UNC Charlotte Magazine, 3Q, 2009

UNC Charlotte
The magazine of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte for Alumni and Friends • v16 n3 q3 • 2009
Learning to Serve
UNC CHARLOTTE | c h a n c e l l o r ’s l e t te r
Levine Scholars = Future Leaders

You don’t have to look far to see that However, what makes this initiative so
UNC Charlotte has undergone amazing special, and so important, is its goal — to
transformation in just a short time period. develop compassionate, ethical leadership
The campus experience has changed in for our region. The program’s emphasis
nearly every regard since the University’s on community service will provide
founding. These changes include the Charlotte with a cadre of truly committed
many new academic initiatives at the young people devoted to working in our
bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels neighborhoods and with community
and facilities that provide our students organizations across the city.
and the community with the best possible Charlotte is a vibrant, growing city. In
environment for learning that we can create. designing this program, it was the wish of
In this issue of UNC Charlotte magazine, the Levine’s, as well as the desire of those
you will learn about a new, exciting at UNC Charlotte who were involved in
initiative that signifies the University’s shaping the program, that our scholars
maturation as an academic institution (see connect with all that Charlotte has to
“Learning to Serve,” on page 10). In fact, offer. Through their service to community
the recent development of the University’s and dedication to life-long learning, we
premier scholarship program, the Levine believe the Levine Scholars will make an
Scholars Program, is a watershed moment in enormous impact on our campus and in the
the University’s history. community as they engage with Charlotte’s
In partnership with Sandra and Leon civic, corporate and non-profit leadership.
What makes this Levine and the Leon Levine Foundation, The first class of Levine Scholars will
the University has created a four-year, arrive in fall of 2010. We hope you will join
initiative so special, full ride scholarship program specifically us in welcoming them to the Queen City,
aimed at producing citizen-leaders for the and we look forward to sharing news of
and so important, is Charlotte region. Over just the next 10 their accomplishments with you.
years, the Leon Levine Foundation has
its goal — to develop committed to providing more than $9.3
million in merit-based scholarships. Cordially,
compassionate, A scholarship initiative of this magnitude
will not only strengthen the University’s
ethical leadership for
ties to the community; it also will allow
our region. UNC Charlotte to compete with the
best institutions in North Carolina
and throughout the United States for Philip L. Dubois
academic talent. Chancellor
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine www.UNCC.edu

contents | UNC CHARLOTTE
22
10
20
features departments
10 Learning to Serve 3 News Briefs
26 Center Stage
14 The Gift of Literacy 28 49ers Notebook
36 Building Blocks
18 Living Together
38 Alumni Notes
22 The Health 41 Perspective
Care Conundrum
alumni profiles
32 A Journey Through Time
16 Brian Toomey
32
student success
20 Rocking the Campus
On the cover:
On Aug. 18 Leon and Sandra Levine joined Chancellor Dubois to announce
the creation of the Levine Scholars Program. The campus will welcome the
first Levine Scholars in fall 2010. Cover illustration by SPARK Publications.
www.UNCC.edu Q309 | UNC CHARLOTTE magazine 1

U N C C H A R LOT T E | e d i to r ’s d e s k
Whole Lotta Stakin’ Going On

This 2009-2010 academic year at UNC Charlotte will be the greatest The University of North Carolina at Charlotte
ever. It will be hard to beat 2008-2009, but this year will see even more Volume 16, Number 3
velocity in the University’s trajectory, even as we begin a slow climb out of
an awful recession.
Philip L. Dubois
The recession is important to mention only so that it can be set aside Chancellor
as a topic of hand-wringing regarding the growth of UNC Charlotte.
Certainly, recession-related budget cuts have played havoc with important Ruth Shaw
Chair of the Board of Trustees
and practical plans UNC Charlotte had for our faculty and staffing levels
to finally catch up – almost – with our rate of growth. Not only did the Vice Chancellor for University Relations
and Community Affairs
campus experience a reduction in force to the tune of a relatively modest David Dunn
13 displaced employees, but we are also unable to hire scores and scores of
new people for positions that were desperately needed. Gloomy? Not when Editor
Director of Public Relations
you consider the good news. John D. Bland
Leaf thorough these pages and you will see examples of changes that signal more than
Creative Director
continued growth; they signal critical mass of the sort that fires school spirit – not just among Fabi Preslar
alums and students, but among all people of goodwill who are willing to stake their claim in
UNC Charlotte. Contributing Writers
Rhiannon Bowman
Start with the cover story. The creation of the Levine Scholars is the largest individual Phillip Brown
gift commitment ever presented to UNC Charlotte. The program commences immediately Lisa Lambert
Paul Nowell
with marketing and recruitment and will yield our first cadre of super-scholars next fall. The Allison Reid
University, through the generosity of philanthropic titans Leon and Sandra Levine, has just Karen C. Wilson
stepped to a higher plane. Read about it beginning on page 10.
Staff Photographer
See the photo spread about the big, beautiful Student Union, pages 4, 34 and 35. This Wade Bruton
awesome facility is huge in ways beyond its 196,000-square-foot size. The union is the new
magnet for students because it provides for them a much needed home away from home on Circulation Manager
Cathy Brown
campus – a home with all the amenities that a first-class university should offer.
Also this year, two strategically important facilities will rise from the ground – our Design & Production
SPARK Publications
Center City classroom building at Ninth and Brevard uptown and our Energy Production
Infrastructure Center on campus. Much has been written and said about both, but to be able
to actually see them becoming real is going to be fantastic. A third such facility was completed UNC Charlotte is published four times a
this summer: the Bioinformatics building. With the Center City building, we stake our claim year by The University of North Carolina
at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd.,
to enhanced access to people who live and work uptown, and become an even more significant Charlotte, NC 28223-0001
presence – a true landmark – in the Center City. With EPIC, we are working in partnership ISSN 10771913
with the leading energy organizations in the Charlotte region to train specialists and develop
new technology. With Bioinformatics, we’re building one of the largest such programs in the Editorial offices:
Reese Building, 2nd floor
United States. The University of North Carolina
Finally, UNC Charlotte’s “Stake Your Claim” branding campaign is hitting full at Charlotte
throttle with advertising, giant pickaxes located around town and the introduction of the 9201 University City Blvd.
4.NINER K run and walk event to help raise funds for scholarships. There’s a whole lotta Charlotte, NC 28223
704.687.5822; Fax: 704.687.6379
stakin’ going on at UNC Charlotte.
The University of North Carolina at
Regards, Charlotte is open to people of all races and
is committed to equality of educational
opportunity and does not discriminate
against applicants, students or employees
based on race, color, national origin, religion,
sex, sexual orientation, age or disability.
John D. Bland, Editor Printed on

Director of Public Relations recycled paper
17,500 copies of this publication were printed
at a cost of $.70 per piece, for a total cost of $12,300.00.
2 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q309 www.UNCC.edu

R-E-S-P-E-C-T for Avoiding and
a Common Injury Treating the

Ankle Sprain
By Lisa A. Lambert
nearly 23,000 Americans each day. As the

academic year approaches and you and
your loved ones gear up to take to the field,
consider the following advice:
When Sprains Happen

With any ankle sprain, the ankle should
be immediately immobilized to protect the
joint and allow the injured ligaments to heal.
The ankle should be immobilized for at least
a week for the simplest sprain, 10 to 14 days
for a moderate sprain and four to six weeks
for more severe sprains.
As with other such injuries, the
recommended first aid for an ankle sprain,
goes by the acronym RICE: R for rest, I for
ice, C for compression, E for elevation. In
other words, get off the foot, wrap it in an
Ace-type bandage, raise it higher than the
heart and ice it with a cloth-wrapped ice
pack applied for 20 minutes once every hour
(longer application can cause tissue damage).
This should soon be followed by a
visit to a doctor, physical therapist or
athletic trainer, who should prescribe a
UNC Charlotte professor and sprains are characterized by partially or period of immobilization of the ankle and
undergraduate athletic training director completely torn ligaments. rehabilitation exercises. An anti-inflammatory
Tricia Hubbard recently made headlines with Commonly, sprains are caused when the drug may be recommended and crutches
research into a common, often ignored health foot lands on an uneven surface or object provided for a few days, especially if applying
issue — the ankle sprain. and turns either in or outward beyond the pressure to the ankle is too painful. If you
Hubbard joined experts at the National acceptable range of motion. Athletes often can’t walk more than five steps without
Athletic Trainers’ Association annual meeting suffer sprains and tears when they land limping you should be using crutches.
to review research evidence for methods used wrong after jumping, make quick directional Athletes who’ve suffered sprains should
to prevent recurrent ankle sprains. changes or step on another player’s exercise preventive measures during future
What they found was not surprising; appendage. Along with athletes, women physical activities. Studies show that wearing
what is surprising is how few athletes (of the wearing high heels or platform shoes are at a lace-up ankle brace is more effective than
professional and weekend warrior variety) higher risk, Hubbard said. taping the ankle in preventing re-injury.
properly deal with ankle injuries. These Without proper treatment what might While circumstance dictates a good many
pesky injuries take more time to heal than seem like a simple ankle sprain develops into injuries, others are preventable. Hubbard said
most people realize, and most sprains require chronic, long-term joint pathology for some wearing shoes appropriate for your activity
rehabilitation regimens. 30 to 40 percent of people, Hubbard said. goes a long way.
Sprains result when the elastic fibers In a July 2009 New York Times article,
that hold the ankle together, ligaments, are Hubbard provides tips for prevention and Lisa Lambert is senior writer
stretched beyond their normal range. Severe treatment of ankle sprains, which affect in the Office of Public Relations.

UNC CHARLOTTE | n ew s b r i e f s
news briefs
Student Union
students in mind and with their input,” said bookstore. The Union also hosts a 210-seat
Associate Vice Chancellor for the Student movie theatre, lounges, meeting rooms,
Ushers in
Union Jim Hoppa. an art gallery, outdoor and patio seating
The Union becomes the new areas and ample space for gathering, study
New Era
headquarters for the Student Activities and relaxation. Services include a copy and
Office, providing a connection and mailing center, laptop computer checkout,
A new era in UNC Charlotte’s history resources to almost 300 student hair salon, ATMs and the I.D. Card office.
and student life began this fall. After 10 organizations and activities. The Student Movies, which are free for current students,
years of planning and two-and-a-half years Government Association, Campus will be open to the public for a nominal fee.
of construction, the new $65 million, Activities Board and Student Media Office The new Union replaces UNC
196,000-square-foot Student Union will have permanent offices in the Student Charlotte’s Cone University Center, built
opened. Union. The building also houses the Center in 1962. The Cone Center will remain
At virtually every university, the student for Leadership Development and the open to provide space for meetings, student
union is the community center of the Multicultural Resource Center. support and additional campus dining.
campus serving students, faculty, staff, The Union houses a variety of food
alumni and visitors. “Everything in the options as well as Barnes and Noble at
Student Union has been done with the UNC Charlotte, a new two-story campus Continued on p. 34
Ribbon-cutting ceremony, Sept. 24

news briefs | UNC CHARLOTTE
CRI Welcomes First

Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Biomedical engineer Guy Rachmuth, is
the first-ever Entrepreneur-in-Residence
for the Charlotte Research Institute (CRI).
Rachmuth,
who recently
relocated from
Cambridge,
Mass., will
work to match
researchers and
technologies
with high-level
professionals
who have the Guy Rachmuth
ability to create
new private sector relationships that may
lead to new startup business ventures
or licensing opportunities to existing
companies.
An accomplished entrepreneur,
Rachmuth designed novel integrated Helene Hilger will lead a project to produce brown grease-to-biodiesel technology
circuits that mimic brain signals in real- through UNC Charlotte’s Infrastructure, Design, Environment and Sustainability Center.
time for his thesis work as a post-doctoral
fellow at MIT. He completed the work New IDEAS Center to Help Fuel
under the direction of the MIT/Harvard Regional Biodiesel Production Efforts
Division of Health Sciences. He later UNC Charlotte, together with Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities, Central Piedmont
launched NeuroAnalogICs, a start-up Community College and the Centralina Council of Governments, recently was
company aimed at commercializing this awarded a Green Business Fund Grant presented by Gov. Bev Perdue at a reception
thesis work. The company attracted held this month. The $85,000 grant, along with a $99,850 grant from the Biofuels
venture capital investments and Center of North Carolina will aid in the study and development of a highly integrated
government grants. biodiesel production facility for Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities.
The Charlotte Research Institute’s The regional partnership will cultivate an oil seed crop on five acres of land owned
new Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) by Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities and irrigated with reclaimed water to produce
program is designed to support scientific, biodiesel fuel.
entrepreneurial and commercialization According to Charlotte Mecklenburg Utilities, technology for converting virgin
opportunities at UNC Charlotte. seed oils and yellow grease into biodiesel is well proven, however much less study has
Rachmuth, who holds an M.S. and been done on brown grease currently removed from restaurant grease traps and black
Ph.D. from Harvard University in grease collected in sewer lines. Often grease is taken to landfills because it is mixed
biomedical engineering, has consulted with wastewater. Grease poured down drains is the leading cause of sanitary sewer
for life sciences-oriented startups and overflows in the Utilities 4,000-mile wastewater collection system.
investment banks in the Boston area. The work will be conducted through UNC Charlotte’s new Infrastructure, Design,
“The Charlotte Region is growing Environment and Sustainability (IDEAS) Center; Center director, Helene Hilger will
significantly and attracting high quality serve as the principal investigator of the project. The Center will determine how much
consultants from around the world,” brown grease is generated in the county, its chemical makeup and how much biodiesel
Carl P.B. Mahler II, director of UNC could be produced from the region. The funding also supports a vetting process to
Charlotte’s Office of Technology identify qualified vendors with brown grease-to-biodiesel technology.
Transfer stated. Students from UNC Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College will
The Entrepreneur-in-Residence assist with various aspects of the projects. Central Piedmont’s Center for Sustainability
program is a 12-month appointed will produce learning modules from the agricultural and biodiesel production
position. Licensing revenue from existing activities to strengthen the Charlotte region’s green workforce.
UNC Charlotte-owned technologies are Centralina Council of Governments is administering the grants through its Clean
reinvested back into the University to Fuels Coalition.
support additional research activities.

