The State of Higher Education in Charlotte

[jtmonk]

Hey everyone, can we please try to keep things civil and stop name calling.  We may not all share the same views but we can at least be respectful to each other.  And if someone does say something disrespectful to you the best thing to do is ignore it, there's no need to respond.  

[Norm2]

I support this young man making this rap video. He is trying something different. At least he and his parents are trying to bribe their way into him getting a higher education ( hopefully not at least).  It takes talent to do something like this. Even if he doesn't get into Harvard it another top tier school, he'll still have success with how creative he is. Being able to think outside of the box is what makes you successful in a career, regardless of what others may think.

[CLTranspo]

It’s a way of shutting down illegitimate dialogue that repetitively comments with the same points. So no, not in that case. 

[Rufus]

Getting back on topic: 

It is exciting to see UNC Charlotte start a School of Data Science. This continues to reaffirm my belief that my alma mater is one of the most underrated, and cutting edge universities in the South. There's a lot of good happening at the university that truly goes unnoticed. It would be great to continue to highlight these initiatives in this thread. 

Also, with the opening of the UREC, the next focus for building seems to be the new science building and the Burson improvements. Both, of which will dramatically increase capacity for the campus. 

[Neo]

Please get this back on topic...take political discussions to the coffee house or just don't post them at all. I do not like to warn or suspend but I'll do what needs to be done.

[rancenc]

Queens University's new performing arts center has opened!

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/arts-culture/article240368716.html

 

[rancenc]

New business incubator opening on the campus of Davidson College

https://businessnc.com/davidson-college-opens-hurt-hub-to-promote-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/

 

[QCxpat]

03/11/2020  -  The University of North Carolina at Charlotte & Davidson College

This morning, NPR  (WFAE 90.7 FM)  announced that the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Davidson College are making plans to suspend in-person classes due to the coronavirus. 

Link: https://www.wbtv.com/2020/03/10/charlotte-area-colleges-planning-now-possibly-hold-classes-online-due-covid-/

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03/10/2020  -  Duke University

The university in Durham, North Carolina, suspended in-person classes immediately, officials said in a notice sent to students Tuesday night.  Spring break for undergraduates has been extended until March 22 so people can prepare for online classes.  Those who are out of town for spring break have been told they should not return to campus.

 

Edited March 11, 2020 by QCxpat

[Popsickle]

5 hours ago, QCxpat said:

03/11/2020  -  The University of North Carolina at Charlotte & Davidson College

This morning, NPR  (WFAE 90.7 FM)  announced that the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Davidson College are making plans to suspend in-person classes due to the coronavirus. 

Link: https://www.wbtv.com/2020/03/10/charlotte-area-colleges-planning-now-possibly-hold-classes-online-due-covid-/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

03/10/2020  -  Duke University

The university in Durham, North Carolina, suspended in-person classes immediately, officials said in a notice sent to students Tuesday night.  Spring break for undergraduates has been extended until March 22 so people can prepare for online classes.  Those who are out of town for spring break have been told they should not return to campus.

 

Just talked to my cousin who is a student at Charlotte. She stated that the school sent out an email yesterday saying they would make a decision today about classes. 
 

Also, I’m at State, we are on spring break this week but I have not received any updated info about any change in classes. 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Popsickle
Corrected from have to have not

[nicholas]

I go to UNCC.  One of my professors told me yesterday that one of her students is in quarantine, and that she is moving some quizzes and other in-class activities online in case the university decides to go that route.  One of my Monday classes was cancelled, supposedly for an unrelated reason as the professor noted that we are still scheduled to have class this coming Monday.

As of now, nothing new has been sent out.  The UNC system has set up a Coronavirus Coordinating Group and asked each chancellor not to make a decision until after the coordinating group's meeting today.  I had not seen or heard that UNCC was planning on making a decision today.

Edited March 11, 2020 by nicholas

[Popsickle]

1 hour ago, nicholas said:

I go to UNCC.  One of my professors told me yesterday that one of her students is in quarantine, and that she is moving some quizzes and other in-class activities online in case the university decides to go that route.  One of my Monday classes was cancelled, supposedly for an unrelated reason as the professor noted that we are still scheduled to have class this coming Monday.

