Every year, as part of Homecoming, Alumni Engagement invites campus partners to table in front of the library during Street Fest. It’s a great opportunity for folks to connect with alumni, students, and friends to share updates and highlight the work they’re doing here at UNCG.
This year’s Academic Row will be held Oct. 3 from 3–6 p.m. in front of the library around the McIver Statue.
Anyone who wants to join the fun this fall, please fill out the interest form. It’s always fun and alumni really enjoy seeing everyone out there.
Hard Work and a Little Luck Lands Aslan Freeman ’11 on the World’s Biggest Stages
Posted on June 17, 2026
Freeman '11 rocking a stage with Lainey Wilson.
It’s been a winding journey from childhood performances on small-town community theater stages, but as the lead guitarist for country music star Lainey Wilson returns to his home state on June 20 to play for a sold-out crowd at Bank of America Stadium, it’s safe to say this UNC Greensboro School of Music alumnus has made it.
Wilson and her band, with Aslan Freeman ’11 at the helm as bandleader, have just wrapped their Whirlwind World Tour with stops across the US and in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Before he geared up for their 2026 festival season, Freeman talked North Carolina music roots, his college days in Greensboro, and how preparation met opportunity — or in his words, “stubbornness met luck” — unlocking his success.
A Theater Kid Finds His Way
Young Aslan with a new guitar!
Freeman grew up in a performance household in the small town of Sanford, N.C. In the early ’90s, his father Bill Freeman helped run the local Temple Theatre. Freeman remembers his father and family friends pulling him into productions “whenever they had a kid’s role to fill.”
This exposure molded his early aspirations for performance, but college was always part of the plan. He remembers watching his dad go back to school in his 40’s for a degree at UNCG: “I was growing up in the Temple Theatre and often riding with him to UNCG to turn in projects, so Greensboro just became a place I was familiar with.”
In high school, Freeman’s artistic interests shifted from acting to music. He played the drums in the marching band, was proficient in piano, and could also sing. He took up the guitar, joining friends in garage bands where he wrote songs, gravitating towards the punk genre.
Later, when Freeman considered colleges, he was drawn towards the classical guitar program offered by UNCG’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. The campus felt comfortable, and he was awarded the Ethel Virginia Butler Centennial Scholarship, a full ride to the Lloyd International Honors College, that sealed the deal. After his first year, Freeman switched to a music composition major for a broader knowledge of music.
“I knew I wanted to be a touring musician with my own band, and if my mom hadn’t insisted that I go to college, I may have gone straight to that,” he explains. “But my back-up plan was producing for others, and the composition degree was much more helpful with that. Learning how to write sheet music and orchestrate for different instruments has come in handy. In addition to songwriting, I’ve been able to write string arrangements and choral arrangements for Lainey thanks to that foundation.”
Scenes from Freeman’s college days. He played everything from Greensboro dive bars to UNCG dorm events before graduating in 2011.
Skill Meets Hustle in Local Music Scene
Freeman continued to play in punk bands in college. Plus, his theater background gave him skills to work lighting or sound in local venues. He recalls running lights for free as an intern at Greene Street Nightclub in downtown Greensboro. “I was barely 18 working shows in bars,” he admits.
Freeman said ‘yes’ to every opportunity that presented itself in Greensboro’s music scene. Along the way, he taught himself how to operate a studio soundboard. He watched talented peers give up their bands to get “real jobs,” but Freeman was able to make ends meet between gigs by applying his diverse music skills to help up-and-coming artists make demo recordings.
Freeman played in different bands all over NC.
After graduating in 2011, he moved from band to band, playing in his hometown as well as popular venues like the Blind Tiger, formerly on Walker Avenue, or the Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill. Eventually his connections landed him with Deep South Entertainment, a company that managed bands, produced shows, and partnered with a bar called City Limits Saloon in Raleigh.
City Limits is where Freeman first met a young Lainey Wilson, who was opening for Frank Foster, an independent artist from her home state of Louisiana; but their connection wouldn’t solidify until Freeman made a crucial decision that proved to be a defining move for his career.
“Being a part of the NC music scene so thoroughly and for so long was very impactful, but I was burnt out and needed a change of scenery,” Freeman says. “North Carolina has such a diverse music scene and it’s so good, but very few export it. It bums me out that some of the best musicians I know are not sharing their music more broadly.”
Nashville Calls and Destiny Answers
Knowing he had to take a chance to bring his music to a larger audience, Freeman moved to Nashville in 2016.