news briefs
Cone Distinguished “Her (Aliaga-Buchenau) was completed at Georg-
Professorship awarded enthusiasm and devotion August Universitat Gottingen,
to Aliaga-Buchenau make her an excellent where she majored in French
Associate professor of German Ana-Isabel mentor,” said Lorden. “She and English literature and
Aliaga-Buchenau is the latest member of encourages students to study linguistics.
the faculty to receive the Bonnie E. Cone abroad and those who excel The Cone Early-Career
Early-Career Professorship for Teaching. She to continue for advanced Professorship in Teaching was
received the honor at convocation, Tuesday, degrees.” established in 1992 to recognize
Aug. 18. Robert Reimer, chair a faculty member who exhibits
In presenting the award, Provost Joan of languages and culture excellent teaching early in his
Ana-Isabel Aliaga-Buchenau
Lorden cited Aliaga-Buchenau’s role in studies, in support of Aliaga- or her career. A three-year
revising the German curriculum to make Buchenau, wrote, “She represents that appointment, the professorship includes
it “more appealing to students without which makes our profession rewarding and an additional salary stipend and faculty
compromising on standards and tradition.” ultimately a joy to practice.” development funding. In addition, the
Aliaga-Buchenau also is credited with Aliaga-Buchenau joined UNC Charlotte recipient’s name is inscribed on a special
revitalizing the Certificate in Translation: in 2002. She earned a Ph.D. and a master’s permanent plaque. Only five members of
German, considered the program’s most in comparative literature from UNC the University faculty may hold this title at
popular option. Chapel Hill. Her undergraduate work the same time.
for the Performing Arts
DaNCe|MuSiC|TheaTre
2009-2010 Season Performing Arts Calendar
Features Full Slate of Events
The Department of Music proudly announces the

Faculty & Friends Concert Series; a series of concerts
performed by UNC Charlotte’s outstanding faculty
along with their friends and colleagues. This series
of concerts will feature masterworks of the chamber
music and vocal repertoire, a tribute to jazz legend
Charlie Parker, and the Inaugural Recital of violinist
David Russell, the newly appointed Anne R. Belk
Distinguished Professor of Music.
The Department of Music will also present nearly 30
student ensemble performances during the 2009 – 2010
season. These concerts feature UNC Charlotte’s
choirs, concert bands, jazz ensembles, orchestras, and
chamber ensembles.
Season subscriptions for the Theatre Mainstage
Series, the Dance Ensemble Series, and the Faculty
& Friends Concert Series are on sale now at www.
unccboxoffice.com and through the Box Office located
in Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts on the UNC
Charlotte campus. The Box Office is open Monday
through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. except on
university holidays.
For additional event and venue information, call
the Box Office at 704-687-1TIX (1849) or visit
www.performances.uncc.edu.

rofit Org.
No. 949
otte, NC
ostage
iD
International Programs Army, Air Force ROTC Get New Home in Renamed Memorial Hall
Plans Speakers and Films During the past year, the Brocker Building, which housed the former Student Health Center,
The International Film Series at UNC has been transformed. Now Memorial Hall, the building has become the headquarters for the
Charlotte is co-presented by the Office Army and Air Force ROTC programs on campus after a year long complete renovation.
of International Programs and the Global The Brocker Building formerly
Film Initiative and funded through the served as the University’s student
Chancellor’s Diversity Challenge Fund. health center from the early 1970s.
Six films will be screened on-campus In late 2007, UNC Charlotte
during the 2009-2010 academic year. The opened a new state-of-the-art
films are critically acclaimed and examine Student Health Center located at the
universal themes of love, tragedy, family intersection of Cameron Boulevard
and community through the lens of people and Mary Alexander Road. Facilities
across the globe. Film titles include: Getting Management Design Services was
Home (China), Mutum (Brazil), Possible given the task of converting the old
Lives (Argentina), Sleepwalking Land building into the new home of the
(Mozambique), Song from the Southern Seas ROTC departments.
(Kazakhstan) and What a Wonderful World The entire interior of the building
(Morocco). Details will be provided as they was demolished and removed. The
are confirmed. University Classroom Support
Photo by Mathew Brown

For more information on these and other Department has installed new “Smart
events, contact Rebecca Vincent at rebecca. Room” capabilities in the classrooms
vincent@uncc.edu or 704-687-7305. to bring the building up to current
UNC Charlotte friends and alums are also University standards.
Memorial Hall
invited to join the OIP Facebook Group for “Memorial Hall is a milestone
information on these and other events or in the history of ROTC at UNC
follow our new blog, Niner International, to Charlotte,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Rogers, commander of AFROTC Detachment 592. “I
get the scoop on upcoming programs, read attended UNC Charlotte 20 years ago as an Air Force ROTC cadet. Having a dedicated Military
international perspectives of students and Science and Aerospace building demonstrates the University’s commitment to our programs. We
colleagues or provide feedback. are grateful to be here.”
A wall inside the entrance way to the building has been reserved for the design and
Business affairs vc named construction of a memorial that will commemorate UNC Charlotte students who have served in
outstanding leader any branch of the Armed Services and lost their lives in service to the country.
Elizabeth Hardin, vice chancellor Army and Air Force cadets will conduct the research to find the UNC Charlotte Veterans
for business affairs, was among the 25 who have died in the line of duty.
outstanding women from the Charlotte Lt. Col. Eddie Johnson, chair of Military Science and Leadership Studies, stated, “It is an
area honored at the 13th annual Women in honor for Army ROTC to be housed in a building dedicated to fallen veterans. As we move
Business event presented by the Charlotte through uncertain times, it will serve as a monument to those who have sacrificed and to the
Business Journal. future leaders that will come from Memorial Hall.”
As head of the Business Affairs Division,
Hardin serves as chief financial and
administrative officer for UNC Charlotte. In center. Hardin also is with a master’s degree from
that role, she is responsible for policy, strategy providing leadership in the Harvard Business School,
and operational oversight for the campus development of the most Hardin held positions with
administrative infrastructure that provides broadly encompassing campus Sara Lee Hosiery Corp., Booz
the people, space and dollars necessary for master plan in the University’s Allen Hamilton and Bank of
the University to fulfill its institutional history. The plan will address America before joining the
mission. not only the specifics of the University. During her UNC
During the past year, Hardin chaired campus’ infrastructure but the Charlotte tenures, Hardin
the steering committee for the Center University’s integration with has served as special assistant
City Building project. Earlier this year, its surrounding community. to the chancellor, interim
the University broke ground on the $50.4 She also created the fiscal Beth Hardin executive director of the
million project, which is the only UNC roadmap that has enabled the University to Charlotte Research Institute and associate
system classroom building conceived and weather the loss of more than 12 percent of vice chancellor of business affairs. She also
designed specifically to serve the business, its general funds. was vice president for administration at the
organizations and residents of an urban A graduate of the University of Georgia University of Wyoming from 2003 to 2006.

news briefs
Wilder to Lead UNC
Crossroads
Charlotte J. Murrey
Coordinator Wins
Atkins Library
Prestigious Civic
Stanley Wilder, former associate dean,
Engagement Award
River Campus Libraries, University of
Susan Harden is the recipient
Rochester,
of the 2009 Civic Engagement
is UNC
Professional of the Year Award.
Charlotte’s new
Harden, coordinator for UNC
head librarian.
Charlotte’s Crossroads Charlotte
According to
initiative, recently received the
Joan Lorden,
award from Campus Compact
provost and
during a special ceremony held
vice chancellor
on campus.
for academic
A national coalition of
affairs, Wilder
more than 1,100 college and
“is highly
Stanley Wilder university presidents, Campus
respected as a
Compact represents some
thought leader
six million students who are
for the profession (in academic research
committed to fulfilling the civic
libraries)” and is known by his colleagues
purposes of higher education.
“as an innovator who has removed barriers
The Civic Engagement
to access library resources.”
Professional of the Year Award
Wilder said he was impressed with the
highlights the critical and
level of support Atkins Library received
valuable role of the community Susan Harden
from University leaders and across campus.
engagement professional in
“The UNC Charlotte community clearly
higher education. It honors an
loves its library and understands how a
individual who not only has become a vital link
strong library contributes to teaching
between the community and campus but who is central to realizing the vision of the
and research. Inside the library and out,
engaged campus.
UNC Charlotte exudes a strong sense of
During this past year, Harden introduced new Crossroads-themed courses such as
aspiration, a committed resolve to be great.
UCOL 1200 Freshman Seminar and LBST 2215 Citizenship. More than 600 students
Implementing a strong engagement
participated in the courses, which resulted in almost 2,000 community service hours.
approach with faculty, staff, students and
In addition, Harden spearheaded the development of a strategic network of Crossroads
the community, Wilder has successful
partners for service learning and event collaboration. These partners include: Charlotte-
experience in areas such as collection
Mecklenburg Schools, Levine Museum of the New South, YWCA and the Public
development, digital scholarship, scholarly
Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.
communications and fund raising. He
Crossroads Charlotte is a broad-based effort to address the challenges of race, class
currently oversees a $3 million project
and privilege in Charlotte. More than 50 area governmental, corporate, nonprofit,
funded by the Andrew W. Mellon
faith-based and educational institutions are active Crossroads partners.
Foundation that will result in, according
to Wilder, an “open source search system
unifying retrieval of print and electronic
scholarship.” and Human Services’ Department of Public generation of public health workers,” said
Health Sciences, the UNC Charlotte Public Andrew Harver, chair of Public Health
Public Health Programs Health Program becomes the fourth in the Sciences.
Earn Accreditation state to earn CEPH accreditation, joining E. Winters Mabry, MD, Health Director,
The Council on Education for Public UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Greensboro, and Mecklenburg County Health Department
Health (CEPH) recently awarded initial East Carolina University. In total, CEPH noted, “National certification demonstrates
five-year accreditation to UNC Charlotte’s has accredited 80 public health programs how UNC Charlotte has strengthened
Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) and 41 schools of public health worldwide. its offerings, and become a resource for
and Bachelor of Science in Public Health “We are among a selective set of developing a highly trained public health
(BSPH) degree programs. institutions that demonstrate the faculty workforce to meet current and emerging
Associated with the College of Health talent and broad vision to prepare the next challenges, and to respond to the ongoing

needs of our diverse community.” Department of Computer Science in in Business Administration program, recently
“This accomplishment is a significant UNC Charlotte’s College of Computing was crowned Miss North Carolina 2009.
step in our strategic plan to increase our and Informatics, will receive $646,982 As winner of the pageant, Southard
educational and research capacities in public during the next five years to support her receives a $12,000 scholarship and the
health,” said Karen Schmaling, Ph.D., research, “Educational Data Mining for chance to compete for the Miss America
dean of the College of Health and Human Student Support in Interactive Learning crown next January in Las Vegas. Southard
Services. Environments.” earned undergraduate degrees in business and
“I am honored and delighted to receive dance from Elon University.
Student Health the NSF Career Award to advance my
Center Receives research in developing software to make Computer science
AAAHC Accreditation education better for students learning professor receives
UNC Charlotte’s Student Health in science, technology, engineering and NSF grant
Center recently received accreditation mathematics,” said Barnes. “This award Yu Wang,
by the Accreditation Association for will enable us to engage more graduate and assistant professor
Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC/ undergraduate students in computer science in the College
Accreditation Association). research that has a direct benefit on society.” of Computing
According to David Rousmaniere, Creating intelligent learning technologies and Informatics
director of the Student Health Center, from data has unique potential to transform Department
achieving this distinction distinguishes the the American educational system, by of Computer
University’s Student Health Center from building a low-cost way to adapt learning Science, has
many other outpatient facilities. environments to individual students, while received a
“We believe our patients deserve the advancing research on human learning, grant from the
best,” stated Rousmaniere. “When they see Barnes said. National Science Yu Wang
our certificate of accreditation, it means that The goal of her project is to create Foundation
we as an organization care enough about technology for a new generation of data- (NSF) for the collaborative research project
our patients to strive for the highest care driven intelligent tutors, enabling the rapid “An Integrated Environment-independent
possible.” creation of individualized instruction to Approach to Topology Control in Wireless
More than 3,600 ambulatory health care support learning in science, technology, Ad Hoc Networks.” The total grant, which
organizations across the United States are engineering and mathematics (STEM) is for $462,561, is from the foundation’s
accredited by AAAHC. Ambulatory health fields. It has the potential to develop Networking Technology and Systems
care organizations seeking accreditation individualized learning support for a Program.
by the AAAHC undergo an extensive broad audience, from children to adults, Wang, in collaboration with Harish
self-assessment and on-site survey by including students who are traditionally Sethu from Drexel University and Liang
experts – volunteer physicians, nurses and underrepresented in STEM fields, Cheng from Lehigh University, will study
administrators who are actively involved in Barnes said. how to intelligently control the topology
ambulatory health care. The NSF Career Award is the of wireless ad hoc networks so energy
The Student Health Center, located at foundation’s most prestigious honor in consumption and network interference
the corner of Cameron Boulevard and Mary support of junior faculty who exemplify the are reduced while capacity is maximized.
Alexander Road opened in fall 2007. The role of teacher-scholars through outstanding These new algorithms will speed up the
$7.5 million building, at almost 32,000 research, excellent education and the actual deployment of energy-efficient high-
square feet, features 21 medical examination integration of their education and research performance wireless ad hoc networks with
rooms. Services provided include, but programs within the mission of their benefits to many known civil or military
are not limited to, general medicine, organization. applications.
gynecology, physical therapy, radiology, A wireless ad hoc network is a loose
nutrition and psychiatry. Belk collection of wireless devices that are capable
College of communicating with each other without
Computer Science Professor Student the aid of any established infrastructure
Receives NSF Career Award Crowned or centralized administration. Minimal
Computer science professor Tiffany Miss North configuration and quick deployment
Barnes is studying how to use artificial Carolina make wireless ad hoc networks suitable
intelligence to transform education. Katherine for a variety of applications, such as
Photo by Lenn Long
Her efforts have resulted in a prestigious Southard, a disaster recovery or military battlefields.
National Science Foundation (NSF) student in the Wireless ad hoc networks are expected
Career Award. Belk College of to play an important role in the future
Barnes, an assistant professor in the Business Master Katherine Southard wireless generation.

