University Of North Carolina At Charlotte
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The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kno ...
in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colleges: the College of Arts + Architecture, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the Belk College of Business, the College of Computing and Informatics, the Cato College of Education, the William States Lee College of Engineering, the College of Health and Human Services, the Honors College, and the University College. UNC Charlotte is the largest institution of higher education in the Charlotte region. The university has experienced rapid enrollment growth of 33% over the past 10 years, making it the fastest-growing institution in the UNC System and contributing to more than 50% of the system's growth since 2009. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". In 2020, it surpassed the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...
to become the second-largest school in the UNC system by student enrollment. It has three campuses: Charlotte Research Institute Campus, Center City Campus, and the main campus, located in University City. The main campus sits on 1,000 wooded acres with approximately 85 buildings about from Uptown Charlotte.


History

The city of Charlotte had sought a public university since 1871 but was never able to sustain one. For years, the nearest state-supported university was away. The city submitted a bid in the late 1880s for what would become
North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...
, but lost to the city of
Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
after a local farmer offered to donate land for the campus.Sanford, Ken. "Charlotte and UNC Charlotte: Growing Up Together". UNC Charlotte Press, 1996, p. 5. In 1946, the city sought a state-run medical school; instead, the state expanded the existing two-year school at UNC-Chapel Hill. On September 23, 1946, the State of
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
opened the Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina with an enrollment of 278 students. It was founded to serve the educational needs of returning World War II veterans. Like many of the United States' " post–World War II" universities, it owes its inception to the
G.I. Bill The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in 1956, bu ...
and its effects on
public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
. In 1949, when the state began closing the centers, the Charlotte Center was taken over by the city school district and became Charlotte College, a two-year
junior college A junior college (sometimes referred to colloquially as a juco, JuCo or JC) is a post-secondary educational institution offering vocational training designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations and workers in su ...
. It was first funded by student tuition payments, then by local property taxes. Classes were held at Central High School near uptown Charlotte, but by 1957, enrollment increased to 492, and the school's leaders began searching for a permanent site for the campus. They decided on a tract of land northeast of the city near the Cabarrus County border. The college became state-supported in 1958 upon joining the newly formed
North Carolina Community College System The North Carolina Community College System (System Office) is a statewide network of 58 public community colleges. The system enrolls over 500,000 students annually. It also provides the North Carolina Learning Object Repository as a central loc ...
and moved to its current location in 1961. In 1963, Charlotte College became a four-year college. On July 1, 1965, it merged with the Consolidated University of North Carolina (since 1972 called the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
) under its current name. In 1969, the university began offering programs leading to master's degrees. In 1992, it was authorized to offer programs leading to doctoral degrees.


Leaders of the university


Bonnie Ethel Cone, founder

Bonnie Ethel Cone Bonnie Ethel Cone (June 22, 1907 – March 8, 2003) was an American educator best known as the founder of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Cone was born to a prominent family in Lodge, South Carolina where her father served ...
(1907–2003), or Miss Bonnie as she was known to students, was chosen to as director of the Charlotte Center in 1946. From 1949 to 1965, she served as president of Charlotte College. When Charlotte College joined the UNC system in 1965, Cone served as acting chancellor until 1966.