He compares Nashville’s mid-sized industrial vibe to what he loved about Greensboro as a teenager. His plan was to take a break from producing, maybe get a job at a bar, and play in a few bands with vocalists he’d met.
“I went to a writers’ round that my friend and fellow North Carolinian, Kasey Tyndall, was playing,” he explains. “As it turned out, Lainey was performing there as well.”
Freeman was really impressed with the new music she’d written and offered to help her produce it. Since they were connected through friends, he promised to keep the expenses low. It wasn’t a stretch considering he could sing backup vocals and play almost all the instruments she’d need for a fully produced demo. Just a few months later, they were recording new music in a studio space that Freeman rented, “which was basically the closet of a former optometrist’s office.”
He played with her for a few bookings, and soon Wilson asked him to join her for a Frank Foster event in Ruston, near her hometown of Baskin, Louisiana. As broke musicians do, they road-tripped from Nashville and stayed overnight in her parents’ house.
“We spent the entire eight-hour drive sharing our favorite artists with each other, talking about music and life, and eating BBQ,” says Freeman.
Scifres and Freeman, both UNCG alumni, share the stage in Lainey Wilson’s band.
Although he never thought he’d end up playing country music, they connected creatively and found inspiration from many genres. “Meeting Lainey made me look at country music differently,” he explains. “The songwriting is just insane. I love the meaningful stories you can tell.”
Freeman eventually helped Wilson put a new band together, reaching out to contacts he’d met in North Carolina like bass player Tommy Scifres, who was also a UNCG alumnus. Freeman’s vast knowledge and experience was now advancing Wilson’s career as well as his.
“I met her as a producer, and then because I played everything on the record, she asked me to put a band together for her,” he explains. “Now I’m a touring bandleader.”
A Band on the Rise
As Wilson’s new songs were released, the band began opening for well-known artists like Jason Aldean, and playing small venues, festivals, and state fairs.
“I remember in those days we were playing large clubs and really beautiful theaters throughout the South, and I thought, ‘Yeah, this is exactly what I wanted,’” he says. “I just thought that if I can make the same amount of money my parents make but by playing music, I’ll be happy. And then we put out “Things a Man Oughta Know” in 2020 and everything snowballed very quickly.”
He remembers playing the World-Famous Armadillo Festival in Arkansas in May 2021. They typically ended shows with a 4 Non Blondes cover. “It was always a crowd pleaser for us,” Freeman explains. “But this time, we followed it with ‘Things a Man Oughta Know’ because we’d just released it. When the crowd sang every word louder than the ‘What’s Up?’ cover, that’s when we knew it would be a hit.”
When most musicians were taking a break during COVID, Wilson was busy with self-promotion and pushing for radio play of her new song.
“Then when venues opened back up, the crowds showed up,” says Freeman.
Wrangling Opportunities
The popularity of the hit Paramount series “Yellowstone” was also on the rise during this time. “The very first song that Lainey and I produced in that tiny optometrist’s office was in Season 2, which premiered in 2019,” says Freeman. “Workin’ Overtime” is the soundtrack for the famous scene when the Yellowstone ranch hands sneak an angry bull into a bar to get revenge on a biker gang inside.
Wilson’s music fit perfectly in the “Yellowstone” score; and the show’s creator Taylor Sheridan was so taken by Wilson’s stage presence, he created a character for her. Despite her lack of acting experience, Wilson was a recurring member of the cast in the last season of Yellowstone. She essentially played herself in the role of young country singer, Abby — with Freeman at her right hand on guitar when she performed at fairs and barbecues in the storyline.
Freeman was also there when Wilson met Sheridan. It was pre-“Yellowstone” when he was producing a rodeo competition called “Run for a Million.” Wilson and the band played in the arena after the rodeo for Sheridan and other VIPs. As he tells it, “Lainey is so quick to make friends and in a matter of 20 or 30 minutes, Sheridan thought she was the coolest thing ever.”
Stubborn Enough for Stadium Shows
The pinch-yourself moments have continued for Freeman as he comes home this week to play the Carolina Panthers’ stadium with Wilson. They open for the legendary Chris Stapleton as part of his All-American Road Show. Through it all, he’s quick to keep it real with aspiring music students like he was back in 2011.
“Once you’re good enough to do the work you want to do — maybe not the best, but you’re good enough — then it’s about waiting for the opportunity to present itself,” he explains. “You have to be stubborn enough to wait, and then say yes to the scary thing that you’re not sure you can do.”