fe a t u re | UNC CHARLOTTE
Learning New scholarship

program to foster
To Serve
By Paul Nowell
community engagement
UNC Charlotte’s rising star is about to shine even brighter. “We hope that the Levine
In the fall of 2010, the first group of 15 Levine Scholars will take their
place among their peers on campus, attending classes and starting to look Scholars will engage in lives
for ways to use their extraordinary talents and gifts to make the Charlotte
community a better place to live. of learning, service and
The prestigious academic awards were made possible by
philanthropists Leon and Sandra Levine, who donated $9.3 million leadership here in the region
in August to UNC Charlotte over 10 years for the merit scholarship
program to develop community service leaders.
we love and call home.”
Al Maisto, associate dean for the Honors College at UNC Charlotte
and Interim Director for the Levine Scholars Program, said the concept His words are not hyperbole. The program has been compared
derived from the Levine family’s ongoing efforts to give back to the with the esteemed Morehead-Cain Scholars at UNC Chapel Hill,
Charlotte community. Park Scholars at North Carolina State University and Benjamin N.
Maisto noted the Levine Foundation has been very active in Duke Scholars at Duke.
supporting causes ranging from medical care to museums and The largest individual academic gift commitment in the
higher education. university’s history, the Levine Scholars Program triples the amount
“Here’s a way to inculcate leaders from this city, the state and even the
entire United States into this community,” he said. “Our hope is for them
UNC Charlotte Chancellor Philip L. Dubois (standing) joins Sandra and
to stay here after they graduate so they can instill their academic prowess, Leon Levine at a press conference to announce the largest individual
leadership skills and business talents into the Charlotte community to gift in University history. The $9.3 million gift will fund the new Levine
strengthen its level of giving and philanthropic accomplishments.” Scholars Program.

An overflow crowd gathered in the new Student Union to learn more
about the University’s premiere scholarship program. The inaugural class
of Levine Scholars will join the University community in fall of 2010.
Chancellor Philip L. Dubois called the creation of the Levine

Scholars Program a “transformational” event for the University. “To
me, this is more than the establishment of a scholarship program,”
he said. “It’s a watershed moment in our history.”
Dubois said the Levine Scholars Program signals UNC
Charlotte’s maturation as an academic institution as the university
seeks to compete with top institutions in the state and country for
academic talent.
“What makes this initiative so special, and so important, is its
goal – to develop compassionate, ethical leadership for our region,”
Dr. Mike Richardson and Niles Sorensen, vice chancellor for
he said.
development and alumni affairs, were instrumental in planning
for the Levine Scholars Program. The scholarships will cover all tuition and fees, housing and
meals, books, a laptop computer, and funding for four summer
experiences, as well as an $8,000 grant to support community
of four-year aid that UNC Charlotte offers incoming freshmen. service work over four years at UNC Charlotte. The value for
Within four years, officials hope to have 60 Levine Scholars in-state students will be about $90,000 and about $140,000 for
on campus. out-of-state students.
Levine, founder of the successful Family Dollar Stores chain, Eleven scholars will come from North Carolina; four from across
said he and his wife were pleased to use some of their foundation’s the country. They'll work with Charlotte's corporate and civic leaders.
$200 million for the merit scholarships. Other beneficiaries of Provost Joan Lorden said: “Today’s students in general, and
the foundation include The Levine Museum of the New South, especially the brightest and most talented students, are looking for
Levine Children’s Hospital and the Sandra and Leon Levine Jewish more than just a classroom experience. They want a real laboratory
Community Center. to test what they learn and to make meaningful contributions to
“We are delighted by the opportunity to be able to support a the community.
program that exemplifies one of the most fundamental values – that “Those opportunities are abundant in Charlotte and the Levine
individuals can make a real difference in the community,” Levine Scholars Program will give UNC Charlotte the opportunity to
told a packed news conference on the UNC Charlotte campus on actively recruit these young people and offer a financial package that
Aug. 18. “We hope that the Levine Scholars will engage in lives convinces them to attend here.”
of learning, service and leadership here in the region we love and
call home.” Paul Nowell is media relations
manager at UNC Charlotte.

Pound the Pavement

Oct. 24 event to boost need-based scholarship support
By Phillip Brown
“We hope
the Charlotte
community
will stake their For fall semester, UNC Charlotte 7:30 a.m. with a start time of 8:49 a.m. at
claim in support welcomed a record enrollment of nearly
24,700 students. Come spring, a significant
the new Student Union on Craver Road.
Participant fees are: $15 for UNC Charlotte
of education number of these students may be unable to students, $26 for single runners/walkers
continue their studies due to state budget and $49 for couples or families of four if
by providing cuts to need-based financial aid. registered prior to Friday, Oct. 23. Onsite
Rather than standing still, UNC registration will be higher. Children age 14
assistance to Charlotte leaders are racing to assist these and younger are free.
students through the 4.NINER K. A 4.9 “One hundred percent of all race
these students.” kilometer race/walk, the 4.NINER K is proceeds will go directly to the 4.NINER
designed to be a community-wide event to Fund,” said Edna Dash from university
–David Dunn raise funds for need-based scholarships. relations and community affairs, who is
“This year, financial aid applications are helping to organize the race along with the
up 30 percent. With less aid from the state, University’s Alumni Association. “Besides
some of our neediest students will be unable supporting such a worthwhile cause,
to return in the spring,” said David Dunn, runners and their families will enjoy a post-
vice chancellor for university relations and race barbeque and other activities, including
community affairs. “But UNC Charlotte 49er Fan Day.”
is a pioneering institution. We’ve always Following the race, prizes will be awarded
exhibited a ‘can do’ attitude when tackling to the overall top three male and female
any problem. We’ve staked our claim to participants as well as the top three men and
providing an outstanding educational women per age groups. At 11 a.m., 49er Fan
experience for the greater Charlotte region. Day begins in Halton Arena; UNC Charlotte
We hope the Charlotte community and the men’s and women’s basketball teams will hold
UNC Charlotte family will join us in this scrimmages, and players will sign autographs.
fund-raising effort and stake their claim in Online registration can be completed via
support of education by providing assistance the Web at http://syc.uncc.edu/4NINERK.
to these students.” aspx. For more information about
The first-ever 4.NINER K run/walk the 4.NINER K or to request mail-in
is set for Saturday, Oct. 24, on the UNC registration forms, e-mail Dash at edash@
Charlotte campus. Registration begins at uncc.edu.

UNC CHARLOTTE | fe a t u re
Diane Browder
is champion
of disabled
students
The Gift
of
Literacy
By Lisa A. Lambert
Diane Browder understands the profound provide individuals with disabilities equal Literacy Skills Builder (ELSB) is multi-
joy of literacy. As a child, her mother access to educational opportunity, led Browder year program with seven distinct levels and
instilled in the young girl a passion for to a career in special education. A desire to ongoing assessments that allow students to
reading that she would nurture for life. share the gift of literacy inspired Browder to progress at their own pace.
Browder, the Snyder Distinguished Professor embark on a research project meant to shed Sam sits across a table from Amy. She
of Special Education at UNC Charlotte, light on best practices in literacy education for holds up an index card and asks Sam to
has made a career of passing along that joy students with disabilities. point to the word that best describes Moe,
along with other educational opportunities Her research team’s review of the literature the star of the ELSB curriculum. “Is Moe
to countless children who just a decade ago revealed that a tested, effective literacy a frog, or a book?” she says. He rocks back
would have been written off as unable to curriculum for moderately to severely in his seat and thrusts his finger forward,
learn even the most basic literacy skills. disabled students simply did not exist. So touching and repeating the correct word.
Children like Sam. Sam, a precocious she led the team to create one. Amy praises his choice and he smiles
8-year-old, was born with Downs Syndrome. “Dr. Browder’s work exemplifies solid, broadly, clearly pleased.
Sam’s special education teacher, Amy, empirical research in an area that is an Prior to the passage of the Individuals
had searched for a years for a way to help extremely difficult one in which to conduct with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
her students master basic academic skills research,” said Martha Thurlow, director in 1975, Sam would have been denied
including word recognition. of the National Center on Education access to education. As late as 1970, many
Browder understood Amy’s frustration. Outcomes. “She applied creativity to an area states had laws excluding children who
For nearly three decades she has maintained where others were thinking inside the box were deaf, blind, emotionally disturbed or
a close connection to K through 12 schools, — novel approaches that helped move her intellectually disabled.
talking to teachers and parents about the thinking and her research light years from In the last 30 years a sea change has
pitfalls and successes of modern special where they would have been otherwise.” taken place — the nation has moved
education programs. The result of Browder’s work is a from paying little or no attention to the
A ground-level awareness of the problems language-rich literacy curriculum for needs of individuals with disabilities, to
inherent in educating moderately to severely children ages 5 – 10 with moderate to accommodating these individuals’ basic
disabled students, coupled with a passion to severe developmental disabilities. The Early needs, and finally to providing programs and

services for all children with disabilities and

their families.
“Dr. Browder’s children is a long-term gain,” Browder said.
In addition to her research and work in the
Before the enactment of IDEA, most
individuals with moderate to severe
work has changed schools, Browder has helped to shape the next
generation of education leaders as coordinator
disabilities received services in isolated the way we of the doctorate in special education at UNC
settings. In 1967, for example, almost Charlotte. The UNC Charlotte special
200,000 persons with significant disabilities educate and the education department recently was ranked
were housed in state institutions. Many of in the top 10 nationwide by the Chronicle of
these settings provided only minimal food, expectations Higher Education for scholarly productivity.
clothing and shelter. She also mentors a talented research team
While educational opportunities for we hold for who have conducted teacher training in
children with disabilities have grown by places as diverse as California, South Dakota,
leaps and bounds since the implementation students with the Chicago and Louisiana.
of IDEA, Browder’s research led the way
in demonstrating how to teach academic
most significant While at UNC Charlotte, Browder has
secured more than $8 million in federal
content including not only literacy, but
also math and science to students with
cognitive research funding and student support monies.
She has published several books that are
significant cognitive disabilities. Her work disabilities.” considered seminal within the field of special
also contributed to understanding how these education. These books provide teachers
students can “show what they know” through with tools to successfully integrate students
alternate assessments. findings on alternate assessment and access with developmental disabilities into the
“It is fair to say that Dr. Browder’s work to general curriculum to craft national mainstream of American schools.
has changed the way we educate and the policy. At the request of former U.S. “Her research has helped to make sure
expectations we hold for students with Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, that students with significant cognitive
the most significant cognitive disabilities,” Browder was named to the National disabilities are no longer pushed to the side
Thurlow said. Browder’s contributions were Technical Advisory Council, created by and segregated in special classrooms. She has
also recognized by the American Association the Department of Education to strengthen led the fight to integrate these children into
on Education Research where she was selected No Child Left Behind. American society and schools,” said Steve
as the Special Education Distinguished Browder cautions that, though strides have Graham, editor of the journal Exceptional
Scholar of 2009. been made to improve special education, the Children. “For those children who are most
The ELSB curriculum is being used by U.S. educational system needs a significant, vulnerable, Dr. Browder has increased the
Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, who have sustained investment in research to keep likelihood that they will be able to serve a
partnered with Browder to test educational forward momentum. purposeful and meaningful life, living and
innovations for the past decade. The ELSB “I think what’s going to be really important working alongside the rest of us.”
was also endorsed by the Council of Special for special education in the 21st Century In addition to her professional training,
Education Administrators and is being used is to maintain some of the gains that have Browder learned some very important
in school systems nationwide. And lawmakers been made, and to keep funding research. I lessons from her niece, who is severely
have taken notice, using Browder’s research hope people will remember that investing in disabled. Witnessing the struggles and
triumphs of a family member increased
Browder’s commitment to a field in which
she has excelled and to which she has made
immeasurable contributions. Browder noted
that the many teachers and students who
share her work continue to inspire her hopes
and expectations.
“I have short-term and long-term hopes
for students with moderate and severe
disabilities. In the short term, I hope they’ll
delight in learning, and in the long term I
hope that learning is durable and applies to
life outcomes as adults,” she said. “My hope
is that they’ll sustain the joy of learning for
a lifetime.”
Diane Browder was awarded the 2009 First Citizens Bank Scholars Medal. Lisa Lambert is senior writer
She is pictured with Chancellor Dubois and First Citizens executive Marc Horgan. in the Office of Public Relations.

