in quality
childcare environments; it affects retirement
prospects and is multiplied through lost
social security and pensions.
Statistics like this were the impetus for
the Women’s Summit.
Founded in 2006, the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg Women’s Summit was
established to develop a data-driven strategic
action plan that would provide benchmarks
and measure how women and families were
faring in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region.
The original areas of research included
dependent care, health, housing, political
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Women’s Summit has partnered with UNC Charlotte to measure how
leadership, work and violence against women. women and families are faring in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region and focus on policy initiatives to
While striving to be a catalyst for change improve their lives. Pictured are (from left to right) Women’s Summit co-chair Becka Tait, director
to improve the lives of women through Lisa Yarrow, and co-chair Deborah Bosley.
research, education and civic engagement,
the Women’s Summit works to ensure Charlotte-Mecklenburg Women’s Summit to the study of public policy and how it
that women’s perspectives are represented with North Carolina’s urban research impacts women on a local basis illustrates
in research, public policy, leadership university, extending the research capacity, the University’s commitment to this
development and education. opportunity for education and leadership community and to its women in particular,”
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Women’s development of women across the region. said summit director Lisa Yarrow.
Summit is now celebrating its fourth “That UNC Charlotte and the Charlotte- During the past four years, the summit
anniversary and its official integration with Mecklenburg Women’s Summit should has shifted the conversation about women’s
UNC Charlotte. The partnership pairs the come together to create a focused approach issues to include and illustrate how the
disparities experienced by women negatively

“The Women’s Summit has transformed into impact the economic stability of our
community. Lost earnings represent lost

the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Women’s Summit tax revenue and in some cases, reliance on
public services.
at UNC Charlotte.” Together with state and local agencies, the
summit is working to address these issues.
Lisa Yarrow, Director In November, a Women’s Agenda Assembly