“I’ve also been insanely lucky,” he continues. “But really that desire to keep showing up is what you need to find some kind of success, especially in an artistic field.” He pauses before adding humbly, “I’m just happy to be sitting in a brand-new studio that I built in the basement of my house. It’s a real studio; I never thought I’d make enough money to do that.”
Freeman’s success can be attributed to thorough preparation, the connections he made along the way, and the hard work he put in for a profession he was unwilling to give up, but he still seems like that eager theater kid performing for his community in Sanford.
“The job is exactly the same, genuinely,” he says. “No matter what size stage you’re on — whether it’s a stadium with 50,000 people or a theater with 500. When we walk out there, we’re doing the exact same job and treat it the exact same way.”
Story by Becky Deakins, University Communications. Photos submitted by Aslan Freeman.
How to Coordinate Fundraising Through Spartans Give
Posted on June 22, 2026
Spartans Give is UNCG’s official crowdfunding platform for the UNCG community — student groups, faculty, staff, and UNCG affiliated partners — to raise funds for projects, events, equipment, and other needs.
As UNCG gears up for the new academic year, applications are now open for groups interested in launching a campaign. To learn more about the application process and participation requirements, schedule a meeting with the Advancement team through the bookings page.
For any questions, please contact Arjanai Miller at admille7@uncg.edu.
Game-Changing New, Online Master’s in Sport Management and Recreation Therapy
Posted on June 16, 2026
New degree levels up sport management and recreation therapy professionals
Sport management is big business. In North Carolina alone, sports and leisure sectors generate $37+ billion in annual visitor spending, supporting 230,000+ jobs statewide. Those stats are driven by an impressive outdoor recreation economy, thriving youth sports organizations, and major metropolitan areas — including the Research Triangle, Charlotte, and Greensboro – High Point – ranking among the top 50 overall sports cities in the country.
The need for sport and recreation management professionals is also on the rise. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the sport management industry is outpacing the need for professionals in other industries with an expected 8% to 10% growth through 2034.
In response, UNC Greensboro launched a fully online, asynchronous Master of Science in Sport Management & Recreational Therapy. Designed for working professionals and emerging leaders ready to take the next step in an exciting career path, the 30-hour program provides the training career professionals need to make an immediate impact on their careers in sport, athletics, and recreation.
“This degree is for people who are working in the sports and recreation industry and want to upskill and retrain,” says Ben Hickerson, associate professor and chair of the Department of Sport Management and Recreational Therapy. “The coursework, assignments, connections UNCG has to local sports enterprises will help them be better leaders in this field.”
What’s in a Name
The new master’s program comes from UNCG’s School of Health and Human Sciences Department of Sport Management and Recreational Therapy, formerly known as the Department of Community and Therapeutic Recreation. Revamping the department name while introducing the new degree program positions the program to be responsive work force needs, according to Hickerson.
“Our programs blend the psychological and sociological understanding of why people do what they do in their free time, with management and business principles specific to the recreation and sport industry,” he says. “We’re emphasizing sport as a recognizable entry point due to student interest, popularity, and career opportunities.”
Greensboro is widely recognized as a sports town, with a strong tradition of hosting major events and supporting a broad mix of teams and organizations. From the Greensboro Swarm and Greensboro Grasshoppers to North Carolina Fusion and the city’s long-standing role as a host for high-profile competitions at the Greensboro Complex, the community offers a vibrant environment for sport and recreation. This local identity makes Greensboro a natural setting for sport and recreation management education and creates meaningful opportunities to strengthen partnerships with organizations such as the Greensboro Sports Foundation.
“There’s far better seamless identification now because the master’s and bachelor’s names are speaking to the industry and the prospective students,” Hickerson says.
Practical Application for Career Advancement
The new sport-focused master’s program blends theory, real-world application, and leadership development — all taught by faculty connected to an expansive professional network. Students will study the entire process of game day operations, planning a sporting event, contingency plans, risk management, and more. Capstone experiences will take advantage of UNC Greensboro’s network of parks, recreation, and sporting associations for internships, projects, and more.
Because it’s 100% online, asynchronous, and only 30 credit hours, working professionals can gain their degrees without pausing their careers. Flexibility is key to helping students gain upward mobility and make an immediate impact in the industry.
“UNC Greensboro is known for its community-oriented approach and the master’s in sport management and recreational therapy program will offer accessible and career-specific starting points for students,” Hickerson says. “Greensboro is an urban cultural center with a ton of sports enterprises. We hope to prepare students who stay here locally to move into those organizations and help them gain the credentials they need to move up in their careers.”
