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the colleges of Engineering, Education, Health and Human Services, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Arts + Architecture’s new master’s program in Urban Design, will be held in the downtown campus building. The 143,000 square-foot building will overlook a four-acre park and anchor the redevelopment of the First Ward neighborhood. The building site at Ninth and Brevard streets will be adjacent to the park, and a light rail stop is within easy walking distance. UNC Charlotte ranked among top research universities in real estate The Center for Real Estate at UNC Charlotte has been ranked among the 20 most active research institutions in real estate during the past decade, according to a recently-published article. The authors of “World Ranking of Real Estate Research: Recent Changes in School Competitiveness and Research Institutions,” published in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, based their rankings on the number of pages published by faculty members in three major specialty journals: Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Real Estate Research and Real Estate Economics. UNC Charlotte ranks 19th among the top 50 universities for research produced from 1999-2008, the most recent ten years studied by the authors. Guobadia recognized with leadership and values award Michelle Guobadia, director of fraternity and sorority life, received the Steven Dealph Outstanding Award from the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values (AFLV) at the 2011 Central Fraternal Leadership Conference/National Black Greek Leadership Conference held in Fort Collins, Colo. The honor recognizes an outstanding fraternity/sorority professional who was nominated by an undergraduate student. According to one of her nominators, “Michelle is an expert in fraternity and sorority expansion who is well-known nationally for her work in this area. Since 34 UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
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her arrival at UNC Charlotte, we have added 11 new chapters and created two new councils, the Diversified Greek Council and the Independent Council. Not only has Michelle added a large number of chapters to our campus, she has also brought increased diversity to our Greek system through multicultural groups helping us to better meet the needs and interests of our students. Michelle’s greatest accomplish with expansion, however, is her miraculous
Michelle Goubadia (middle) and colleagues at awards event.
work in bringing a new Panhellenic sorority to our campus for the fall 2011 semester. The University has not added a new NPC sorority in over 20 years. Michelle worked tirelessly and vigilantly to demonstrate the need for a new NPC sorority, and finally convinced everyone this was the best thing for our campus. The fruits of her visionary leadership will be fully recognized next fall when Kappa Delta arrives on our campus.” Guobadia said she was “extremely humbled and honored” at the recognition. “It means so much to me that students chose to honor me in this way. Working at UNC Charlotte with these students is really a privilege, and we just have the most amazing students.” The Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values exists “to stimulate the growth and development of fraternity/sorority council and chapter leaders by promoting leadership, educational and values-based experiences and resources for student leaders, their advisors and the larger fraternal market.”
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participants with UTOP alumni who can serve as career mentors/coaches. “UTOP has become more than a program. We are more than advisors – we are friends and surrogate families,” said Lopez. “Beyond its longevity, UTOP is a success because of the student mentors. Most are former UTOP students, and they had such a great experience they want to provide incoming students with that same experience – it becomes a continuing cycle of great experiences.” Plans for this summer’s UTOP Silver Anniversary celebration are being finalized. Currently, the intent is to enroll 100 students for the 25th anniversary class – the largest-ever. UTOP alumni will be invited to return to their alma mater for receptions, campus tours and other social events with a special banquet hosted by Dr. Thomas and Chancellor Emeritus Jim Woodward in August. Tiffani Teachey (’03,’05), a mechanical engineer with the Shaw Group, is chair of the August silver anniversary event. She is excited at the prospect of welcoming back UTOP alums. “For me, UTOP was such a wonderful bonding experience; it provided the opportunity to face college before the rest of the freshman class. Those bonds continue, today,” said Teachey. “It will be great to have our UTOP graduates on campus to meet the next generation, and our 25th anniversary celebration is a perfect time to focus on securing the continued success of UTOP. It is our legacy.” Leading up to the summer event, Teachey said UTOP alumni from each year will be contacting fellow class graduates to participate in the celebration and to support the UTOP scholarship endowment. “We all benefited from UTOP, and we want to see it thrive and grow to help even more students,” Teachey stated. “Not only do we need everyone’s financial support, but we want our alums to come back often, connect with new generations and share their wisdom as mentors, personally and professionally.” Learn more about the Office of Multicultural Academic Programs and UTOP on the Web at http://mas.uncc.edu/UTOP.htm. Phillip Brown is internal communications manager in the Office of Public Relations. www.UNCC.edu