UNC CHARLOTTE | a l u m n i p ro f i l e s
By Rhiannon Bowman
The Accidental
Fencing Instructor
a l u m n i p ro f i l e s | UNC CHARLOTTE
Brian Toomey got started in fencing – swords, while teaching students to play what Toomey calls,
not boards – because he needed to take one more “physical chess.”
class to fill his schedule during his sophomore year But unlike chess, he said, the board is constantly
at UNC Charlotte, not because he was in love with changing. Fencing, Toomey said, is about playing
the sport. In truth, fencing was his third choice for games against your opponent and realizing every
an alternative elective. fencer has different advantages and disadvantages.
Nonetheless, he quickly became passionate Fencing, which got its start more than 1,000
about the sport. By his senior year, he was president years ago in England, often brings to mind images
of the university’s fencing club. After graduation, of knights weighted down with chain mail,
he returned to campus to volunteer as an assistant heavy armor and large shields. Today, fencing is
coach. Today, Toomey, now 33, owns the Charlotte a competitive sport, not a form of warfare. The
Fencing Academy on Reames Road advent of bullets ended the need to carry a sword
In 2002, he started the academy with three onto the battlefield.
students. Now, the school boasts a roster of 90. Fencing is one of only four sports included
That number doesn’t include students who in every modern Olympic Games since the
participate in satellite programs, where the first in 1896, according to the U.S. Fencing
academy hosts beginner classes, at various private Association. Women were first allowed to
schools and for the Mecklenburg County Parks compete in 1924, though it wasn’t until the
and Recreation Department. 2004 Olympic Game in Athens, Greece, that
In addition to offering classes, the academy women’s Sabre, a type of sword, became an
offers weeklong camps and teaches students official part of the Olympic program.
and parents how to repair equipment. When Even though the sport is highly competitive,
possible, Olympic fencer Peter Cox, who Toomey encourages his students to play when
participated in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, they’re practicing, and not to take themselves too
participates in the clinics. seriously.
Besides sharing his expertise, said Toomey of “It’s like any other martial art,” he says, “it takes
Cox, “He’s always been a good mentor.” a long time to get good at the basics.” And, he
Presiding over the UNC Charlotte fencing added with a boyish smirk, “Often, at first, you just
club, Toomey said, laid the foundation for the get beaten up. You have to learn how to lose before
fencing academy. It gave him experience managing you learn how to win.”
UNC Charlotte alumnus Brian
Toomey got his first taste of large groups and promoting the sport. However, One of the reasons why Toomey is attracted to
fencing as an undergraduate. managing the fencing academy is not his day job. fencing is that it allows him to exercise his martial
He now owns Charlotte By day, the computer science major is a computer arts skills. “I like the one-on-one competition,” he
Fencing Academy and passes
programmer at Bank of America. said. Plus, Getting to hit people with metal swords
on his love of the sport to the
academy’s 90-plus students. While his job helps keep the academy’s books is always a little fun.”
in the black, Toomey said he foresees a day when Though many fencers in the sport might sniff at
he can work at the academy full time. Meanwhile, being compared to martial artists, Toomey thinks
his friend of a dozen years, Jeff Kallio, handles the it’s a natural fit, “because,” he said, “you have to
academy’s day-to-day operations. He also is a UNC take the time to practice movements over and over
Charlotte graduate who earned a degree in criminal again until you can do them without thinking.
justice in 2004. Discipline is mandatory.”
“The kids Both men are excited about sharing their love
of the sport with their students. “We have such
“The kids have a lot of practice making
mistakes,” said Kallio. But, he added, the sport
have a lot of a solid impact on the kids,” said Kallio, adding “builds responsibility and true self reliance.”
that the sport boosts confidence and instills Kennedy agreed, adding that fencing takes a
practice making leadership skills. big time commitment. One thing her family likes
Grace Kennedy, whose two sons are about the sport is, unlike in sports such as soccer,
mistakes, but academy students, calls fencing, “the sport of fencers get to choose which competitions they
good manners.” She said she’s witnessed a big want to participate in, often deciding with the help
the sport builds difference in her teenage sons, both of whom of their coaches.
responsibility and have attended the academy for four years.
Another bonus for her: Her boys are able to
“This is a very supportive atmosphere,” she
said. “Egos are left at the door. Everyone is treated
true self-reliance.” compete against females and adults, something
nearly unheard of in other sports.
the same.”
The coaches lead by example, displaying the Rhiannon Bowman ’08 is a

sport’s core values of honor, integrity and courage, freelance writer based in Charlotte.

Living Using public spaces

to promote
cultural understanding
Together
By Lisa A. Lambert
Charlotte and the words “growth and
development” are synonymous. The region has
added nearly 150,000 newcomers since 2000. City
leaders, non-profit organizations, private citizens and
business owners grapple daily with issues that arise
from rapid growth and demographic change.
Like many major metropolitan areas,
development in Charlotte has come in waves, with
Uptown as the epicenter and each new suburb
springing up farther still from the core of the city.
This form of growth constitutes urban sprawl.
Travel just a few miles from Uptown to witness
the consequences of sprawl. Abandoned shopping
centers sit back from the road amid desolate acres of
cracked pavement parking lots — once an optimistic
paean to consumerism, now a sad reminder that
time marches on and tastes change.
“As these areas become less attractive to middle
class shoppers, you find a middle-belt of aging
urban areas. These second-tier suburbs, constructed
between the 1940s and 1980s, are now hemmed in,”
said Jose Gamez, UNC Charlotte associate professor
of architecture and urban design and director of the
Design + Society Research Center. “Nicer suburbs
are now found further out.”
City planners, aided by UNC Charlotte’s Urban
Institute, have begun to re-imagine the region’s
growth patterns with an emphasis on compactness
and quality of life. Sustainability has become a
watchword. At the same time, the middle-belt
areas have attracted new inhabitants, often recent
immigrants.
Gamez studies the circumstances found in the
middle-belt areas.
Jose Gamez Before the 2008 economic crisis and concurrent

Center Provides Gamez points to one ongoing project as a prime example of kind
of collaboration fostered by the center. The project was a public
Expertise to Community art study conducted on behalf of the Arts and Science Council on
Through his work as director of the College of Arts + Architecture’s
Central Avenue.
Design + Society Research Center, Jose Gamez hopes to chip away at
“I made the case to them that one way to begin to repair some
some of the misunderstanding that fuels cultural conflict, while giving
of these older, auto-oriented neighborhoods would be to offer more
UNC Charlotte students an opportunity to work with the community
amenities like public art that would give people a place to sit, move
to hone their skills and solve real-world problems.
around,” he said. “We did a study looking at opportunity sites where
The Uptown studio engages UNC Charlotte students and faculty
we’d be able to introduce art and landscaping that would build the
with civic leaders and developers on projects ranging from public
visual fabric. We proposed that they could recognize the international
green space to public art.
qualities of that corridor.”
“It’s important to expose students to a set of real world
The community’s residents reached consensus after some
constraints and to instill in them a sense of civic responsibility. As
wrangling over the nature of the artwork and what it would depict.
professionals, architects will often be asked to engage in a civic
A mural project representing the old and new elements of life along
debate,” Gamez said.
Central Avenue has been commissioned. The
The center has evolved into a think-tank
murals will be printed on canvas and hung
focused on urban design-related issues.
from storefronts.
rise in unemployment, Charlotte was ranked long way to allow developers and government
ninth in the nation for immigrant population to rebuild and repair cities, making them
growth. Nearly 10 percent of the city’s pedestrian friendly and creating greater degrees
inhabitants hail from Latin America. of population density.
A significant portion of the immigrant With greater density comes a stronger social
population has settled in the middle-belt fabric and increased social interaction.
areas Gamez described. He said these areas “Legal constraints have often shaped a lot
are attractive to newcomers because they are of what cities end up with. For instance, San
affordable and are located within close range of Francisco has an historic Chinatown that’s a
employment opportunities. tourist attraction and highly prized amenity
Taco trucks, like this one, were the subject of
“A whole host of cultural patterns come with because in the 1800s the city enacted a series
controversy in cities across the United States,
immigrants — they use the space differently than including Charlotte. of laws that wouldn’t allow the Chinese to
from the way often intended, or designed, to be live outside of a certain district,” he said. “In
used,” Gamez said. an odd way the restriction had a long-term
Empty asphalt can become a springboard for “The arguments around noise that were benefit. The social fabric of that part of town
informal activities such as people congregating made were probably not malicious, but at has persisted and maintained a magnetism for
or street vendors selling food and amenities. the same time this is an urban landscape and folks of Asian descent.”
Conflicts arise when these activities violate diversity is a part of that,” Gamez said. “The Gamez points to Chinatown as one example
existing legislation, including zoning laws, or rub legislation has begun to stifle an emerging of a set of negative conditions arising from
up against cultural norms. population that has a lot of ‘publicness’ as part segregation that produced an odd benefit.
Case in point – Charlotte city leaders recently of its lifestyle — North Americans are not as “We appreciate the benefit without thinking
passed an ordinance to prohibit taco trucks from public; we have different cultural norms.” about the circumstance that produced it,” he said.
selling food after 9 p.m. The ordinance also The cultural rituals of Latin Americans Charlotte has witnessed explosive growth in
stipulated that trucks stay 400 feet from each and Europeans include daily gatherings and its immigrant community in recent years, so it
other and residential areas. socialization outside of the home. is likely conflicts such as the taco truck affair will
The ordinance caused quite a stir. Proponents “Some of it has to do with dense urban continue to arise for public debate.
argued that the trucks provide a service conditions and wanting to get into an open In the meantime, Gamez, who grew up in
(affordable fast food) to clientele who often space. Those things don’t always synch up Texas and earned master’s and doctoral degrees
don’t get off of work until late in the evening. cleanly with the way North Americans live,” in California, said spaces that encourage rather
Opponents argued that the trucks are a nuisance he said. than prohibit social interaction can go a long way
and that their presence encourages loitering, One step toward mitigating cultural conflict to increasing understanding among Charlotte’s
littering and loud noise. At the heart of the and enhancing understanding between dynamic population.
controversy was a clash of cultures driven by immigrants and long-time residents involves
dispute over the activities that should or should remapping the legal landscape. Gamez said Lisa Lambert is senior writer in
not take place in public space. that revising outdated legislation would go a the Office of Public Relations.

UNC CHARLOTTE | student success
Rocking the Campus

(And the World?)
By Karen C. Wilson
Rock and roll is as much a part of

college as studying, but for some it’s serious “I’d love to be a
business.
Brandon Kirkley, a UNC Charlotte
pop musician. As
graduate student in communications, and
Jocelyn Ellis, a senior studying business
long as I can make
administration, each serve as lead singers enough money to
for their bands Brandon Kirkley and the
Firecrackers and Jocelyn Ellis and The Alpha support a family,
Theory. But they’re also trying to lead their
groups toward commercial success and mass I’ll keep doing this.”
appeal using knowledge and skills they’ve
gained in their studies at UNC Charlotte.
“My mom says she’d play Michael
Both bands already have developed large
Jackson when I was in the womb and I’d
followings both on and off campus with
start kicking,” Kirkley said.
their unique sounds and original music,
He had the tattoo long before the
performing at Charlotte venues such as
scandal-ridden artist died. This summer it
Tremont Hall and others throughout the
helped a fan recognize Kirkley as he lounged
Carolinas.
on the beach in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Brandon Kirkley and the Firecrackers,
On the other arm, there’s a tattoo of
who often go by the shorter acronym BKTF,
the Queen City’s symbol, a crown. And
has opened for several acts that have traveled
if you look closer, you’ll see the skyline in
through the region. Jocelyn Ellis and The
there, too. Kirkley was UNC Charlotte’s
Alpha Theory plan to perform in New York
Homecoming King in 2008 so a crown
City this fall.
seems fitting.
The bands recently helped celebrate
On his upper left arm, there’s a small
the grand opening of the new $60 million
tattoo that simply says “Kitten.” The tattoo
student union, performing at Norm’s Game
honors a nickname his grandfather had for “I’d love to be a pop musician. As
Room. Following the performance, they
his grandmother. long as I can make enough money to
took some time to talk about what they’ve
Kirkley and UNC Charlotte graduate Chris support a family, I’ll keep doing this,”
done and what they hope to do.
Fulton, who plays bass and harmonica, are the Kirkley said.
Brandon Kirkley and two constants in BTKF, Kirkley said. The two Kirkley will graduate in 2010 with
the Firecrackers met when Kirkley was a sophomore studying a master’s degree in liberal studies,
Brandon Kirkley, a graduate student at mass communications at UNC Charlotte. focusing on new and old media. He said
UNC Charlotte, is hard to miss with his Drummers and guitarists have come and gone, his communications studies at UNC
funky hair, cowboy boots, booty shorts and leaving to join the army or get married and Charlotte have helped him to market
distinctive tattoos. “grow up.” But Kirkley and Fulton see their himself and the band.
His tattoos tell something about who he band as a business and hope to make a living Over the summer, Kirkley took
is, he said. from it for as long as they can. on another significant role at UNC
Kirkley sports a black and white tattoo of the Kirkley describes the band’s music as Charlotte, becoming the first station
late Michael Jackson on his right arm. Michael ’90s pop rock, but with influences from manager of Radio Free Charlotte, UNC
Jackson is one of his favorite pop artists. throughout the decades. Charlotte’s new digital radio station.

