As we approach the end of the 125th anniversary year for UNC Greensboro, we turn to the theme we used at the beginning of the year, “Ascension.” This referenced an album by jazz legend John Coltrane – an album that followed his groundbreaking “Giant Steps” – and has served as a guiding principle for us in the past year. Where do our Giant Steps take us? They take us forward. They take us upward. They help us rise.
Consider the steps we have already taken this year – reaching nearly 20,000 students, millennial campus approval, the opening of Spartan Village II, the beginnings of our work on the new state-of-the-art Nursing and Instructional Building, increases in research productivity, national recognition for our faculty and academic programs, the unveiling of a five-year strategic plan, record-setting athletic success, our best-ever Believe in the G fundraising campaign, and the list goes on and on.
Over this past year I talked with students from all over the state and the world, first-generation students and students whose grandmothers went to Woman’s College. I met veterans, UNCG Guarantee students and Reynolds Scholars, and they all agreed on one thing: They undergo a transformative experience here that changes the trajectory of their lives.
Our challenge is to continue this trajectory – in academics and research, in fundraising and alumni engagement, in increasing our visibility and building our reputation, and in the classroom.
I hope you join me in looking back proudly at the tremendous year we have had at UNCG. More importantly, I hope you will join us as we keep taking Giant Steps and keep Ascending at UNC Greensboro.
Southern Conference Champs 2018
Fashion Foward - A look at UNCG's Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies program.
Preparing students for all aspects of the $217 billion apparel industry is steadfast in the CARS program’s 100-year history. Nestled in the Bryan School of Business and Economics since 2011, CARS has carved out a niche – preparing students for work beyond the runway. Students engage with industry leaders through required internships and guest lectures, develop close relationships with faculty and stay on the cutting edge of industry trends and processes through access to the latest technology. Read Full Story View Video Extra
UNCG C.A.R.S.
- 4th in the South (2016) - Fashion Design
- 6th in the South (2016) - Fashion Merchandising
Rankings by FashionSchools.org
Video Extras
The genius of Rhiannon Giddens
The masterclass with alumna Rhiannon Giddens wasn’t about music. Not exactly.
“I’m here to talk about crafting your career,” she told the School of Music students. Later, she’d headline the Founders Day 125th Anniversary Concert.
At UNCG, she’d been a voice student in the master’s program. One key thing she’d learned at UNCG was entrepreneurship — the business of being an artist.
Returning to UNCG as a Grammy award winning artist, she had experiences and tips to share with the students:
- “While you’re here, throw yourselves completely into it.” As an undergraduate at Oberlin, she attended as many performances as possible. As a master’s student at UNCG, she not only sang in operas, she asked Opera Director David Holley if she could choreograph the square dance in one. Whether it’s learning to make press kits or doing graphic design, you never know what skill sets will come in handy.
- “Don’t know that you can’t do something.” She became immersed in contra dancing and, through that, she discovered the fiddle and banjo and excelled at them. She was in a Celtic band before co-founding the old-time Carolina Chocolate Drops. She is now an actor on the drama “Nashville” and plans to compose an opera about the 1898 coup in Wilmington, North Carolina.
- “What makes your heart sing?” That’s the question, she said. It’s what do you want to do, not what should you do. Whatever that is, you are your own boss. You’re at the head of your career.
In her career so far she has revitalized music of the past, particularly that of the African American experience. For this ongoing work, she recently received a MacArthur “genius” grant.
Goodbye McIver Building
Spring 2018 - VOLUME 19, NO. 2 ISSN 1525 9838
UNCG Magazine is published by University Communications
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro PO Box 26170 Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
336-334-5371
PUBLICATION’S EDITORIAL ADVISORS
Associate Vice Chancellor for University Advancement
Kristine Davidson
Associate Vice Chancellor for University Communications;
Chief Communications Officer
Jeff Shafer
Executive Director of the Alumni Association;
Director of Alumni Engagement
Mary G. Landers
PUBLICATION’S STAFF AND CONTRIBUTORS
Editor - Mike Harris ’93 MA
Art Director - Lisa Summerell
Lead Photographer - Martin W. Kane
Writers / Copy Editors -
Alyssa Bedrosian
Eden Bloss
Avery Campbell
Michelle Danner-Groves
Chris Garton
Elizabeth L. Harrison
Susan Kirby-Smith ’06 MA
Kimberly Osborne
Tommye Morrison
Jeff Shafer
Production Facilitator - Sherri MacCheyne ’10, ’14 MSITM
Web Managers - Craig Biles, Paige Ellis
Designer / Advisor - Mark Unrue
Videographer - Grant Gilliard
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS
NewsFront: Photo of Lebauer Park by Alycee Byrd; Photo of Bryan School alumni by Emma Barker; Weather balloon photography courtesy of Self Design Studio; Piney Lake modern photography by Mike Ackerman, archival photography courtesy of UNCG Archives.
Features: Courtesy photography of sculptures; McIver Building photography courtesy of UNCG Archives; NIB Visuals courtesy LS3P Associates. Reynolds Scholars archival photo courtesy of UNCG Archives. Syquia photo by Patrice Duhig. Sanchez courtesy photo. Lopez photo by Greg Thompson. Group photo by Dr. Rebecca Muich.
