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c h a n c e l l o r ’s l e t te r
Research in Full Bloom at UNC Charlotte
Research may involve scientific inquiry, cultural and economic discovery or artistic creativity. Yet the goal of all our research efforts is the same — to make lives better.
UNC CHARLOTTE magazine
When Miss Bonnie Cone founded what would become UNC Charlotte, she had a practical and compelling vision: establish in Charlotte a university that would provide a quality undergraduate education to the young people of this region. Her vision became reality under the leadership of Dean Colvard and E. K. Fretwell, the University’s first two chancellors. Through the years, UNC Charlotte has delivered a very enriching undergraduate experience marked by great teaching, a nurturing campus community, and very talented and dedicated faculty and staff. Chancellor Colvard also established the first graduate programs, and both he and Chancellor Fretwell understood the educational value of research. Under our third chancellor, Jim Woodward, UNC Charlotte became a doctoral-granting research institution and vastly expanded its array of graduate programs. My predecessors’ vision is in full bloom today at UNC Charlotte. Every day, our faculty and students engage in phenomenal and practical learning through research. This edition of UNC Charlotte magazine peeks behind the scenes at some of the research emerging from our campus. For example, in the College of Computing and Informatics Future Computing Lab, students and faculty work side-by-side to develop virtual reality applications, including virtual environments and virtual humans. You have likely interacted with a virtual human, either through a telephone “conversation” or on the World Wide Web. Virtual humans increase efficiency for private industry and other organizations by performing tasks such as fielding common questions or providing directions. Researchers at UNC Charlotte are studying ways to improve this technology and extend its application to areas including education, nursing, and community policing. Already, virtual environments are being used to improve medical care in the treatment of burn patients. UNC Charlotte psychology faculty and students have tested this technology as a means to provide relief to individuals suffering from chronic pain. Read the feature “Virtual Visions: UNC Charlotte researchers explore new realities” to learn more about this exciting technology and its many applications.
Research is by no means a static pursuit – sometimes we must meet challenges where they live (or work), so to speak. Our newest interdisciplinary Ph.D. program does just that and is the first program of its kind in the country to draw from the expertise of faculty in organizational sociology, management, industrial/organizational psychology and organizational communication. Organizational scientists help organizations address problems that can lead to a dissatisfying work environment for employees, as well as decreased efficiency and productivity. The article “Doctoring Organizations: Organizational science Ph.D. program on the leading edge nationally,” describes the mission of this exciting program to “return functionality to the dysfunctional.” Despite these rather intensive research programs, UNC Charlotte has not deviated from its grounding in liberal studies and the thoughtful, critical thinking that is essential to our success. Sometimes inquiry requires a quiet space, without scientific equipment and away from intensive work teams. That space exists on the 10th floor of the Atkins Library, where a treasure trove of historic documents, manuscripts, rare books and memorabilia spanning several centuries, is available to the community. If you would like to conduct your own historical investigation of the Civil Rights movement in Charlotte or read early editions of the works of some of the greatest authors of our time, take this as a standing invitation next time you visit campus. The impressive breadth of our special collections is highlighted in the article “A Room with a View on History.” Research may involve scientific inquiry, cultural and economic discovery or artistic creativity. Yet the goal of all our research efforts is the same – to make lives better. We will continue to celebrate these efforts, which make every space on our beautiful campus a laboratory of learning and an incubator of ideas, on the pages of this magazine. Cordially,
Philip L. Dubois Chancellor www.UNCC.edu