36 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


was held. Participants prioritized areas
of concern for women and a report was
delivered to state and local officials to
help shape public policy during the
legislative session.
Recently, the Women’s Summit received
a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds
Foundation to develop programs to address
the under-representation of women on
appointed boards and commissions in
Charlotte-Mecklenburg. The needs of
women can be met when their voices
are heard at the policy-making table so
workshops are being organized to assist
women who are interested in participating
on local boards and commissions.
In addition, campaigns are being
developed to raise awareness of issues
women encounter in the workplace
including salary discrimination and
work-life balance.
Housed in UNC Charlotte’s department
of Metropolitan Studies and Extended
Academic Programs, the Women’s Summit
is also making a difference in the university
community. Working across campus and
disciplines, the summit is partnering with the
Women’s and Gender Studies program, the
Urban Institute and the Public Policy program
in the department of Political Science to
expand dialogue of women’s issues.
In partnership with UNC Charlotte’s
Alumni Board, the summit is organizing
a panel to discuss dependent care issues
for alumnae and they have begun work
with the Counseling Center on a campus-
wide campaign about violence against
women students.
“The Women’s Summit has transformed
into the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Women’s
Summit at UNC Charlotte,” Yarrow said.
“Integration with the University provides
novel opportunities for funding research
and educational activities — opportunities
that were unavailable previously. We
now have a broader constituency and we
embrace the opportunity to be partners
with students, faculty, staff and the greater
community as we all work together to
improve the lives of women and their
families in our region.”
Buffie Stephens, a UNC Charlotte
alumna, is media relations manager
in the Office of Public Relations.
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
Continued from p. 29
“I worked all through college,” he said, notably
as a resident adviser, which gave him a free room
on campus. “That’s why I’m involved with the
UNC Charlotte Foundation. Increasingly, the
cost of an education is becoming a barrier to
getting one.” The foundation, the fund-raising
arm of the university, works with alumni,
corporations, charitable foundations to raise
money for scholarships and programs. It is run by
a 32-member board of directors.
After graduating with his bachelor’s in finance
in 1993, Horgan weighed a couple of job
offers from banks before accepting a position at
Whiteville-based United Carolina Bank. After
a brief training period in banking development,
he was placed in Raleigh, where he stayed until
2007. However, he didn’t stay with UCB. In
1999, on the heels of UCB’s acquisition by
Winston-Salem-based BB&T, he switched to
First Citizens.
He quickly found the surroundings
comfortable. “It’s a unique story. We’re one
of the largest family-controlled banks in the
country. There are a lot of characteristics from
our workplace that we can translate to our
clients. We take a long-term view. In fact, when
folks ask me why they should bank at First
Citizens, I end up explaining it to them by
telling them why I work there.”
In 2007, he returned to Charlotte as area
executive, the job that had been held by Frank
Holding, now the chairman and CEO of the
First Citizens BancShares, the bank’s parent
company. When he got back to the Queen City,
he found that UNC Charlotte was different.
He cited the Barnhardt Student Activity
Center, which he calls a “game-changer.” He
also cited expansion of the university library
and construction of the Student Union and the
Energy Production & Infrastructure Center
(EPIC). “Those will have lasting impressions, like
the Belk School of Business when I was going
through. It’s still happening, and it’s creating long-
term value.”
He said EPIC, in particular, represents a
big step for the university and the city. Many
Charlotte leaders have called for the city to
diversify its economy, and the energy-sector
expertise that EPIC will generate could be key
to that effort. “Power is the way to diversity, and
EPIC will lead that transformation,” Horgan
said. “What’s happening today we will see at an
established reputation level 10 years from now.”
fe a t u re | UNC CHARLOTTE
Getting back to the Queen City inspired a
new interest in his alma mater. “I was involved
but on the perimeter when I lived in Raleigh.”
One thing that helped him renew ties was the
First Citizens Bank Scholar’s Medal, which
the bank has been awarding for 23 years in
recognition of faculty scholarship and intellectual
inquiry at UNC Charlotte. “I was able to get
involved again. I realized the ties were still strong.”
He supplemented that by describing his
experience to his children, often taking son
Michael, 10, to a baseball game or daughter
Samantha, 7, to another function. “The
university is a catalyst for our community. One
in eight workers in the Charlotte metro with a
college degree has one from UNC Charlotte.
We will have more and more alumni in our
community that were touched by the university.
It’s the output of the college putting people
in places that can have an impact. As time
continues, the impact that UNC Charlotte will
have on the workforce will be substantial.” It’s
having a substantial impact on First Citizens’
already. Several key officers at the Charlotte office
are UNC Charlotte graduates.
He’s looking forward to Aug. 31, 2013, when
the school launches its football program by
hosting Campbell University. “It’s the next step
in the evolution of our university,” he said. While
some may quibble about the expense, particularly
during an economic downturn, he believes it
will be worth the cost. “I don’t know of any time
when we could say, ‘This is the time to start
football.’” But, he said, “It’ll be a great part of the
college experience.”
He compares it to basketball. “When I
was at UNC Charlotte, we played in the old
Charlotte coliseum. Then we moved to the new
coliseum, where the Hornets played, and now
we’re playing on campus at Halton Arena. In 20
years, look at how that experience has changed.
I think we’ll say the same thing about football
20 years from now.”
That interest in the future isn’t confined
to sports. Horgan is a member of a group
developing a strategic plan for the university,
which is expected to grow to 35,000 students by
2020. “It has become a grassroots effort, bubbled
up through board members. The effort will
figure out how to connect alumni with university
resources. With all of us working together, the
University will be better because of it.”
Arthur Murray is an Indian Trail-based writer with
a background covering North Carolina business.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 37
UNC CHARLOTTE | c l a s s n o te s

1980s
Sue Coleman, ’89, received the American
Nuclear Society’s Mary Jane Oestmann
Professional Women’s Achievement
Award. Coleman serves as an engineer
and principal project manager with Areva.
The award was established to recognize
outstanding personal dedication and
technical achievement by a woman for
work she has performed in the fields of
nuclear science, engineering, research,
or education. Coleman graduated from
UNC Charlotte with bachelor and master’s
degrees in electrical engineering and has
worked with Areva for 18 years.

1990s
Bernie Lee Thompson, ’97, has accepted
a position as a Career Technical Education
Teacher at Northwest School of the Arts in
Charlotte. He will be teaching grades 6 -12.

2000s
Erik Northrop, ’09, recently began a
position with UNC Charlotte’s College of
Health and Human Services.
Proceeds from the annual TIAA-CREF Alumni Golf Classic fund student scholarships. Save the date for
next year’s tournament, Monday, Oct. 10 at Pine Island Country Club. First place honors went to Curtis
Kyles, Jim Ashford, Kevin Silva and Robert Newkirk.