student success | UNC CHARLOTTE
With nearly 25,000 students attending UNC Charlotte, the university

needs a student-run radio station and now it has one called Radio Free
Charlotte, said faculty advisor Scott Phillipson.
The digital radio station started broadcasting in July, playing edgy
underground music accessible via the Internet. The station also has
interviewed various bands performing shows in Charlotte and plans to
report UNCC news and possibly create a morning traffic report.
“We’ve already probably had a least a couple of hundred students
want to be involved in the station either as DJs or in leadership positions,”
Phillipson said. “Some leadership positions are getting college credit.”
Radio Free Charlotte is located in the basement of the new Student Union
along with other Student Media organizations including the Utimes, Sanskit and
Niner Online.
Graduate student Brandon Kirkley manages the station. The radio station started with
no funding, but has been able to build a staff by offering experience and college credit.
The station’s staff includes Chris Wetterer, the assistant station manager, public
The station started with no funding,
Kirkley said, but has been building a relations director Alexa Smith, program manager Stephanie Lockwood, program manager
reputation as a station where you can get Matthew Brown, sports director Scott Lieberman, and media director Jin-Hee Pae.
something different, maybe something you “It’s terrible we’re not getting any funding,” Kirkley said. “But things are only going to
haven’t heard elsewhere. Kirkley’s building get better.”
his DJ roster now. Students don’t get Kirkley said the station has developed several podcasts it is broadcasting until it builds
paid, but they can get college credit and its roster of DJs for continuous live broadcasts. Phillipson said he expected to go live in
experience that may help them land a job September.
after college, he said.
Kirkley said the station is broadcasting music students may not hear anywhere else in
“We’re underground edge music,” Kirkley
Charlotte.
said, adding that he has not played his
own music on the station, but that the Phillipson said Radio Free Charlotte began as a project in his new media in
station will have a show dedicated to local communications class. Students helped him work on the project for two years before it
performers in the future. became a reality, he said.
So far, Radio Free Charlotte, has had more than 2,700 page views and expects its
audience to continue to grow as more people learn about the station. The potential
audience for the station is unlimited, Phillipson said.
“By doing it online, we can broadcast literally all over the world,” Phillipson said.
Tune into Radio Free Charlotte by visiting www.radiofreecharlotte.uncc.edu and clicking
“Listen Live.”
was playing around campus,” Seibold said.

Jocelyn Ellis and He heard her CD and saw her perform
the Alpha Theory and decided to ask her to sing with The
While Jocelyn Ellis was testing her skills Alpha Theory.
in every talent show she could find on “It was crazy,” he said. “It just clicked.”
campus, The Alpha Theory was already Ellis has been the lead singer of the band
jamming with members Jesse Seibold, the since last fall. Ellis and the band describe
28-year-old drummer, and UNC Charlotte their music eclectic mix of urban folk and
senior, Jeff Taylor, the 32-year-old guitarist, indie rock.
and Nathan Woolard, 28, a 2004 UNC Ellis studies business management at
Charlotte alumnus. UNC Charlotte. She does independent
Seibold, who graduates with Ellis in research on the music industry to learn
December, said he first discovered Ellis in more. Her coursework and research has
one of his economics classes. He overheard already helped the band, she said. Ellis
her talking to another student about music.
“I checked her out a few times when she
Continued on p. 31

The Health Care

Conundrum
Edited by Lisa A. Lambert
health care system and the proposals for • Invest in prevention and wellness
change that are now circulating in the halls (effectiveness, efficiency)
of Congress. • Improve patient safety and quality of care
(effectiveness)
What are the measures of a “good” • Guarantee choice of doctors and health plans
health care plan, in your opinion? (equity)
• Assure affordable, quality health coverage for
Michael Thompson, Assistant Professor all Americans (equity, effectiveness)
of Public Health and Coordinator of • Maintain coverage when you change or lose
the Master of Science in Public Health your job (equity, efficiency)
Program — A health system is comprised • End barriers to coverage for people with pre-
of six components: health services delivery existing medical conditions (equity).
(the actual services delivered to a patient or
community, both personal and non-personal); William Brandon, Metrolina Foundation
health workforce (the people performing the Distinguished Professor of Public
services); health information systems; medical Policy on Health — In the current
technology and products; health financing political context we need to focus on the
and payment systems; and leadership and best practical plan that can emerge, not some
governance. ideal “best.” A good plan should include the
How a health system is organized reflects a following provisions:
combination of political and pragmatic forces. • A public plan
Typical indicators we use to assess health • Definition of basic comprehensive coverage
William Brandon
system performance include infant mortality that all health insurance plans would have
rates, life expectancy at birth, access to care to achieve or exceed
(measures such as immunization rates, • The end of subsidies for Medicare
Health care reform has a long and storied insurance coverage, and appropriate utilization Advantage plans (but I’m unsure about
history as a political hot-potato. The recent of primary and emergency care services) and ending subsidies for employer-sponsored
debate over health care reform has raised ire cost (per person, as percent of gross domestic insurance)
among Republicans and Democrats alike, product, and for specific procedures and • Reasonable limits on copayments (say
while bringing issues Americans seeking conditions). 80%) and deductibles with annual
medical care confront everyday to the fore. President Obama has outlined eight broad individual and family maximums
As a new administration attempts to make principles or characteristics of the health system • Community rating of public, individual
headway on the issue, a confused public he favors. These principles are largely in line and small group health insurance
attempts to sort out the propaganda from with what we know to be the best practices for • Guaranteed issue
the truth. community health: • Elimination of pre-existing condition
With the hope of offering our readers • Reduce long-term growth of health care costs exclusions and waiting periods
some nuance and clarity about a timely issue for businesses and government (efficiency) • Coverage of mental health conditions
that affects us all, we asked UNC Charlotte • Protect families from bankruptcy or debt that is the same as coverage of physical
experts some questions about the current because of health care costs (efficiency, equity) conditions (i.e., “mental health parity”)

• Authority for the Federal government to years of work by advocates. Much of the
negotiate lower payments for prescription action in encouraging healthy behaviors must
drugs (in light of its volume purchases) occur at the State level. Think of Federal
• Preemption of state regulation of health action to encourage states to enact seat belt
insurance and motorcycle helmet laws.
• Active federal regulation of self-insured
employment-sponsored coverage along Is prevention emphasized in the
with the anticipated federal regulation of current reform debate? Could more
individual and small-group markets. of an investment in prevention/health
education result in savings later?
What are the main causes of the
increase in health care costs? William Brandon — Early in the debate
advocates of health reform tried to use
William Brandon — The main causes of potential savings from prevention as part
health care cost increases include: Expanding of the justification for claiming that health
payrolls in the health sector (both the reform would not add to the deficit. The
number of employees and the wages and “show me” attitude of the Congressional
salaries); Increased application of technology; Budget Office (CBO) seems to have quieted
The increasing cost of drugs, which will that dubious claim. Although everybody Michael Thompson
escalate as biomedical researchers turn recent wants to see preventive care and healthy
advances in biology into practical treatments lifestyles, the fact is that real dollars will have equitably, and efficiently operate a public
or diagnostic tools. to be spent up-front for any real change to option plan, the opposition to health
be achieved and savings, if the programs reform plays on people’s mistrust of the
How have healthcare systems in other are successful, only come sometime in the government and the label ‘government run.’
countries treated the issue of personal future. So the green-eyeshade guys are The misguided fear that extending coverage
responsibility? Are there reward probably right to be dubious about the to the uninsured and underinsured will limit
systems and punishments for health claims of significant savings. the coverage those of us with insurance now
behaviors? Are any such programs The best way to incorporate prevention enjoy ignores the facts. Medicare operates
currently being considered for mass into the plan would be to include a hefty tax at less than one-fifth the administrative
consumption in the United States? on cigarettes, the nastiest killer among the costs of private insurers. Medicare provides
What are the pitfalls of drafting lifestyle issues, as part of its health reform guaranteed access to those who are qualified.
legislation to promote or discourage financing. Partially financing health reform Medicare utilizes the existing private medical
health behaviors? with “sin taxes” has not been a major part of services delivery system to provide clients
the discussion. In this economic downturn their choice of care provider.
William Brandon — Although it is possible many States have had to turn to these taxes Others mistakenly point to the high tax
that the final health reform legislation will be for additional revenue. Moreover, many rates in European countries that provide
written to encourage medical organizations of them also depend on income from the universal health care as a sign that public
and insurers to emphasize preventive care, tobacco settlement. Thus, as a matter of options are inherently expensive. True,
it is not realistic to include sanctions for practical politics, it is probably not feasible to European tax rates are higher than in the
unhealthy individual behavior in health propose this effective form of prevention as US, even when combining federal and state
care legislation. Health reform legislation part of health reform legislation. taxes. But, the gap is not as great as portrayed
that insures universal access is going to be and is not an apples-to-apples comparison.
hard enough to get enacted; Americans If a public option is available, Europeans finance virtually all of their
resist having government tell us how to live would the insurance costs of those healthcare expenditures through taxes. The
our lives. I’m sure that the most committed who are now insured go up? US finances its healthcare expenditures
proponent will be happy if he/she can obtain through a combination of taxes, direct
an individual mandate to secure individual Michael Thompson — Depending on how payments by individuals, and payments
insurance. One way to enforce that mandate a public option is implemented, the costs by businesses on behalf of employees and
is by charging the IRS to verify coverage should go down. Right now, private insurers dependents. Taken together, we spend more
through its annual tax reporting system. mostly cherry-pick (screen to maximize than twice as much per person and nearly
Does the lack of mandated behavioral membership of low-cost, health workers), three times as much as a percent of our gross
change mean Congress doesn’t care? Not at leaving higher-cost groups for government domestic product and have poorer health
all! This Congress is to be complemented programs and the ranks of the uninsured. outcomes. Paying two to three times more
in its efforts to give the FDA regulatory Despite our history with Medicare for an inferior product hardly makes the
authority over tobacco products after many showing that the government can effectively, present system seem like a good value.

What’s the best approach

to a public option?
independent or quasi-governmental
Michael Thompson — The best public agencies and care delivery to private and
plan, in terms of health outcomes, is one municipal providers.
that utilizes a community rating. That is, • a mixed system, which incorporates aspects
the financial risk is equitably borne by all of two or more of the above models (like
members of the community. A low-risk the United States)
patient might end up paying a slightly higher The United States currently operates dictate to
premium so that an extremely high-risk subsystems of all three types, and still has my doctor
patient can pay an affordable rate. Some a substantial number who are uninsured. what she can
of this cost-shifting, however, is offset Our military is served by a system identical do. But those
by savings in ensuring timely, effective to the United Kingdom’s national health procedures are
preventive care and early treatment to all, services. Our elders and our impoverished very rare.
where the uninsured currently add about children are served by a national health
$1,000 to an insured’s premium. insurance system (Medicare, CHIP), and Michael
Two other factors must be considered employer-based coverage is similar to a Thompson —
integral to a viable public option. First, the national sickness insurance system. Insurance coverage
government should be allowed to integrate Unfortunately, the Cold War left us with is the gateway to
its care systems or to leverage its buying the notion that socialism and communism our health care system.
power across those systems. Second, payment are synonymous. They are not. The United Rationing exists now. What
systems must be reengineered and realigned States operates many services in a “socialistic” changes under health reform
to value the production of health over the fashion (that is for the benefit of all... is who participates in that
delivery of a service. “United we stand, divided we fall”). We rationing decision and what
see no threat to our ‘Americanness’ from their competing interests are.
Why are we considering a public education, from emergency medical Currently the rationing is largely
socialized system? and fire services, or from municipal water, vertical (you have coverage or you
sewer, and trash services. Recognizing that don’t). A public system makes the
Michael Thompson — As we engage we (individually and collectively) benefit, rationing more horizontal (ensuring
in this debate, we must be certain to we support these services whether we use everyone has comparable access).
disaggregate discussions on changes to the them or not and, in fact, take great pride An insurance company executive is
health care delivery system and changes in offering these services. Why, then, is incentivized to charge clients as much
in the health care financing and payment healthcare different? as possible and to pay providers as little
systems, and to use precise terminology. as possible, maximizing profits. Insurance
Far too often, the term socialized medicine Is there danger of the government companies further their aim by practices
and nationalized medicine are used rationing care? Don’t insurance such as rescission, whereby the policies of
interchangeably, when they are distinct. companies already hold that kind suddenly expensive clients are retroactively
Globally, health care systems take on four of sway? revoked for the slightest omission or error
primary models, all of which are “socialistic” in their reported medical history. Doctors
to varying degrees: William Brandon — The short answer report factoring insurance coverage into their
• a national health system, where the is that the U.S. government is not going treatment plans and options presented to
government finances and largely runs to “ration” care. A good test of this claim patients.
(employs) the health system (like the UK) is Medicare. Traditional fee-for-service A public plan executive’s interest are
• a national health insurance system (like Medicare pays for all necessary medical care. aligned with the client’s: maximizing the
Canada and Japan) where the government In fact, it almost certainly also pays for a health of its clients in order to keep costs
finances the system through taxes and good bit of unnecessary care. Sometimes new down, as it is the clients, through direct,
direct payments and operates healthcare procedures or drugs are introduced that are payroll, and other taxes who fund the system.
like an insurance company contracting with not recognized for a while by Medicare. Such Worldwide, public systems and public option
providers in private practice delays are the result of bureaucratic inertia. systems provide results (life expectancy, infant
• a national sickness insurance system (like Although it rarely comes up in Medicare, mortality, access to and appropriate utilization
The Netherlands, Germany) where the there are a few procedures like partial birth of care) far superior to the current U.S. system
government finances the system through abortion that the U.S. government has for less than half the cost we now pay. By
taxes and direct payments, but leaves decided it will not pay for. Personally, I find restructuring our system, we could fully cover
the insurance company functions to it offensive that the U.S. Congress should every American in a way that provides timely