UNCG’s two greenhouses elevate research opportunities for NC scholars
Did you know UNC Greensboro has a desert? And its own tropics? Four stories up in the Sullivan Science Building, research is growing.
“Watch your step,” April Harris cautions as she opens the door to the tropical room of the teaching greenhouse. Even on a cool and dry morning, its floor is very slick.
The difference between the greenhouse’s three chambers is palpable. When you first step inside, the weather closely matches what’s outside, a prime environment for native North Carolina plants. But take a dozen steps to the right into the desert, and you’ll feel the hot sun beating down on your shoulders. Take care not to brush your arm against a cactus plant. Move a dozen steps to the left, and you’ll feel like you’ve been transplanted into a rainforest.
Putting the ‘green’ in UNC Greensboro
For Harris, greenhouses provide something textbooks and slides cannot. “It’s one thing to look at a diagram or a picture on a PowerPoint,” she says, “but to actually pick up that plant and look at the structure and things like that, it’s beneficial to have hands-on learning.”
UNCG students and faculty, primarily in the Biology Department, study how plants thrive in different climates. Harris, the greenhouse manager, came to UNCG with a bachelor’s in biology and a master’s in plant physiological ecology. She is a vital player in keeping their plants in peak form.
Her daily tasks include following each plant’s watering schedule, removing dead leaves, and spraying for harmful pests. Harris says she does a lot of “reading plants,” i.e., watching how they respond to daily care. “I know it sounds funny, but I can just look at plants and know, ‘You need this or that today,'” she says.
She has also added to the teaching greenhouse’s inventory over time, adding and phasing out plants to align with the needs of professors. For example, this past semester, they used the unique shape of the Chinese money plant to teach undergraduate students about leaf structure.
Growing Solutions through Research
Alongside the teaching greenhouse at Sullivan, which serves more foundational classes for undergraduates, Harris manages a larger research warehouse two miles down the road.
There, faculty and graduate students grow the samples they need for their projects. Rows of tef stalks, a grass crop native to Ethiopia, tower overhead from upraised beds so Dr. Ayalew Osena can study ways to increase its yield. In another section, doctoral student Jordan Winter has watering rigs dripping water through a layer of longleaf pine into soil cups to simulate how rain reaches the understory of forests.
Their findings will ultimately go toward creating solutions to real-world issues like food insecurity, disease, forest restoration, and effective sustainable practices.
Story by Janet Imrick, University Communications Video by David Lee Row, University Communications Video editing by Jeff Castillo, University Communications
Team Norway’s open practice draws thousands to UNC Greensboro’s campus
Posted on June 11, 2026
The Vikings have landed at the G
Two quick drumbeats signaled to thousands of fans inside the UNCG Soccer Stadium to begin the Viking Row, the cheer that Team Norway’s fans have adopted to show their love for their culture and for their team. In unison, they moved their arms in rowing motions, shouting, “Ro!” — Norwegian for “row”— with each pull as Team Norway took to the pitch.
“We are thrilled to share this opportunity with our community as we celebrate the spirit of international soccer,” UNC Greensboro Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. said to the crowd moments before. “Let’s give a warm Greensboro welcome to these talented athletes.” After he spoke, Chancellor exchanged a UNCG soccer jersey for an official Team Norway one, signed by every member of the team.
Team Norway chose UNCG as its base camp because of Greensboro’s natural beauty, its position away from the bustle of big cities, and because of UNCG’s world-class soccer pitch, which on this day resembled a magnificent emerald carpet.
As the team’s sole open practice, this would be the only chance for North Carolina soccer fans to see the players they normally watch on their screens from thousands of miles away in person. It’s the first time the team has qualified for the world’s largest sporting event in 28 years, and they like their chances, with major European stars like Erling Haaland and Martin Ødegaard on their side for this run.
More than 3,500 fans and perhaps 100 media members came to watch these Vikings do their thing in the North Carolina summer. Some held photos of Haaland; many were bedecked in red, a signature color for both the team and their nation.
UNCG alumnus and Greensboro Day School Soccer Coach Austin Miller ’15, who played Spartan soccer during his time at the University, said the day was as much of a learning experience as it was a chance to see these stars up close. “I definitely picked up a few coaching tips today,” he said.
UNCG Director of Athletics Brian Mackin, while watching the action from the sidelines, was struck by the weight of the moment. As chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Oversight Committee, he has watched many soccer games. “What I see out here,” he said, “is another level. To see how these players commit to their country and to their team…it’s incredible.”