Cameron French, ’06, was
recently appointed Congressman John
Hall’s (NY-19) communications director,
where he acts as Hall’s official spokesman
in Washington, and is responsible for
message development, media strategy and
outreach.
Cherry Owens, ’03, was recently
promoted to 4K coordinator at Northside
Academy for Early Learning.
What are you doing?
It is time to share what you’ve been
up to lately and let other alums help you
toot your horn or spread the word on small
or large achievements. We want to hear
from you.
Visit the Alumni Affairs Web site at
www.unccharlottealumni.org and tell us
what you’ve been doing.
Or write Alumni Affairs,
UNC Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
Alumni Notes
TIAA-CREF Alumni Golf
Classic Raises Over $5,000
The Alumni Association raised more than
$5,000 for scholarships through the 12th
Annual TIAA-CREF Alumni Golf Classic
Oct. 11 at Pine Island Country Club.
Proceeds benefitted the Greg Davis need-
based scholarship fund. The Alumni Board
of Directors established the scholarship
in 2008 and named it in honor of UNC
Charlotte professor Greg Davis.
“We are thrilled that along with alumni
and friends of the University,
we were able to raise $5,000 for student
scholarships,” said Chip Rossi, director of
Alumni Affairs. “Many students rely on
scholarship money in order to attend school,
and we are proud that we can help them
with their educational expenses.”
In addition to raising money for
scholarships, the tournament honored the
top teams. Taking first-place honors were
Robert Newkirk, Curtis Kyles, Jim Ashford
and Kevin Silva. David Coble, Henry
Coble, Keith Warren and Josh Dalton won
second; and Todd Graden, Greg Baber,
Thomas Eatmon and Fate Ferrell came
in third. Over 60 people participated in
the event.
“This has become an event that our
alumni anticipate each year. It’s a lot of
fun, and it supports a great cause,” said
Scott Plunkett, assistant director of Alumni
Affairs. “I am very grateful to all of the
people, especially our alumni and corporate
sponsors, who make this event possible.”
The Alumni Association would like to
thank the tournament’s corporate sponsors
including TIAA-CREF, the Charlotte
49ers Athletic Foundation, Belk College of
Business, Belk College of Business Alumni,
Charlotte 49er Women’s Basketball, Liberty
Mutual, Dilworth Grill, Bank of America,
Griffin Brothers, Food Lion, 49er Fanatics,
4.Niner K, Performance Logo, University
Bookstore, PromoLogic and the
Hilton Corporation.
Next year’s tournament is Monday,
October 10 at Pine Island Country Club.
For more information, contact the Office
of Alumni Affairs at 704-687-7799 or visit
www.unccharlottealumni.org

38 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q410 www.UNCC.edu


Continued from p. 21
country were following suit. Three seasons
ago, Chris Redding took over as Charlotte’s
head coach and continued the efforts.
The Side Out Foundation established a
national charity that college and high school
teams joined to combine their efforts. Charlotte
became part of the group last year and was the
top fundraising single team in 2009.
Planning began last spring for this year’s
Charlotte effort, beginning with a donation
collection on a rainy pregame tailgate at a
Carolina Panthers home game in late September.
October brought media attention with website
and television appearances. News14 Carolina in
Charlotte and Fox News Rising on WCCB spent
time with the players before events leading up to
the match.
“Penny Wars” were held among the 49ers’
other athletic programs to help the cause.
Donations also were solicited at the University
Chic-fil-A and raised through its first “Jail and
Bail,” which involved notable campus figures to
help raise money in a mock public cell outside
the Student Union. In addition, the team sold
specially made T-shirts to aid fundraising efforts.
The team gave away pink T-shirts to the first
1,000 fans at the Dig Pink match on October
15, which attracted a record crowd of 1,803 fans
to see the 49ers five-set victory over Temple.
www.UNCC.edu  Q410
For nearly a decade the Charlotte 49ers
volleyball team has participated in the fight
against breast cancer.
Donations can still be made at the team’s web
page. See links posted on the 49ers volleyball
page at www.charlotte49ers.com.
Golf Team Gets New Facility
In November UNC Charlotte dedicated
the Charlotte 49ers Rocky River Golf Club at
Concord Golf Training Center. The all-purpose
field house includes coaches’ offices, meeting
rooms and locker areas, an indoor putting
surface and two hitting bays that are equipped
with swing-analysis computer technology.
The field house is located just off the second-
hole tee of Rocky River Golf Club. The facility
overlooks the existing short-game practice
49 e r n o te b o o k | UNC CHARLOTTE
area. The short-game practice area opened
in 2006 with 22,000 square feet of practice-
tee space, chipping areas, greenside and
fairway bunkers and an 8,500-square-foot
putting green.
The 49ers golf team, which posted
NCAA Top 10 finishes in 2007 (tied for
third) and 2008 (tie for eighth), have won
five straight Atlantic 10 Championships and
advanced to a school-record six consecutive
NCAA Tournaments.
Let Me Play Luncheon
Benefits Women’s Athletics
The Charlotte 49ers Athletic Foundation
hosted the 7th Annual “Let Me Play” Luncheon
Nov. 16 at the Charlotte Convention Center,
in an effort to illustrate the importance that
athletics can play in the development of young
women. Organizers raised more than $90,000
in support of women’s athletics, far surpassing
their goal of $75,000.
Both a fundraiser and a friendraiser, the
luncheon seeks to mobilize female leaders in
support of athletics. Presbyterian Hospital
Chief Operating Officer Amy Vance served
as the keynote speaker and UNC Charlotte
women’s basketball stand-out Shannon
McCallum shared her inspirational story. This
year’s event co-chairs were Lisa Lewis Dubois
and Samara Foxx.
| UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 39
UNC CHARLOTTE | b u i l d i n g blocks

