(Instrumental music playing)
VOICE OVER: A great city… a great region… are driven
by a great university.
From its noble roots in service to returning veterans of World War II, the University of
North Carolina at Charlotte has grown exponentially, driven by a Big Idea. . .to provide access
to opportunity and the intellectual capital that have helped to build one of America’s
most vibrant regions.
HUGH MCCOLL: They were a vital part of building this city, the university was.
In the planning in the Center City, they were involved in charrettes about
what we ought to do with Third Ward, what we ought to do here, there, and yonder.
TIM BELK: Charlotte is so fortunate to have a major
research university located in our back yard.
(Applause)
CATHY BESSANT: We are a community and a city that punches
above its weight.
Think about it.
Multiple professional sports teams.
Huge economic development assets.
A very vibrant corporate community.
A very vibrant educational community of which UNC Charlotte is our underpinning.
Those kinds of things really set us apart.
VOICE OVER: Set apart… by a community that comes together
to build a big future.
Regional partnership, and stewardship of state resources are most evident in the Energy Production
and Infrastructure Center, EPIC.
The Charlotte Region is emerging as the Southeast’s energy capital.
EPIC, as a center of research and professional education, has staked its claim as the Capitol
Building of Energy.
. .
Dhiaa Jamil: The idea really has, kind of, built on itself.
You create a center.
You engage other companies in the process.
You generate the type of learning and the type of workforces you’re desiring.
You know, when we started there were few very reputable companies.
Today, the Charlotte region is full of other companies.
I would have to believe that the creation of the EPIC center at least played a role
in those companies deciding to come to this area.
VOICE OVER: While UNC Charlotte alumni are located worldwide,
most of them stay, or eventually return, to build the communities in and around Charlotte.
UNC Charlotte alumni teach our children in Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools and throughout
the region.
Our graduates shape a growing professional work force that’s leading Greater Charlotte
into its future.
In health professions, financial services,
energy, advanced manufacturing,
retail, and the arts.
BRAD THOMAS . . . it’s been remarkable the level of growth not only in the institutional
growth in the greater cultural sector, but also in the number of artists that are choosing
to call Charlotte home and call it a place where they can do business and feel supported.
. .we do see ourselves as supporters of working artists who are here.
VOICE OVER: UNC Charlotte’s faculty transforms knowledge
and research into relevant and impactful applications.
Pinku Mukherjee: The main thing that attracted me here is that
I could be part of this growth, which I did not see in other big, established universities.
Plus, the Carolinas HealthCare System attracted me because of the demographics.
So I came from Mayo Clinic, which has a very finite demographic.
And this has a really, very good demographic…so clinically too I was very fascinated.
They get more pancreatic and breast cancer patients than a lot of other big universities
and big cancer centers.
CATHY BESSANT: There are things available here at UNC Charlotte that simply aren’t
available anywhere else in the country or, in some cases, in the world.
The degree of talent is not only motivating and inspirational to us at the Bank, but helps
us move our thinking forward in critical areas.
Dhiaa Jamil: I’m proud of how this school has developed.
The quality of the student activities, the student spaces, the student union, sports,
football...(crowd cheering)
SMOKY BISSELL: UNC Charlotte was, I couldn’t believe it, it was a cow pasture when I went
out there to see what it was in 1964.
And to see it grow, and to see the Uptown campus absolutely will bring a smile to anybody’s
face.
CATHY BESSANT: The physical campus of UNC Charlotte is a huge asset to our community.
And the great thing about the transportation strategy that the city has been launching
and executing over the last several years is that we now have a new chance at connectivity
between a gorgeous, contemporary campus that is a few miles away from the Center City,
and the Center City and the rest of Charlotte itself.
Bell ringing six times
IKE BELK: I still believe the future of this institution is just starting.
The future is just starting.
The greatness as it’s grown, beautiful.
Just watch the future!
(Instrumental music playing)