As of now, nothing new has been sent out.  The UNC system has set up a Coronavirus Coordinating Group and asked each chancellor not to make a decision until after the coordinating group's meeting today.  I had not seen or heard that UNCC was planning on making a decision today.

Does not look like the coordinating group is the final say. State just expanded spring break, all classes are now online. 
 

Edit. Probably let each Chancellor make their own decision. I would imagine. 

Edited March 11, 2020 by Popsickle

[nicholas]

UNCC Update: effective from Monday, 3/16 through Tuesday, 3/31, classes will be moved online wherever possible.  Some labs will still take place on campus. 

[kermit]

1 minute ago, Jaheda said:

Setting up online education is very difficult

AMEN!

[Niner National]

I believe we are supposed to find out who the new chancellor is this week

[DavieNative]

On 4/14/2020 at 4:28 PM, Niner National said:

I believe we are supposed to find out who the new chancellor is this week

It sounds like it has been pushed to next months meeting for the announcement of the new chancellor.

[rancenc]

Great aerial view of Belmont Abbey College.

 

 

[kermit]

8 hours ago, Jaheda said:

Amazing University

Amazing only if you are enthralled by a campus full of New York suburbanites who weren't smart enough to get into Princeton.

[apologies for the Quarantine crank  -- Go Heels !(???)!]

[Blue_Devil]

11 hours ago, kermit said:

Amazing only if you are enthralled by a campus full of New York suburbanites who weren't smart enough to get into Princeton.

[apologies for the Quarantine crank  -- Go Heels !(???)!]

Downvote 

[videtur quam contuor]

I would prefer a downvote for someone who uses this forum to advertise for the site where he buys his assignments for his college courses. His principles are infected if he himself is not.

This post by Jaheda cannot be in keeping with the spirit of this forum.

[Blue_Devil]

2 hours ago, tarhoosier said:

I would prefer a downvote for someone who uses this forum to advertise for the site where he buys his assignments for his college courses. His principles are infected if he himself is not.

This post by Jaheda cannot be in keeping with the spirit of this forum.

Yah, that should be banned.

[allthingsplanes]

Looks like it's being resolved.

[kermit]

UNCC has a new chancellor. I am encouraged she is an actual academic (rather than a political hack) and she has experience at both regional and large Southern universities. Her time at Toledo (a very similar University to UNCC academically) tells me she understands the realities of leading a non-flagship institution and she has already addressed some of the issues NC universities will soon face with demographic decline. Based on press release alone, she sounds like a good choice.

Quote

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 28, 2020

Dr. Sharon Gaber Named Fifth Chancellor of UNC Charlotte

Chapel Hill, NC – University of North Carolina System Interim President Bill Roper has named Dr. Sharon L. Gaber as the fifth chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Dr. Gaber currently serves as president of The University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, and is nationally recognized for her efforts to increase enrollment, improve graduation and retention rates, keep education affordable, and make the campus a diverse, inclusive environment. Education Dive named her one of five higher education leaders to watch in 2018 and beyond.

“Sharon Gaber’s impressive career at each level of education made her standout as the ideal candidate to lead UNC Charlotte into its next phase of success,” said Dr. Roper. “Her many past achievements and future goals will benefit both the UNC System and UNC Charlotte. I have great confidence that the university will continue to grow and develop under her strong leadership.”

Dr. Gaber was selected by Dr. Roper for approval by the Board of Governors from a group of finalists. The finalists for the position were chosen by a 16-member chancellor search committee and the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees. The search committee included faculty, staff, students, alumni and other community members.

“Our board was highly impressed with Dr. Gaber from the outset. She has proven herself time and time again to be up for any challenge that she has been presented with,” said Board of Governors Chair Randy Ramsey. “She has won high, deserved praise from her peers and the students, faculty, staff and alumni that she has led. We wanted to find someone with a unique set of skills and background to lead one of our most important institutions. I firmly believe we have found those qualities in Dr. Gaber.”

A career educator with a background in city and regional planning, Dr. Gaber became the first female president at UToledo following six years as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Arkansas. She also served as interim provost at Auburn and as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Occidental College, a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, and her doctoral degree from Cornell University. Under Dr. Gaber’s leadership, UToledo’s student retention and graduation rates rose to all-time highs, and the school achieved its strategic plan target graduation rate three years ahead of schedule, moving nearly nine percentage points from 2017 to 2019.