access to basic primary and preventive care care in the 1990s after the failure of Bill legislation are enacted. It seems to me that
and access to more specialized care. We could Clinton’s health reform plan and it did slow the House bill is an implicit preemption
have coverage similar to what those who are the growth of health care costs. But the — take over — of the power given to the
insured now enjoy, for about the same American people, urged on by organized States in the 1940s to regulate all sorts of
total costs. medicine, revolted. The terms HMO and insurance. Many of the opponents of the
managed care almost became obscenities for bills popular with Democrats want one to
Will all the people who now are health care consumers. be able to buy insurance without regard to
uninsured have some form of coverage the state in which one is residing. So maybe
when government driven health care If a public option is available, one consensus is for the federal government
reform is enacted? would the insurance costs of to take back its power to regulation health
those who are now insured go up? insurance. Ha! I’ll believe that when I see it.
William Brandon — The conventional
wisdom is that it is impossible to cover William Brandon — The idea of the What alternatives to the
literally everybody. In particular, no one is public option is that those getting insurance Administration’s proposals are
proposing that the legislation cover illegal from the individual or small group model being offered by the opposition?
immigrants. Depending on who is doing would switch to the public insurance plan
the talking, I have heard proponents aim to if it was cheaper. It is pretty clear from the William Brandon — I’ve heard opponents
cover 95 to 97 percent of those eligible (not proposed House legislation that those three suggest that “co-operatives” that will be
including illegal immigrants). types of plans would be community rated generated outside of government can provide
(with some kind of cross subsidy if one the cost-consciousness that current insurance
What are some of the current plan suffered adverse selection). In fact, it arrangements do not promote. See my
proposals to decrease health care costs is an important empirical question whether comments about Group Health of Puget
overall? And what are the pros and insureds would migrate to the cheaper Sound above.
cons of implementing these measures? plan on an annual basis if the coverage A deeper level of opposition suggests
is comparable. (Insurance exchanges, an that a free market in which insurance
William Brandon — This question is entirely new institution, will have to be has more de-regulation so that it can be
important because of what both proponents formed and begin to function before we can bought across state lines would allow more
and opponents seem to want to hide. find out whether consumers of individual Americans to gain access to affordable
Have you noticed that nobody is talking insurance policies do move among the private insurance. This claim usually comes
about managed care or HMOs — health offerings according to price.) What no with the complaints about specific coverage
maintenance organizations that combine one seems to be talking about is the fact mandates by state legislation which increases
the functions of providing health insurance that employment-sponsored insurance will costs. In the current context, most of the
and the delivery of care? The fallback for continue to be experience-rated and that opponents at least give lip service to the
those claiming that a public plan violates most employers, in fact, are large enough to need to end the exclusion of pre-existing
Republican party principles is the “co- self-insure rather than purchase insurance conditions. But they are very quiet about
operative,” which is supposed to be a part policies for employees. whether community rating would be
of self-reliant, individualist western farmer- required. Without community rating those
mentality. Almost the only health example To what extent would the government with chronic conditions will not be helped
that these conservatives can provide is Group be directly involved in the when told “we don’t exclude you from our
Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, which administering of health care? insurance pool, but to be covered you will
was founded in 1947. Group Health is have to pay five times as much as those
an HMO! Proponents of reform promise William Brandon — Clearly some level without your condition.”
that health care costs can be reduced by of government will have to write the Vouchers or refundable tax credits have
“integrated health care systems” such as the regulations governing how a brand new often been proposed by those who want to
Cleveland Clinic. Although such health market for health insurance will function. expand health insurance coverage and avoid
care systems often accept patients paying No one is talking about the U.S. government an expansion of government involvement.
on a fee-for-service rather than prepaid (or administering health care (other than the Because of the high cost of health insurance,
capitated) basis, the doctors are salaried and systems for the military, veterans, and native excessively high levels of funding would be
the care is managed. Yet I have not heard one Americans which it currently organizes). required. And even experts favoring vouchers
of the proponents say that cost control will What I don’t understand and have not or tax credits admit that the goal of universal
be achieved by managed care instituted and heard anyone discuss, is how state regulation coverage would not be approached.
enforced by salaried physicians working in a of health insurance can survive if the federal
group practice model. provisions for the individual and small Lisa Lambert is senior writer
The private sector instituted managed group markets contained in the House in the Office of Public Relations.

UNC CHARLOTTE | c e n te r s t a g e
Lighting
the Way 2
Nature
Intended
Recent advances in building
science research and technology
have opened up new horizons
for daylighting, or harnessing
natural light to illuminate building
interiors. The Daylighting + Energy
Performance Laboratory is a
gem within the College of Arts +
Architecture. The lab takes an
active role in shaping public policy
1
and offers design assistance
to architectural firms. Through
applied research focused on energy
systems and lighting technologies,
the lab brings valuable solutions
to the community.
1 Dale Brentrup, professor of reproduces the Piedmont region’s on top of the Storrs Building is used
architecture and director of the overcast conditions and through as input for the lighting simulations
Daylighting + Energy Performance physical modeling allows students processed by these machines. The
Lab, leans on a model of the proposed and faculty to determine the most weather station collects data, such
home for a new center with the effective ways to maximize natural as horizontal illuminance and
College of Arts + Architecture – the lighting. irradiation, that help ensure accurate
Center for Building and Integrated daylighting simulations for the
Looks like a bunch of computers,
Design Research. The center will focus 3 right? Well, they are computers,
Charlotte region. Also collected
on the study of energy performance are dry bulb temperature, relative
and productivity. used as a parallel processor, this humidity, atmospheric pressure,
“Beowulf Cluster” is a render farm precipitation and wind speed.
It’s a house of mirrors, it’s a used to process data for one program,
2 customized stand-up tanning the lighting simulation software
These metrics are used to teach
students about the climatic forces
device…no, it’s the Artificial RADIANCE. Information gathered their building designs should be
Sky. The CIE overcast sky simulator from the weather station located responsive to.

center stage | UNC CHARLOTTE
5 3
4
7
6
8
4 Is it the precursor to the Segue? No, 6 But of course, it’s Ben Futrell. field acquisition system for evaluating
it’s Zappy, the electric, three-wheeled Behind every great professor is a luminous distribution. That’s research-
scooter. Zappy makes its rounds to local competent alum. Futrell graduated ese for quantitatively measuring the
schools, for example, to demonstrate from UNC Charlotte with a master of brightness of surfaces with a camera.
how solar radiation and other renewable architecture degree, and decided to This tool can be used for analyzing glare
energies can be used in daily life. stick around. Now he coordinates the in daylit space and create verification
activities of the Daylighting + Energy models for use in the render farm.
These lamps are not your ordinary
5 reading lights — they are part of a kit
Performance Lab. Graduate assistant
What lab would be complete
that is being used to verify concepts in
Lauren Hargrave stands in the 8 without a skateboard?
background.
a new research venture between the lab Architecture student Colin Campbell
and its corporate partners. The objective 7 And this might appear to be your (not pictured) keeps the skateboard
is to develop new technology for the ordinary digital camera; actually, handy. One way to get the creative juices
simultaneous control of glare, daylight it is…but it is used in a not-so- flowing, we suppose. But there’s one
and electric light. ordinary way. The camera is part of a caveat – Dale’s not allowed to use it.

UNC CHARLOTTE | 49 e rs n o te b o o k
Men’s Basketball: Niners Face

Xavier and Temple at Halton Arena
The Atlantic 10 has released The home schedule lines up as follows
(asterisks denote conference games):
the 2009-10 men’s basketball
conference schedule which has November
the 49ers playing four of the Thurs. 5 JOHNSON C. SMITH (Exhibition)
A-10’s six 2009 post-season Fri. 13 UNC ASHEVILLE
teams at Halton Arena. The A-10 December
slate inclues home-and-home Wed. 2 East Carolina
series with Xavier, Richmond Tues. 8 WINSTON-SALEM STATE
and George Washington. In addition, Halton Arena will play Sat. 12 GARDNER-WEBB
host to Duquesne, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph’s, Saint Louis Tues. 29 MERCER
and Temple. Both Xavier and Temple participated in the 2009
NCAA Tournament while Duquesne reached the NIT and
January
Sat. 2 GEORGIA TECH
Richmond advanced to the College Basketball Invitational.
Sat. 9 ST. BONAVENTURE*
Included in the schedule is the listing of five TV games
Sun. 17 SAINT LOUIS*
for the 49ers, including two nationally-televised contests. Wed. 27 TEMPLE*
Charlotte’s home game with Saint Louis, Jan. 17, will be
carried by CBS College Sports while the 49ers road game at February
Massachusetts, Jan. 30, will be seen on ESPNU. Three other Wed. 3 GEORGE WASHINGTON*
home games: vs. Temple, Jan. 27; vs. Duquesne, Feb. 17 Wed. 17 DUQUESNE*
Sat. 20 XAVIER*
and vs. Xavier, Feb. 20 will be part of CBS College Sports
Wed. 24 SAINT JOSEPH’S*
syndicated regional package. The Charlotte 49ers local
television package has not been released. March
The schedule has the 49ers playing four of their Sat. 6 Richmond*
last six games at home, including the regular-season Tues. 9 A-10 Championship First Round Campus Site
finale vs. Richmond, Mar. 6. The 49ers A-10 opener Fri. 12 A-10 Championship Quarterfinals Atlantic City, N.J.
will be Jan. 9 vs. St. Bonaventure at Halton Arena. Sat. 13 A-10 Championship Semifinals Atlantic City, N.J.
Game times have not been released. Sun. 14 A-10 Championship Finals CBS Atlantic City, N.J.
at a cost of either $1000 (Green) or $2500 along with Norm the Niner, delivered the
(Gold). Flexible payment options are school supplies collected on campus to the
available and you can purchase an FSL for as WSOC studio in downtown Charlotte.
little as $29 a month. In the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area alone,
Money raised through FSL sales are critical there are more than 2,000 students who are
to upfront costs in starting a football program. homeless, and one in two public school children
Join the Rush to make Charlotte 49ers show up to school without the basic supplies.
football a reality and purchase your FSL today Each year, the average teacher spends $1,200
by going to charlotte49erfootball.com or calling of their own money in order to provide the
the athletic ticket office at 704-687-4949. necessary school supplies for their students.
Last year, Classroom Central distributed
Charlotte Athletes Give more than $4.45 million in free school supplies
In order to protect our To School Tools Campaign to 80,000 students in our region. Charlotte
house we have to build one! Once again the Charlotte 49ers have teamed collected 500 pounds of supplies for the 2008-
Help make football a reality at UNC up with Classroom Central, Communities in 2009 school year.
Charlotte by purchasing your FSL (49ers Seat School, and WSOC-TV Channel 9 for the
License) today. 2009 School Tools Campaign to provide the 49ers to Host 6th Annual
FSLs give you the right to purchase season basic school supplies for those students who are Let Me Play Luncheon
tickets to Charlotte 49ers football games, unable to afford them. The Charlotte 49ers Athletic Department
scheduled to hit campus in 2013! Student-athletes from the volleyball team, will host the 6th Annual “Let Me Play”
FSLs are available at two different levels men’s basketball, and track and field teams, Luncheon, Monday, Nov. 2 at The