Chancellors

Dean W. Colvard (1913–2007) was appointed the first chancellor of the young university in 1966. A North Carolina native, Colvard had served as president of
Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...
(MSU). At MSU he was the first president to defy university policy of not playing against integrated teams when he ordered the men's basketball team to play
Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...
in 1963. At UNC Charlotte, Colvard took on the challenge of converting the school from a small college to a four-year member of the UNC system. Indeed, he had been chosen specifically because UNC system officials believed the newly minted UNC Charlotte needed a leader with experience running a four-year university. Colvard oversaw accreditation of the university, development of University Research Park (now one of the top five largest research parks in the country), constructed the first residence halls, created the first graduate programs, and grew the enrollment from about 1,700 to just over 8,000 students. He retired as chancellor in 1978, served as Chancellor
Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
until his death. Colvard also received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. The Colvard building, completed on the main campus in 1979, is named in his honor and houses the Department of Psychology. E.K. Fretwell (1923–2012), the second chancellor of the university, was named in 1979. He came to the university from Buffalo State College where he was president. Under Fretwell, campus enrollment surged from 8,000 students to over 12,000. He oversaw the creation of the Graduate School, created more graduate degrees, integrated the library's card catalog into the Internet in 1983, created the groundwork for a major business incubator, helped to develop the university's surrounding neighborhood, and increased academic grants to over $6.1 million. Fretwell retired as chancellor in 1989. He served as interim president of the
University of Massachusetts The University of Massachusetts is the five-campus public university system and the only public research system in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The university system includes five campuses (Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, and a medica ...
system from 1991 to 1992, and in 1998, he served as the interim president of the
University of North Florida The University of North Florida (UNF) is a public research university in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Sch ...
. In 1996 UNC Charlotte opened the Fretwell building, dedicated in honor of him and his wife Dorrie. The building headquarters the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. James H. Woodward succeeded Fretwell in 1989. Woodward came to UNC Charlotte from the
University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...
where he served as dean of engineering and senior vice president of academic affairs. Under Woodward, enrollment grew to over 19,000 students. Like his predecessors, he continued the growth of the Graduate School and added new doctoral programs. He oversaw the largest fundraising campaign in the school's history and its largest building boom; in the summer of 2005, no less than six buildings were actively under construction on the main campus. He also oversaw the creation of the CRI Campus. Woodward announced his retirement in 2004 and left the office of chancellor on June 30, 2005. Woodward Hall, which houses the College of Computing & Informatics, was dedicated in his honor on November 16, 2005. He is currently Chancellor Emeritus and teaches in the university's William States Lee College of Engineering. Philip L. Dubois was the fifth leader and fourth chancellor of the university. Dr. Dubois assumed his duties as chancellor on July 15, 2005. He returned to Charlotte after serving as the president of the
University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...
from 1997 through 2005. Previously, he was the Provost and Professor of Political Science in the Department of Political Science (now the Department of Political Science and Public Administration) at UNC Charlotte from 1991 until 1997. Dubois, along with his wife and children, was the first chancellor to occupy the Chancellor's Residence (known as the Bissell House) on the UNC Charlotte campus that was completed in the winter of 2005. His goal was to oversee the process of the university becoming the fourth research-extensive university in the state.


2019 shooting

On April 30, 2019, a
mass shooting There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...
occurred in the Woodford A. Kennedy Building on campus, killing two and leaving four others injured. The shooter, identified as Trystan Andrew Terrell, was arrested shortly afterwards.


Name change

On August 19, 2021, the university announced it would like to be referred to as "Charlotte", not "UNCC". The logo also changed, from a crown to the "All-in-C" logo designed by Todd Aldridge and used by the athletics department since 2020, which has the letter C and a
pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for Leverage (mechanics), prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly ...
but does not include "UNC".


Campuses


Main Campus – University City

The university operates several campuses in Charlotte. The Main Campus is situated on just under 1,000 acres (4 km2) of rolling land between
U.S. Route 29 U.S. Route 29 (US 29) is a north–south United States highway that runs for from Pensacola, Florida to the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland in the Southern United States, connecting the Florida Panhandle to the Baltimore-Washington me ...
and N.C. Highway 49, about 10 miles (16 km) from Uptown Charlotte in the University City neighborhood. The campus is self-contained, meaning that no major roads run through the campus. The campus boasts several man-made lakes, and is heavily wooded. Near the center of campus are two gardens that attract over 300,000 visitors a year. The architecture of the original central campus, particularly the oldest buildings, are precast concrete and utilitarian-looking because they were built with limited state funds in the 1960s and 1970s. Starting in 2014, these buildings are being renovated to today's standards. Under the campus' third chancellor, James Woodward, the campus underwent major changes which continue today. The newest buildings, funded from state bonds, are being constructed in brick with neoclassical architecture. Concrete and asphalt sidewalks have largely been replaced by brick. The campus' road system is being upgraded to include landscaped medians and more trees.