On the pitch, the players broke into quadrants to run passing, goaltending, and direct-kick drills before breaking into small-squad drills, with the fans roaring every time Haaland touched the ball.
UNCG Men’s Soccer Coach Chris Rich experienced much of the day in the stands with his 3-year-old son Kenan in his arms. “This is amazing,” he said. “This might be the biggest soccer crowd I have seen at UNCG since the Spartans made the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament in 2022.”
At the end of the practice, the team gathered in front of the crowd and applauded them in the international soccer tradition before heading back to their hotel to get some rest. They’ll play their first World Cup match on Tuesday, June 16, against Iraq in Boston, with all of Greensboro cheering them on.
Story by Brian Clarey, University Communications Photos by University Communications and University Athletics
University Libraries Dean Michael Crumpton Retires
Posted on June 08, 2026
Dean Mike Crumpton retired on June 1 after more than 18 years of service to UNCG. His staff reflects on his contributions to the University and to the field of librarianship as a whole.
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“I still remember his name,” Johnson says. “My principal was Mr. Richard Hicks. All the students loved him to death. He was tough. He was firm. But he loved his students. I just thought he was an awesome guy.”
Hicks’ most enduring lesson in leadership, Johnson says, was in the way he established personal connections — walking the halls, talking to students, asking them questions, and remembering their names. Hicks, Johnson says, showed his students that he cared about them. And that’s what made him a good leader.
He credits UNCG for the foundation that elevated him to both awards. The things he learned at UNCG, Johnson says, were central to his understanding of education. He’s carried those lessons with him through his many roles in the North Carolina public school system.
Johnson taught in the classroom for four years before finding a role in administration as assistant principal at A.L. Stanback Middle School in Hillsborough. Then he became the first principal of Gravelly Hill Middle School when it opened in Efland in 2006.
His time in the classroom, he says, helped him appreciate what his teachers go through every day.
“There are times as a principal that you need to be really empathetic with your staff,” he says. “This is the difference between being a boss and a leader. A boss tries to push people to be driven. A leader convinces people why they should be driven. At UNCG, they weren’t training bosses; they were training leaders.”
“In ELC’s educational leadership programs, we seek to develop thoughtful, caring school leaders who support students and staff, improve instruction, and engage with families and local communities,” he said. “Jason is an exceptional example of what graduates of ELC’s programs can accomplish.”
Johnson remembers other UNCG mentors who influenced him alongside his own high school principal. It was UNCG professor Dr. Ron Williamson, he says, who on the first day of class had each of his students write a purpose statement about education. And then, right before they all graduated, he had them write another one, “because those two years at UNCG changed you,” Johnson says.
And he remembers the sage advice Dr. Carl Lashley bestowed upon him.
“He said, ‘I bet you change as you become an administrator,’” Johnson remembers. “The whole point was that, as you go through the struggle, as you go through politics, as you go through complaints and are trying to find yourself as a leader, you will change. Leadership will change you. But you want to stay as true to your purpose of education as possible.”
On leading and leadership
Johnson’s take on leadership, he says, might be what elevated him from NC Principal of the Year to the national honor.
“I was willing to be vulnerable,” he says. “I was willing to talk about some of my strengths and some of the great things we’re doing at Orange High School. But most importantly, I was willing to talk about some of my struggles as a leader.”
Leaders, he says, don’t often show vulnerability. But behind the brave facade of every true leader lies a well of self-doubt. “I think as leaders, we do a disservice to other leaders when we don’t share our struggles,” he says. “I am leading as a human being. I’m going to show up every day, and I’m going to treat people like human beings. I’m going to have expectations of you. There will be times when I hold you accountable. But at the end of the day, we are all trying to do what’s right — and most importantly, do what’s right for the kids.”
When teachers and staff call him “Boss,” he says, it makes him cringe a little.
“I’m not here to tell you what to do,” he says. “I’m here to guide you. I’m here to help you accomplish things you may never have thought you would be able to accomplish. I’m here to help us do what’s right for students.”
Finding joy in public schools
“Over the years, public schools have gotten better and better,” Johnson says. “North Carolina public schools offer so many different programs; we have something for everyone.”
“But I feel like public schools are currently under attack,” he continues. “What’s beautiful about that is that we’re still showing up every day and we’re doing the impossible. We’re educating children, and they’re going out and doing great things. I am a product of North Carolina public schools, as are many of my colleagues. Some of the greatest leaders we have in this country are public school graduates. It’s very difficult to sell me on anything else but our public schools.”