49 e r s n o t e b o o k | UNC CHARLOTTE
Charlotte Convention Center. The event, and attracted 600-plus attendees. Proceeds
a brainchild of 49ers Director of Athletics from the event benefit the Charlotte 49ers
Judy Rose, celebrates the role that athletics women’s athletic program.
plays in the development of young women.
Registration for the event begins at 11:30 with 49ers to Host A-10 Women’s
lunch and the program to follow at 12 noon. Soccer Championship
Started in 2004, “Let Me Play” is The two-time defending Atlantic 10
intended to attract and mobilize influential Champion Charlotte 49ers women’s soccer
women throughout the Charlotte team will host the 2009 Atlantic 10 women’s
community and to illustrate the profound Soccer Championship, Nov. 5-8 on-campus
effect that athletics can have on their lives. at Transamerica Field.
The program annually includes key note The 49ers will be looking for their
speakers as well as a presentation from third straight title and the automatic
a current 49ers female student-athlete. NCAA tournament bid that goes to the
Among those that have spoken at the tournament winner.
event are 49ers academic and athletic all- The A-10’s top six teams will converge
Americans Sharonda Johnson (track and on Charlotte for the three-day event. The
field) and Lindsey Ozimek (women’s soccer) tournament opens on Thursday, Nov. 5
as well as former standouts Karen Shugart with two games between seeds 3-6. The
(women’s basketball) and Krista Long top two teams receive first round byes and
(volleyball). Shugart was serving as Aiistant will play in the A-10 semifinals, Friday,
to the Special Agent in charge within the Nov. 6 against the first round winners. The
Presidential Protection Division of the championship is slated for Sunday, Nov. 8.
Secret Service while Long was Vice Preident Charlotte, which returned 10 starters
of Ryland Homes. from the 2008 A-10 Championship team,
Natalie English, Senior Vice President for will contend for their fourth straight A-10
Business and Education Advocacy with the regular-season title. The 49ers are led by 2008
Charlotte Chamber is chairperson of the A-10 Offensive Player of the Year Whitney
2009 event. Weinraub and 2008 A-10 Midfielder of the
Last year, the event raised $101,000 Year Hailey Beam. Oni Bernard, sophomore fullback/midfielder

U.S. - Russia Relations: and lawmakers.
A Restart
Still, the perception of the United States
as the world leader in space technology and
therefore the leader in missile development
was shattered with the beep of a tiny satellite.
The space race was on.
Citizens of the United States quickly rallied
around a common cause — one-upmanship
on a grand scale.
By Lisa A. Lambert The space race had profound effects on
the U.S. educational system, as well as on the
psyche of the public. School children were
July marked the 40th anniversary of Apollo with the same broad brush. But as the war challenged to excel in math and science and
11’s moon landing. Astronauts Buzz Aldrin raged on, United States and Soviet interests the public was encouraged to imagine, to
and Neil Armstrong were the first men to ever more closely aligned, spawning a spirit of dream big. Space became the new frontier.
walk on the moon — and the whole world collaboration against a common enemy. Which brings us full-circle. The United
watched that iconic moment in awe. The “strange alliance” between the States put a man on the moon in 1969, an
But before Aldrin and Armstrong, there United States and Soviet Union deteriorated event that was both a singular achievement
was Yuri Gagarin, the first human in outer rapidly after the war, when the superpowers and vindication for the time and resources
space, followed by a host of other Russian tried to implement two very different and devoted to the space program.
cosmonauts, including Valentina Tereshkova, incompatible visions for the post-war world. After the moon landing, the space race
who in 1963 became the first woman in space. The Cold War, characterized by heightened continued, though not at its previous frenzied
For more than a decade, achievement in tension and intense rivalry, began in earnest in pace. Over the years, the space relationship
space was a feather in the cap of the Soviets, 1945 and a nuclear arms race ensued. between the United States and Soviet Union
and a thorn in the side of the United States. The United States had demonstrated its served as a barometer for relations on the
UNC Charlotte Professor Emeritus of technological superiority with the creation ground.
Political Science Nish Jamgotch focused and successful deployment of the atomic In 1975 the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
for most of his professional career on the bomb. During the Cold War, both countries culminated in a joint docking of the American
relationship between the United States committed enormous resources to build up spacecraft with the Soviet spacecraft.
and Russia. In view of the moon landing weapons stockpiles, creating what Jamgotch The primary purpose of the mission was
anniversary, Jamgotch said now is the perfect calls the “delicate balance of terror.” technological and symbolic, marking the
time to reflect on the legacy of the Cold War Then, in 1957, the Soviets launched a end to the tension of the space race and the
and the ways in which the “Space Race” led gleaming, beeping silver satellite the size of a adoption of a policy of détente, or the overall
to greater communication and diplomatic basketball into orbit. More important than easing of tensions between the superpowers.
overtures between the Superpowers. what Sputnik actually accomplished was what Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union
To appreciate the genesis of the space race the satellite signified – Soviet technological in 1991, relations between the United States
requires a rudimentary understanding of superiority. At least, that’s what the American and Russia have entered a new, complex phase.
United States – Soviet relations prior to and in public assumed. Soviet communism had committed suicide.
the aftermath of World War II. While the successful launch of Sputnik was While much of the mutual ignorance of the
Before the United States entered the war, a demonstration of advances in rocket thrust past is gone, profound cultural and ideological
many politicians and military leaders painted technology, Jamgotch said Soviet power was differences remain, Jamgotch said.
the German Nazis and Communist Soviets greatly exaggerated by the American media However, Jamgotch is hopeful – he said

Stamp Collection stage chops through her performances at

Continued from p. 21 UNC Charlotte events.
Highlights U.S. – “When I came to college, my main thing
Soviet Space Race taught the band to how to copyright its was that I wanted to chase my dream,” she
music so it can’t be stolen. They credit her said.
with helping turn the band into a profitable She performed for up to 500 people in
UNC Charlotte
small business. some of the talent shows on campus, she
Professor Emeritus of
“We get royalty checks and that’s thanks said, “It prepared me.”
Political Science Nish
to Jocelyn,” Taylor said. To learn more about Jocelyn Ellis and
Jamgotch traveled Ellis said her family didn’t really want The Alpha Theory or to listen to their
to the Soviet Union her to study music. And when she applied music, visit http://jocelynellis.net/.
three times prior to the university’s school of music program, To learn more about Brandon Kirkley
to its collapse and she didn’t get accepted. But Ellis said and the Firecrackers or to listen to their
reconfiguration into nothing could stop her from trying. music, visit www.bktf.net.
multiple states. Being a student and a budding recording
During his travels, he amassed a artist at a major university has helped in Karen C. Wilson is a freelance
collection of government-issued stamps other ways, too. Ellis said she earned her writer based in Charlotte.
commemorating Russian achievement
in space.
Jamgotch donated his collection to UNC
Charlotte. It is housed on the third floor of Indie Rock Alive and
Atkins Library and will be featured in the Well in Charlotte
Chancellor’s suite on the 5th floor of the
Reese Building for the month of November. Indie-alternative rockers the Sammies also
The inscription on the collection have some deep UNC Charlotte roots.
reads: To highlight the importance of Guitarist Will Huntley and his brother,
U.S. and Soviet achievements in space, Joe, who plays drums, grew up in nearby
Wadesboro, N.C. They formed the band when
and to encourage future U.S. – Russian
Will would come home for long weekends
cooperative relations, these stamps were
from UNC Charlotte.
donated by Nish Jamgotch, Jr., Professor
Will Huntley graduated in 2001 with a
of Political Science, 1966 – 1993. The Sammies
degree in marketing and Joe graduated
Jamgotch, a distinguished political
from UNC Charlotte last year with a psychology
scientist whose teaching career at UNC
degree. Fellow band member Ben Levine earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering
Charlotte spanned nearly 30 years, said
from UNC Charlotte and two former band members also attended the university.
“We have so much in our society that is
Will Huntley said the university was the background to the formation of the Sammies.
divisive and conflict-laden. We need more “When there was a lack of anything else to do, we’d grab some acoustic guitars and
vigorous efforts that will bring us together crappy keyboards and just play anywhere,” he said. “Our biggest challenge was there were
for joint, creative problem solving.” virtually no clubs to play at close to the University.”
The public is invited to view Their fans would trek down to south Charlotte to catch the Sammies at The Room, a
the collection. club which became a top venue for Indie music. They also played larger places such as the
Visulite Theatre in the Elizabeth neighborhood.
The influences on the band run as wide and far as their personal stacks of CDs, Huntley
said, ranging from David Bowie to Lynyrd Skynyrd to the Strokes. “We grew up on classic
the fundamental, and most important, lesson rock and we love pop songs,” he said.
of diplomacy is as applicable today as it was Along with their local hero status, the Sammies have attained much wider success. Their
during the Cold War: You must be willing songs have been featured in feature films such as “Employee of the Month” and popular
to talk to your adversaries to come up with television shows including “Friday Night Lights.”
mutually beneficial agreements. The Sammies are currently working on their third album. Meanwhile, Huntley and the
“Now is the time to re-start our relationship others are putting their college education to use.
with Russia,” he said. “There’s not a lot of money to be made in the music industry right now so we
are fortunate enough to have been able to use our college degrees to find decent
Lisa Lambert is senior writer in
jobs,” he said.
the Office of Public Relations.

A Journey Through Time

James Tabor leads a five-year
archeological dig in Jerusalem
By Allison Reid
It wasn’t a typical summer break for UNC A view of the city of Jerusalem from the site
of an archeological expedition led by UNC
Charlotte professors James Tabor and Shimon Charlotte professors James Tabor and
Gibson. Tabor, religious studies department Shimon Gibson.
chair, and Gibson, an archaeologist and
adjunct religious studies professor, led nearly
50 students, alumni and other volunteers in a team of epigraphic experts to determine
an archaeological dig in Jerusalem in June the meaning of the text, which is clear but
and July. During this second year of their cryptic. The ritual cup is made that much
excavation at Jerusalem’s Mount Zion, the dig more newsworthy due to the inscription’s
team unearthed an extremely rare 2,000-year- mysterious nature, says Tabor. He figures it
old limestone cup inscribed with 10 lines of has been purposefully encoded, which adds
Aramaic or Hebrew script. a new level of intrigue to the purpose and
Although such ritual cups are common, meaning of the vessel.
especially in areas that were inhabited by The extraordinary nature of the ritual cup
priests, they are usually unmarked or bear has been covered by the media internationally,
only a single line of text, such as a name, including the Jerusalem Post and the Los
said Gibson. “To have 10 lines of text is Angeles Times. Tabor says he expects the dig to
unprecedented,” he said in announcing get more media coverage after the inscription
the find. The team unearthed this rare 2,000-year-old
is deciphered. The cup has been handed over
The inscription dates from the first limestone cup. The 10-line inscription is written to the The Israel Museum, where it will be put
century A.D. and is being deciphered by in Aramaic or Hebrew. on display.

Other findings
The dig also produced a sequence of building
remains dating from the first century A.D.
through the Byzantine (fourth century A.D.)
and Early Islamic (sixth century A.D.) periods.
One interesting find was a house complex with a
mikveh, or purification pool, with a remarkably
well-preserved vaulted ceiling. Inside the house,
the dig team found three bread ovens that dated
to the year 70 A.D.
Ten murex shells were also found on the site.
These shells are believed to have been used for
the dye that priests used to color the vestments at
that time. This further proves that the dig site was
once the priestly quarter of Jerusalem, according
to Tabor.
In addition, a large, arched building with
a mosaic floor from the Byzantine period Journey through Time,” will highlight the Nearly 50 students, alumni and other
volunteers joined an archaeological dig in
was uncovered. diverse and complex cultural history of the area –
Jerusalem in June and July.
covering Muslim, Jewish, and Christian history.
Unprecedented project “We’re committed to preserving all levels of
UNC Charlotte is the only U.S. university culture,” says Tabor. “Unlike other archaeological the best during the Mount Zion excavations
that has been given a license to dig in Jerusalem digs, we’re purposefully leaving the site intact, so will facilitate my graduate studies and help me
in more than 20 years. visitors to the park will be able to explore the full narrow my research interests.”
“There are archaeologists at other prestigious range of history of this multicultural area.” Students can participate in the dig for either
two- or four-week periods, with a two-week
commitment equaling a three-hour course
credit. Tabor points out that students don’t
have to be specializing in religious studies or
archaeology to benefit from the experience at
Mount Zion.
“They can come with no dig experience, and
in two weeks we give them enough exposure
that they’re useful to the dig,” says Tabor “We
call it a field school.”
Tabor says the most rewarding aspect of the
dig experience for students may be the exposure
to the incredible diversity of Jerusalem.
“They are observing and experiencing first
hand the complexity of the Middle East,” says
Tabor. “Every day, students will see orthodox
Shimon Gibson, an archaeologist and adjunct Not your typical study Jews walking with Muslims and Christians.
religious studies professor, and James Tabor,
religious studies department chair.
abroad experience Jerusalem is just this huge panoply of everybody
Religious studies graduate student Melissa mixed together, and that can be an eye-opening
Fleischer won a competitive $1000 scholarship experience.”
universities who are extremely jealous of us in from the journal Biblical Archeology Review to For more information about the Mount Zion
that regard,” says Tabor. “They ask me, ‘How did participate in this summer’s dig. She is writing excavation, go to www.digmountzion.com. The
you pull this off?’” an article about her experience with the dig dig and the development of the park rely on
The Mount Zion dig, co-sponsored by that will be published in the journal in early gifts from individuals and organizations. For
the religious studies department and the 2010. Fleischer says her experience on the dig in more information about contributing, contact
anthropology department, is a five-year project. Jerusalem was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Sharon Harrington at scharrin@uncc.edu or
Tabor hopes to complete the digging by 2012, “I had always dreamed of having the 704-687-0082.
and the team’s goal is to start developing an opportunity to dig in the Holy Land,” says
archaeological park in 2013, depending on Fleischer. “I loved that I was able to represent Allison Reid is director of communications
funding. The park, which will be called “A UNC Charlotte. The opportunity to learn from in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

UNC CHARLOTTE | 49 e rs n o te b o o k
Continued from p. 4
Top 10 Things You

Didn’t Know About
the Student Union
10
The Union is 196,000 square feet.
That is more than 20,000 square feet
larger than the Biltmore House. It’s the
equivalent of 41.7 basketball courts or
7,289 pool tables. There are actually
four pool tables inside the building (no
basketball courts).
9
It took more than 659,511 accident-free
man hours to construct the magnificent
building. No one was injured during the
construction process.
8 This is the first building on campus with

waterless urinals, saving up to 40,000
gallons of water per year. (That’s money
we’re not flushing away).
7 Every Starbucks employee endured

over 75 hours of intense training and is
certified on at least 27 specialty drinks
and lattes, making it quite easy to get a
skinny-frappy-caramel-mocha thingy.
6 The Union has created more than 100

new student jobs and counting.
5 In one week, the Crown Commons Pizza

Station will use 375-plus pounds of
cheese.
4 There are 72 steps in the Rotunda

staircase (10 trips per slice of pizza).
3
With 23 flat panel displays throughout
the building, the Union offers 1,156 digital
inches of viewing pleasure.
2
The Student Union is the new
headquarters for more than 300 student
organizations and activities planning
more than 1,600 events a year that
educate and involve over 200,000
annual attendees.
1 The Union represents a milestone

in UNC Charlotte’s history.