Charlotte Research Institute Campus

The
Charlotte Research Institute The Charlotte Research Institute (CRI) is a partnership between the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and corporations in the region. The goal of CRI is to develop technology-based academic and business partnerships, ranging from consultat ...
was created in 2000. It sits on a campus, attached to the main Charlotte campus, on a tract of land originally named the Millennial Campus. The research-oriented CRI Campus focuses on precision metrology and intelligent manufacturing, optoelectronics and optical communication, and software and information technology. This campus brings together faculty, students, and outside researchers to work together. The CRI Campus also houses the new, on-campus football stadium, with 15,300 initial seats that can be expanded to more than 40,000.


Center City Campus

The third campus is in the first ward of Uptown Charlotte. This campus focuses on business and evening courses, thus catering to center city workers. Formerly located in the Mint Museum of Craft+Design, the Uptown campus moved into the $50.4 million Center City building at 320 East Ninth Street, at the beginning of the Fall 2011 semester. It is next to the ninth Street Station of the LYNX Blue Line Extension and First Ward Park, and houses the nationally ranked Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Urban Design (MUD), Master of Public Administration (MPA), and other graduate programs. The facility contains an art gallery, a 300-seat auditorium, and a 110-seat lecture hall. The 12-story, 143,000 square foot Center City building was designed by world-renowned architectural firm
KieranTimberlake KieranTimberlake is an American architecture firm founded by Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake in Philadelphia. The firm espouses a philosophy of sustainable design, collaborative design, and in-depth research. They have also shown an interest ...
. The building features exterior glass walls individually tailored to the amount of sunlight, and cantilevered multi-story blocks which provide shade and give the building a distinctive look resembling a stack of books.


Students

Approximately 30,000 students were enrolled in the university in the fall of 2020. Students hail from 97 of North Carolina's 100 counties, 45 states, and 103 countries.


Academics

UNC Charlotte is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity." In 2014, UNC Charlotte was ranked the 38th top college in the United States by the Social Mobility Index college rankings. The 2013 edition of the '' U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges'' ranked the university's undergraduate program 199th overall among national universities, however by 2020 it had dropped to 227
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
has ranked the university at 485th Nationally. In 2015,
American City Business Journals American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor News ...
evaluated and ranked the top 484 public colleges and universities in the United States based on selectivity, advancement, prestige, costs, diversity, and community. In the publication, UNC Charlotte was ranked at No. 137, landing in the top 30% of public universities.