The best part of it, he says, is that “we’re making this thing work — the staff, the students, the community, just making Orange High School run right. I love the fact that I’m approachable, that my teachers can push back on me and I don’t get mad. I just love the fact that we make this public school thing work here at Orange High School.”
His favorite time of year is graduation, which Orange High holds inside UNC-Chapel Hill’s Dean E. Smith Center, home of the Tar Heels.
“There’s nothing like standing in the Dean Dome, a couple thousand parents hooting and hollering for their kids,” he says. “Kids are walking across the stage and I’m giving them their diplomas, watching them take this step in life, seeing these kids who made it when you had your doubts some days. You can’t beat graduation day as a high school principal. That’s the ultimate.”
Story by Brian Clarey, University Communications Photos courtesy Jason Johnson and Elaine Darby/NCDPI
UNCG’s Concert and Lecture Series hosts a wide array of talent
Posted on May 28, 2026
Dance, Jazz, Musical Theatre, and Ben Folds highlight UNCG’s annual series
The season is set, and there is truly something for everyone in this year’s UNC Greensboro Concert and Lecture Series, from Tony- and Grammy-winners to street dance artists and jazz luminaries.
The series kicks off on Friday, Sept. 25 with Tony Award–winning actor and singer Alex Newell, known for their Broadway roles in Once on This Island and Shucked. Fans will also know Newell from performances on TV’s Glee and Zooey’s Extraordinary Playlist.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, the School of Music presents the 19th annual Collage concert, which this year honors the United States’ 250th anniversary with the theme of “American Voices.”
On Friday, Feb. 5, 2023’s Grammy-winning Best New Artist and six-time Grammy-winner, jazz superstar Samara Joy graces the stage.
And on Saturday, March 20, it’s an evening with North Carolina native and Emmy Award-nominated singer-songwriter Ben Folds.
Alex NewellRennie Harris PuremovementSamara JoyBen Folds
Robinson Family Visiting Artists
John Scofield, three-time Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist and composer, and Carmen Bradford, Grammy Award-winning vocalist of the Count Basie Orchestra perform.
UCLS and the Falk Visiting Artist Fund present Clarence Morgan, an American abstract painter whose work spans painting, drawing, printmaking, and a reflective writing practice.
Carmen BradfordClarence Morgan
A 114-year history
Tickets for all performances are on sale now at ucls.uncg.edu or by calling ETix at 800.514.3849. There are special discounts for UNCG students, faculty, and staff. Bundle and save 10% by purchasing tickets at any level to all four of the performances by Alex Newell, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Samara Joy, and Ben Folds.
UCLS has an 114-year history of bringing world-class artists and speakers to campus. In addition to public performances, the series includes dedicated, selective interactions between visiting artists and UNCGstudents. It offers them unique learning opportunities — and sometimes once-in-a-lifetime experiences — in the form of moderated conversations, jam sessions, and masterclasses. Many UCLS artists engage with Guilford County Schools K-12 students by giving special, school-day matinee performances, class visits, or artist talks.
UNCG is a state university, and our mission includes not only the education of our students but also engagement with the broader community. For this reason, we intentionally keep our ticket prices low to allow access to as much of the local community as possible. The series is supported by several generous sponsors and the University, which allows us to bring leading artists to our campus and the community:
Presenting Sponsors: Joseph M. Bryan, Jr. and The Cemala Foundation
Underwriting Sponsors: Melissa Greer/Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices and UNCG Housing and Residence Life
Hospitality Sponsor: Quaintance-Weaver Restaurants and Hotels
Media Sponsor: Our Statemagazine
Performance Sponsors: Pam and David Sprinkle (Rennie Harris Puremovement American Street Dance Theater) and Pamela Pittman and Ward Robinson (Robinson Family Visiting Jazz Artists).
Watch UNCG’s David Furr announce the 2026-27 UCLS lineup
Full schedule and tickets
2026–2027 UNC Greensboro Concert and Lecture Series
Falk Visiting Artist Clarence Morgan Oct 1, 2026 5:30 p.m. Benjamin Auditorium, Weatherspoon Art Museum
Get your tickets at UCLS.UNCG.EDU. Tickets to CVPA and UCLS events are sold exclusively through our box office locations and ETix website, and nowhere else. Tickets purchased through third-party vendors cannot be honored.