49 e r s n o t e b o o k | UNC CHARLOTTE
Above: Works by UNC Charlotte art

professor Jamie Franki were featured in
the first public exhibit at the art gallery
in the new Student Union.
Left: Chancellor Dubois officiated at

the formal dedication of the Student
Union on Aug. 28.

UNC CHARLOTTE | building blocks
When Miss Bonnie

Speaks… Convocation 1965 – when we were still UNC-C. Miss Bonnie Cone, UNC
Charlotte founder and, at that time, acting chancellor, addresses the
university’s first convocation as a four-year, UNC system school. On
July 1, 1965, Charlotte College was elevated to become UNC Charlotte,
the fourth branch of Consolidated University of North Carolina that
then included only UNC Chapel Hill, N.C. State and UNC Greensboro.
Miss Bonnie loved UNC Charlotte so much that she is buried on campus,
on the edge of the Susie Harwood Garden, near Fretwell Hall. No one
has ever Staked their Claim like Miss Bonnie Cone. For a biography of
this amazing woman access http://cone.uncc.edu/bonniecone.
36 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

magazine || Q309
Q309 www.UNCC.edu
Ivy League
taLent
FROM a
MagnOLIa
tOwn.
To find world-class talent, you don’t have to look any farther than UNC Charlotte.
Whether it’s academics, athletics, or the arts, we’re home to top achievers and leaders.
23,000 students strong and growing, UNC Charlotte boasts an award-winning faculty,
notable alumni, and an outstanding student body. Stake your claim to a university
that’s home to academic achievement.
Kenechukwu Onwugbolu Mona Abbasi,

Marketing, Honors Program, Class of 2011 Biology/Pre-Med, Honors Program, Class of 2011

UNC CHARLOTTE | a l u m n i n o te s
alumni news
Alumni Association
Presents TIAA-CREF About UNC Charlotte Alumni Association:
Alumni Golf Classic The UNC Charlotte Alumni Association serves more than 80,000
Date: Monday, October 12, 2009 UNC Charlotte alumni. In addition to serving alumni through our
Registration: 8 a.m. affinity and advocacy programs, the Alumni Association serves UNC
Shotgun Start: 9:30 a.m. Charlotte students by providing scholarships. For more information on
Where: Pine Island Country Club the Alumni Association, visit www.unccharlottealumni.org.
1701 Stoneyridge Drive
Charlotte, NC
The Alumni Association will hold shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. will get $250. After registering online, the Alumni
the 11th annual TIAA-CREF Alumni the event officially underway. A light Association will contact you.
Golf Classic on Monday, Oct. 12, at breakfast and lunch will be provided For more information on the golf
Pine Island Country Club. Head men’s during the day. tournament, contact the Alumni
basketball coach Bobby Lutz will be If you would like to play in the TIAA- Association at 704-687-7799, or visit our
playing in the tournament. All proceeds CREF Alumni Golf Classic, please fill out Web site at www.unccharlottealumni.
will support the Dr. Greg Davis needs- the registration form on our website or org. For more information on Pine Island
based scholarship fund. call the Alumni Association at 704-687- Country Club or to learn more about our
Check-in will begin at 8 a.m. the 7799. The tournament is $125 per player. sponsors, please visit www.pineislandcc.
morning of the tournament, and a Hole sponsorships can be purchased for com, or www.tiaa-cref.org.

alumni notes | UNC CHARLOTTE
Have you signed up for Niner Connection yet?

UNC Charlotte Alumni Association
Launches Online Community
The Alumni Association has officially launched Niner Connection, an online

community for UNC Charlotte alumni. Niner Connection allows alumni to network
and socialize online through the Alumni Association’s new website.
“In format it is similar to Facebook, except that Niner Connection is only open to
UNC Charlotte alumni. Alumni can search for former classmates, post class notes,
set up personal profiles, update contact information, register for events, and set up
October Reception at blogs. It really is amazing what the system entails,” said Katie Conn Suggs, director of
Childress Vineyards marketing and communications for the division of Development and Alumni Affairs.
Date: Wednesday, October 7, 2009 With the new system, the Alumni Association hopes to encourage alumni
Time: 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. involvement with the University.
Where: Childress Vineyards “This system allows alumni to connect with each other and the University like never
1000 Childress Vineyards Road before. We’re excited to see how our alumni respond to it,” said Chip Rossi, director of
Lexington, NC Alumni Affairs.
The new Web site and Niner Connection can be found at www.unccharlottealumni.org
UNC Charlotte alumni in the Triad area For more information, please contact the Alumni Association at 704-687-7799.
of North Carolina will be gathering on Oct.
7 at Childress Vineyards in Lexington. Along
with Chancellor Dubois, head men’s basketball
coach Bobby Lutz and head women’s basketball
coach Karen Aston will be at the event to share
information about their upcoming seasons.
If you would like to attend the October
reception, please register and include payment
through our website. Registration is $15
per person and includes heavy hors d’oeuvres
and wine.
The Alumni Association will host a number
of regional alumni receptions in 2009-2010.
Please continue to check our Web site to see if
we’re coming to a city near you!
For more information on the Triad event,
contact the Alumni Association at 704-687-7799
or 800-745-8622 or visit our Web site at
www.unccharlottealumni.org. For more
information on Childress Vineyards, call 336-
236-9463 or visit www.childressvineyards.com.
“Plan C” for
football stadium
At their Sept. 17, meeting, UNC Charlotte trustees reviewed
Chancellor Dubois so-called Plan C for a temporary football
stadium to be located on the site of an eventual permanent
stadium. Previously, the plan has been to modify the Belk Track &
Field facility to serve as a temporary football stadium. But further
analysis showed that the most cost-effective option was to situate
the temporary stadium in space adjacent to Phillips Road, between
the Hayes Baseball Stadium and the Charlotte Research Institute
complex. Pictured here is one option for the stadium; no final
decisions have been made.

UNC CHARLOTTE | a l u m n i n o te s
PUT ON YOUR
1970s
Richard Best, ’79, an award-winning
RUNNING
architect, has donated $100,000
of his $1 million dollar prize from
a United Arab Emirates real estate
TV reality show to help end world
hunger.
SHOES&
1990s
Lewis “Wile” Bridgforth, ’93,
recently earned a master’s
of science in management of
information systems from Lawrence
Technological University.
Rodney Graves, ’97, took a position
STAKE YOUR CLAIM

with UVEST/LPL Financial in March
2006.
Thomas Nesbit, ’99, has pledged
50 percent of profits from his
book Deep Fried to 826 National, a
nonprofit organization that helps
children write and publish.
Jason Suggs, ’98, recently earned
a master’s certificate in Return on
Investment (ROI) methodology from
Villanova University.
2000s
Samantha Badger, ’08, a Fayetteville
native, is working as an associate
producer for the “Fox News Rising”
morning show on the Fox Charlotte
TV station. She is featured on a
segment called “Sam on Cam,” in
which she teaches people about
Twitter. Samantha also was featured
recently on the cover of Charlotte
Style magazine. RUN/WALK FUNDRAISER FOR NEED-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS
10-24-09
Rob Covert, ’06, is currently working
for UNC Charlotte as an application
analyst.
Cassie Duncan, ’09, was recently
selected to be an “agent” of the
Fiesta Movement, a six-month-long SYC.UNCC.EDU
social media campaign designed
to generate excitement about the
highly anticipated Ford Fiesta, the
new fuel-efficient small car that
goes on sale next year. As part of
the Fiesta Movement, Duncan is one
of 100 individuals who will test drive
and “live” with a European version of What are you doing?
the Ford Fiesta for six months.
It is time to share what you’ve been up to lately and let other Alumns help
Jason Feltis, ’08, recently began you toot your horn or spread the word on small or large achievements. We
employment with Inmar, CMS in
Winston-Salem. want to hear from you.
Visit Alumni Affairs Web site at www.unccharlottealumni.org
Susan (Cannon) Heffron, ’99 & ’02,
married Brian Heffron on April 25, and tell us what you’ve been doing.
2009. The couple currently resides Or write Alumni Affairs, UNC Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd.
in Fort Mill, S.C. Charlotte, NC 28223-0001

perspective | UNC CHARLOTTE
Why Develop Cancer Vaccines?

By Pinku Mukherjee
Cancer is a global disease and remains a cell-induced inflammation. Despite its obvious recognized by our immune system as “foreign”
major cause of death worldwide. We all know scientific appeal, utilizing vaccines as an approach against which an immune response can be
of someone close to us who has been affected to prevent or treat cancer has not been fully elicited. Yet, the tumors adapt various immune
by this devastating disease. Conventional exploited. This prompted my work to develop escape mechanisms to hide from the activated
cancer treatments, such as radiotherapy or immune-modulating therapies against cancer. immune cells. In principle, we have been able to
chemotherapy, are non-specific; they target not In recent years, there has been a surge of marshal the exquisite specificity of the immune
only the rapidly dividing cancer cells but affect interest in developing vaccines against cancer, system to precisely target cancer cells without
normal dividing cells, which results in side effects which I strongly believe has the potential harming normal cells.
and limited treatment efficacy. Surgical removal for controlling disease, prolonging time to Our research focuses on the development
provides a good prognosis for tumors confined to recurrence and ultimately even serving as a of novel cancer vaccines that not only activate
the primary site, but patients with advanced-stage preventive measure. The relatively new human the existing immune response against the
cancers are at high risk of relapse and metastasis. Papilloma virus vaccine against cervical cancer “foreign” tumor-specific proteins but also
Such cancers eventually become resistant to proves this possibility. However, few cancers suppress the factors that allow the tumors to
chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and oncologists are induced by viruses. In general, our immune escape immune recognition and death. The
have nothing much to offer these patients. system is extremely efficient at getting rid of goal is to develop immune memory against
As an immunologist, I realized early in my foreign proteins. Because cancers arise from the cancer, so that if the cancer recurs, it will
career that medical treatments that control the our own cells that have undergone genetic be recognized immediately as foreign and
immune system are amongst the most successful mutations, our immune system is tricked to be rejected. The implications of developing
and widely utilized. For example, vaccines believe that the growing tumor is “self” and immune-based therapies are profound as they
prevent bacterial and viral diseases; immune- should not be attacked. present an attractive alternative to cancer
suppression avoids the rejection of organ Recent advances in tumor management. The expectation is that such
and bone marrow transplants; immunology reveal that tumor an approach will cause fewer side effects and
antibodies treat arthritis; and cells do express altered “self” prevent metastasis and recurrence better than
aspirin reduces immune proteins that can be conventional therapies.
www.UNCC.edu UNC CHARLOTTE magazine

One of three larger-than-life Stake Your Claim pickaxes
adorns First Citizens Plaza in Uptown Charlotte.
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

UNC Charlotte Magazine, 3Q, 2009

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UNC Charlotte

Levine Scholars = Future Leaders

UNC CHARLOTTE magazine www.UNCC.edu

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Whole Lotta Stakin’ Going On

John D. Bland, Editor Printed on

2 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q309 www.UNCC.edu

a Common Injury Treating the

nearly 23,000 Americans each day. As the

When Sprains Happen

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Ribbon-cutting ceremony, Sept. 24

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CRI Welcomes First

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The Department of Music proudly announces the

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Photo by Mathew Brown

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Learning New scholarship

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Chancellor Philip L. Dubois called the creation of the Levine

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Pound the Pavement

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services for all children with disabilities and

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The coaches lead by example, displaying the Rhiannon Bowman ’08 is a

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Living Using public spaces

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Rocking the Campus

Rock and roll is as much a part of

20 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q309 www.UNCC.edu

With nearly 25,000 students attending UNC Charlotte, the university

was playing around campus,” Seibold said.

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The Health Care

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What’s the best approach

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Men’s Basketball: Niners Face

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U.S. - Russia Relations: and lawmakers.

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Stamp Collection stage chops through her performances at

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A Journey Through Time

32 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine | Q309 www.UNCC.edu

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Top 10 Things You

8 This is the first building on campus with

7 Every Starbucks employee endured

6 The Union has created more than 100

5 In one week, the Crown Commons Pizza

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