Colleges and programs

The university offers 171 majors that lead to 79 baccalaureate (
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
) degrees, 66
master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
programs, and 24 doctoral programs. Fifteen degree and certificate programs are offered via distance education, from 25% to 100% online. The university is divided into nine colleges: * College of Liberal Arts & Sciences - academic disciplines including the
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
,
social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...
,
natural sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
, and
mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
* College of Arts + Architecture -
fine Fine may refer to: Characters * Sylvia Fine (''The Nanny''), Fran's mother on ''The Nanny'' * Officer Fine, a character in ''Tales from the Crypt'', played by Vincent Spano Legal terms * Fine (penalty), money to be paid as punishment for an offe ...
and
performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
(art, theater, dance, and music), as well as the School of Architecture, which is housed within the college * Cato College of Education - the
school of education In the United States and Canada, a school of education (or college of education; ed school) is a division within a university that is devoted to scholarship in the field of education, which is an interdisciplinary branch of the social sciences en ...
* College of Health and Human Services -
social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
Kinesiology, and athletic training; also contains the School of Nursing and programs like public health and health administration. * William States Lee College of Engineering - engineering college with undergraduate and graduate programs in the following: civil and environmental engineering, mechanical engineering and engineering science, electrical and computer engineering, systems engineering and engineering management, construction management, and engineering technology * College of Computing and Informatics -
computer science Computer science is the study of computation, automation, and information. Computer science spans theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, information theory, and automation) to Applied science, practical discipli ...
,
computer programming Computer programming is the process of performing a particular computation (or more generally, accomplishing a specific computing result), usually by designing and building an executable computer program. Programming involves tasks such as ana ...
,
health informatics Health informatics is the field of science and engineering that aims at developing methods and technologies for the acquisition, processing, and study of patient data, which can come from different sources and modalities, such as electronic hea ...
, and
bioinformatics Bioinformatics () is an interdisciplinary field that develops methods and software tools for understanding biological data, in particular when the data sets are large and complex. As an interdisciplinary field of science, bioinformatics combi ...
; as of April 2021, the College of Computing and Informatics is the largest computing college in North Carolina — and the number 1 producer of computer science graduates in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. * Belk College of Business - the
business school A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, o ...
, which offers undergraduate, graduate and executive education in five major departments: Accounting, Business Information Systems & Operations Management (BISOM), Economics, Finance, Management, and Marketing. The college offers three undergraduate degrees (
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
in Accounting,
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...
, and Bachelor of Science in economics); five master's programs (
Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
,
Master of Accountancy The Master of Accountancy (MAcc, MAcy, or MAccy), alternatively Master of Science in Accounting (MSA or MSAcy) or Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAcy, MPAcc or MPAc), is a graduate professional degree designed to prepare students for public ...
,
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
in Economics, Master of Science in Real Estate, and Master of Science in Mathematical Finance as well as a Professional Science Master's (PSM) program in Data Science and Business Analytics); a Doctorate in Business Administration and a Ph.D. in Business Administration concentrating in finance. The college was established in 1965, became the College of Business Administration in 1971, and was renamed the Belk College of Business in honor of the
Belk Belk, Inc. is an American department store chain founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, North Carolina, with nearly 300 locations in 16 states. Belk stores and Belk.com offer apparel, shoes, accessories, cosmetics, home furnishings, a ...
family in 1990. * University College - general education college for undergraduates who have not yet declared a major * Honors College - a selective honors college that seeks to provide students with a
liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capac ...
experience * Graduate School -
graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
; works with the undergraduate colleges to organize the master's and doctoral degree programs


Scholarships

In 2009, UNC Charlotte received the largest single donation from a private source, when The Leon Levine Family Foundation donated $9.3 million to the university to form the Levine Scholars program. The scholarship program, named for Leon and Sandra Levine, provides a four-year scholarship to UNC Charlotte. The scholarship includes tuition, fees, books, room, four summer experiences, and an $8,000 grant for community service initiatives. In addition to the Levine Scholars, the university offers eleven other merit-based scholarship programs.


Library system

UNC Charlotte's J. Murrey Atkins Library, named for the first chairman of the Board of Trustees of Charlotte College, has over 3.3 million volumes, including 930,000 e-books, over 400 databases, and approximately 75,000 journals, the vast majority available electronically, as well as an area for special collections. The recently renovated library includes a ten-story tower that accentuates the library's place at the heart of UNC Charlotte's campus. In April 2007, Atkins received its one-millionth volume, a copy of T. S. Eliot's ''
The Waste Land ''The Waste Land'' is a poem by T. S. Eliot, widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. Published in 1922, the 434-line poem first appeared in the United Kingdom in the Octob ...
''. A special collections section is housed on the tenth floor at the top of the library.


Athletics

The nickname of the athletic teams are the ''49ers'', indicative of the fact that UNC Charlotte (then Charlotte College) was saved from permanent closure in 1949. The mascot is "Norm the Niner," a gold miner. The school's colors are green and white; gold and black are both featured in the logo and frequently used in the uniforms of several sports. For athletics purposes, the school is known as simply Charlotte, a change made official by the athletic department on August 23, 2000. The athletic department sponsors sixteen varsity teams and competes in the NCAA's Division I. The university is a full member of
Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
, but will be moving to the
American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...
following the 2022-23 calendar season. On September 18, 2008, Chancellor Dubois recommended adding a
Division I FCS The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...
football program to UNC Charlotte. On November 13, 2008, the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees voted 8–0 in favor of adding football to the university.