“This is a historic moment for UNC Charlotte at a historic time in our nation and in higher education. We are fortunate to have found a strong, innovative and accomplished leader like Sharon Gaber to guide UNC Charlotte through the next chapter in its history and to solidify our position as a top-tier, nationally recognized university,” said Michael Wilson, chair of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees and the chancellor search committee. “She is the right leader at exactly the right time to chart the university’s next chapter at a pivotal point in our 74-year history. We look forward to her leadership in ensuring that UNC Charlotte continues to advance the educational, economic and social needs of the Charlotte region and beyond.”

Dr. Gaber will succeed Philip L. Dubois, who will retire on June 30, after 15 years of distinguished service. She will be the second woman to lead the institution, following in the footsteps of university founder and philanthropist Bonnie Cone.

“I am truly excited and grateful to have the opportunity to serve as the fifth chancellor of UNC Charlotte and join the Niner Nation family,” said Dr. Gaber. “While we are experiencing unprecedented times in our nation, I am prepared to work with the faculty, staff, students, alumni and local leaders to navigate our new realities together and build on the University’s strong legacy of academic excellence, cutting-edge research and community engagement. I believe in the importance of the institution’s mission as North Carolina’s urban research university, and the critical role UNC Charlotte plays in the largest city in the state.”

[emphasis added by kermit]

EDIT: CLT2014 nails the demographic issue below.

Edited April 28, 2020 by kermit

[videtur quam contuor]

What s the demographic trend you mention?

[CLT2014]

8 minutes ago, tarhoosier said:

What s the demographic trend you mention?

Since 2011, college enrollment in the United States has declined -11%. Less people are choosing to go to college and the next co-hort of people to attend college is smaller in size. High school graduates are flat or declining in many areas. The new chancellor has experience in Ohio, which is at the forefront of the demographic decline. North Carolina should peak around 2025 and then begin a decline in high school graduates. 

Edited April 28, 2020 by CLT2014

[kermit]

UNCC just announced its new hire for the Dean of the College of Engineering. He is a renowned biomedical engineer (most recently from U Louisville) who appears to have a specialty in Electromechanical medical devices. Its a long shot, but if he were able to build a biomed expertise at the school then engineering school links to the WFU med school could be interesting. Devices would also be a nice complement to WFU’s existing focus on regenerative medicine. 

(as an aside, they way the state budget is likely to look for the next decade(?) as we work through 20% unemployment, I think Charlotte lucked out that the UNC system dropped to ball on the local med school and WFU jumped into the void)

 

Quote

Dear colleagues, Please join me in welcoming Robert Keynton as Dean of The William States Lee College of Engineering beginning early August 2020. Keynton joins us from the University of Louisville where he is Interim Executive Vice President for Research & Innovation and professor and Lutz Endowed Chair of Biomechanical Devices in the Department of Bioengineering at the Speed School of Engineering.

He led the creation of the Speed School of Engineering bioengineering department and its associated curriculum and was successful in realizing the vision to achieve national recognition of the bioengineering program by being named a Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Partner. Keynton’s area of expertise is development of biomedical micro-electromechanical systems (BioMEMS) and cardiovascular mechanics, the development of micro Total Analysis Systems (uTAS), experimental and computational microfluidics, acoustic transducer design and fabrication, and experimental fluid mechanics.  Keynton is an elected fellow in the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). He received his B.S. in Engineering Science and Mechanics from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Akron.   UNC Charlotte has sought an experienced administrator, researcher and mentor who is innovative in cross-disciplinary and inter-institutional endeavors to lead our well-regarded College of Engineering. We believe Robert Keynton is that leader and we welcome him warmly as UNC Charlotte enters its next chapter as Charlotte’s urban research university. Sincerely,

Joan F. Lorden Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

I believe the Provost is retiring next year, her replacement will do more to shape the research vs. teaching tone of the university more than any other major hire. That said, I don’t think the money is (or has been for 10 years) in the budget to attract new research stars to any UNC institution. I personally know two -very- well respected scholars who turned down different endowed positions at Chapel Hill in the past three years  out of concern for the direction of the system.

Edited May 5, 2020 by kermit