StakedOUR
CLAIM

Institute
arch
lotte Rese
ar
tesy of Ch
Photo cour

In 2009 and 2010, the now-iconic Stake Your Claim pickaxes adorned
popular locations on campus and in Uptown Charlotte, proudly
proclaiming UNC Charlotte’s claim on the community. The sculptures
were located in the First Citizens building lobby, the Barnhardt Student
Activity Center, the traffic circle at the campus’s front entrance
and here, at the west campus entrance. Grigg Hall is shown in the
background. The pickaxe sculptures have been retired due to wear and
tear but the Stake Your Claim spirit and brand lives on.

40 UNC
40 UNCCHARLOTTE
CHARLOTTEmagazine
magazine | | Q410
Q410 www.UNCC.edu
www.UNCC.edu

University creates virtual public policy journal
By Jeff Michael
Director, UNC Charlotte Urban Institute
One of the bedrocks of American democracy
is the role that public education plays in
ensuring an informed public. To this end, the
early leaders of North Carolina established
a university system that today is nationally
respected for its commitment to a quality but
affordable public education. Over the years, that
commitment of service to the state’s citizens has
expanded to include a wide range of applied
research activities addressing public policy issues
such as economic development, health care, and
the environment.
As heirs to this rich tradition of public service
and outreach, UNC Charlotte’s founders –
people such as Bonnie Cone and Dean Colvard
– understood that if they were to build a great
“urban university” within the UNC system, it
would require a similar commitment to what
is sometimes referred to today as “engaged
scholarship.” To serve the Charlotte region, and
in turn, to be embraced and supported by its
citizens and leaders as their public university,
would require taking UNC Charlotte into
their communities. Out of this philosophy the
UNC Charlotte Urban Institute was established
forty years ago, since emerging as one of the
University’s most important outreach arms.
In the seven years I have been at the Institute,
the public’s interest in University engagement
has never waned. If anything, as public policy
issues have become ever more complex and
interconnected, and as the depth of the
University’s intellectual talent around those
issues has grown, the interest in getting UNC
Charlotte more involved in the community
seems greater than ever. But while this
continued demand for civic engagement may
affirm the ongoing relevancy of our mission
of service and outreach, it doesn’t necessarily
assure the continued relevancy of our work,
particularly if we are unable to find effective
communication strategies to engage citizens in
this digital era.
Another pillar of American democracy has
learned this lesson the hard way. Long hailed
as trusted sources of information and civic
dialogue, newspapers today are struggling to
adapt to an era where online media sources are
siphoning away their readership. While it would
be easy to dismiss this transition as just another
inevitable shift in the long history of the news
industry, just as television eclipsed radio over
fifty years ago, what is most disconcerting for
those who value the role of a vigorous print
media is the loss in many communities of
a trusted source of information – a shared
“information commons” where we turn not
only for facts, but for commentary that,
even when we disagree with it, helps
us make sense of the issues we face
collectively as a community.
The internet has forever changed
the way in which people seek to
understand the world around
them, and with the advent of
social networking media, it has
perspective | UNC CHARLOTTE
also dramatically altered the ways in which
people engage with one another about the
issues that impact them most. Recognizing
this, the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute
recently redesigned its website to function less
like an “electronic brochure” and more like
an on-line public policy journal, providing
an outlet for university-based research on the
economic, environmental and social issues
facing the Charlotte region, but equally
important, providing a place where thoughtful
commentary and dialogue can take place
about those issues. As non-journalists, this
is uncharted territory for us. However, our
mission has always been about providing
objective data and research to the public, and
then creating space for civic dialogue about
that work. In this sense, our new digital
communications strategy is just another chapter
in UNC Charlotte’s, and indeed the entire
UNC system’s, long tradition of providing
relevant and meaningful “engaged scholarship.”
 Nonprofit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Charlotte, NC
Permit No. 949

The University of North Carolina

at Charlotte
9201 University Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001

Autumn presents a riot

of color along a pathway
near the Student Union.