Men's basketball

Men's basketball, coached by
Ron Sanchez Ron Sanchez is a Dominican college basketball coach who is the associate head coach for the Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team. He was most recently the head coach at Charlotte 49ers men's basketball, Charlotte from 2018 until his resignatio ...
. The team has reached the NCAA Tournament 11 times, including a trip to the Final Four in 1977.
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
players that once suited up for the 49ers include
Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...
great
Cedric Maxwell Cedric Bryan Maxwell (born November 21, 1955) is an American retired professional basketball player now in radio broadcasting. Nicknamed "Cornbread", he played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and played a key role in two ...
,
DeMarco Johnson DeMarco Antonio Johnson (born October 6, 1975) is an American retired professional basketball player and former assistant basketball coach at Hampton University. Early life Johnson graduated from North Mecklenburg High School in 1993. He was an a ...
, 2001 NBA Draft lottery pick
Rodney White Rodney Charles White (born June 28, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, White played college basketball at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he was named the nationa ...
, and
Eddie Basden Edward Richard Basden (born February 15, 1983) is an American professional basketball player who formerly played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). College career Basden, born in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, played competitive basketball ...
.


Women's basketball

Women's basketball has seen a surge in popularity on campus over the past several years, with the 2003 team, led by coach
Katie Meier Katie Meier (born December 19, 1967) is head coach of the women's basketball team at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. She is a 1990 graduate of Duke University, where she played college basketball. As of 2022, Meier has the mo ...
, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Meier was succeeded in 2005 by
Amanda Butler Amanda Kay Butler (born March 6, 1972) is an American college basketball coach and former player. In 2018, Butler was hired as the head coach of the Clemson Tigers women's basketball team. Prior to that, she was the head coach for the Florida Gat ...
, who left after two seasons to take over the same position at the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
.
Karen Aston Karen Sue Aston (born July 26, 1964 in Benton, Arkansas) is an American basketball player and coach. She is currently the head coach of the UTSA Roadrunners women's basketball team. She has served as the head women's basketball coach at Texas, Ch ...
took the reins for the 2007–08 season; Cara Consuegra served as head coach for the 2011 season. In the 2021-22 season, Consuegra led the team to a CUSA regular season and tournament championship, resulting in an NCAA tournament berth.


Baseball

Charlotte Baseball has made 6 NCAA Tournament appearances with the most recent coming in 2021. The 49ers have four conference tournament championships, and eight regular season conference championships. Baseball alums with Major League experience include Bryan Harvey (Angels), Jeff Johnson (Yankees),
Chris Haney Christopher Deane Haney (born November 19, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1991–2000 and in 2002 for the Montreal Expos, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and Boston Re ...
(
Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
),
John Maine John Kevin Maine (born May 8, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. Early life and co ...
(
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
), Jason Stanford (
Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
).
Fieldin Culbreth Fieldin Henry Culbreth III (born March 16, 1963) is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB). He worked in the American League from 1993 to 1999 and in both major leagues from 2000 until his retirement in 2021. Culbreth was promot ...
is a recently retired MLB umpire who worked the 2008 World Series.


Football

Charlotte's
Division I FCS The NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), formerly known as Division I-AA, is the second-highest level of college football in the United States, after the Football Bowl Subdivision. Sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic ...
football team kicked off in 2013. It plays at
Jerry Richardson Stadium McColl–Richardson Field at Jerry Richardson Stadium is a college football stadium in University City, Charlotte, North Carolina, United States and the home field of the Charlotte 49ers football team representing the University of North Caro ...
, which holds approximately 15,000 people and can be expanded to hold up to 40,000 people. Its first game was a 52–7 victory against
Campbell University Campbell University is a private Baptist university in Buies Creek, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). Southern Baptist ConventionColleges and Universities sbc.n ...
on August 31, 2013. The football program moved up to
Division I FBS The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). A ...
in 2015 and play as members of
Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...
. The Charlotte 49ers participated in their first bowl game in 2019 against the Buffalo Bulls in the
Bahamas Bowl The Bahamas Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played annually in Nassau, Bahamas, at the 15,000-seat Thomas Robinson Stadium. First held in 2014, the Bowl has tie-ins with the Mid-American Conference ...
. Charlotte has had 4 players selected in the NFL Draft; Larry Ogunjobi, Nate Davis,
Alex Highsmith Alex Highsmith (born August 7, 1997) is an American football outside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Charlotte. Early life and high school Highsmith grew up in Wilmingto ...
, and Cameron Clark.


Men's Golf

In September 2007, the Charlotte men's golf team reached the ranking of being the top-rated golf team in the nation.


Men's soccer

The men's soccer team reached the College Cup in 1996 and 2011. The team advanced all the way to the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, losing to UNC-Chapel Hill and finishing second in the national polls. Former 49ers soccer players now playing in the
MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
include Floyd Franks, Donnie Smith, Brandt Bronico, and
Jon Busch Jon Busch (born August 18, 1976) is an American professional soccer coach and former player, who played as a goalkeeper. Busch is currently the goalkeeping coach for USL Championship club Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. He is best remembered for ...
. The team won a conference title in 2013–2014.


Track and field

The men's and women's track and field teams have also made national berth, throughout the school's history. Their most notable athlete is
Shareese Woods Shareese Woods (born February 20, 1985) is an American track and field athlete. She has competed internationally in sprint and has been on United States teams at the 2006 NACAC Under-23 Championships in Athletics, 2007 NACAC Championships, 2007 Pa ...
. She is the most decorated athlete in school history, running professionally for ADIDAS.


Volleyball

Women's volleyball is one of the largest sponsors of the
Side-Out Foundation The Side-Out Foundation, located in Fairfax, Virginia, is an American non-profit breast cancer charity that raises awareness and funds for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Side-Out fundraises mainly through volleyball-related events. T ...
's "Dig Pink" for breast cancer awareness.


Student organizations

There are a large number of student organizations associated with the university. Their focuses include academic, graduate, honor societies, interest, international, multicultural, political, religious, service, secret societies, and sports. UNC Charlotte also boasts a diverse Greek life, with over 10 sororities and 14 fraternities serving the campus community.


Notable alumni and faculty

Every graduate of UNC Charlotte automatically becomes a member of the Alumni Association, an organization of more than 147,000 former students whose primary purpose is to advance the interests of the university. There are no membership fees or annual dues, but there is an expectation that members will be active participants in the organization. In addition to promoting the interests of UNC Charlotte, the Alumni Association acts as a network of UNC Charlotte graduates who assist each other in their personal, professional and social development, and recognize and cheer the accomplishments of their fellow members. The association offers members a number of benefits and services. Some are in the form of information and communications, including a UNC Charlotte magazine and a quarterly electronic newsletter which keeps alumni up to date on news from the association and the university. The only requirement for membership is that alumni maintain contact with the Office of Alumni Affairs, provide an up-to-date address for alumni files, and keep the association informed about their personal progress and career achievements.


See also

* Dale F. Halton Arena * Lee Rose * Jeff Mullins * Bobby Lutz


Notes


References


External links

* *
Charlotte Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:North Carolina At Charlotte, University Of Educational institutions established in 1946 Universities and colleges in Charlotte, North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Charlotte The University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte or simply Charlotte) is a public research university in Charlotte, North Carolina. UNC Charlotte offers 24 doctoral, 66 master's, and 79 bachelor's degree programs through nine colle ...
Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 1946 establishments in North Carolina