Ernest Dollar ’93, director of museums for the City of Raleigh, believes in making history feel relevant to people’s lives. As the United States prepares for its 250th anniversary this summer, he helps bring centuries-old milestones to life for new generations.
A Bright Path Forward: UNCG Reflects on Groundbreaking ‘Light the Way’ Campaign
Posted on June 01, 2026
Light the Way was more than a giving campaign. It became a bold movement, rooted in UNCG’s legacy of breaking down barriers and focused on a brilliant future. Its impact has transformed graduates’ lives, and the $266 million raised is just the beginning.
On June 8–10, from 10 a.m. to noon, UNCG employees and retirees can sign up to receive three in-person sessions at the Kaplan Center.
The program will begin with one-on-one goals session on or around June 1. Individualized feedback and follow-up notes and activities will be provided after the sessions.
No membership is required, and all fitness levels are welcome! Whether just getting started or looking to build on a current routine, this program is designed to support each person’s personal wellness goals in a welcoming and encouraging environment.
For anyone wanting a printed copy of the UNCG Magazine spring issue, Advancement placed them at two campus locations: beside the Jackson Library reference desk and the EUC information desk. PDF versions are available on the website.
Supporting Our Asian American Communities for Heritage Month and Beyond
Posted on May 12, 2026
Swee Paw and her friends from VSA.
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, but no matter the time of year, we don’t have to look far to find support, community engagement, and cultural celebration of Asian Americans at UNC Greensboro.
Cultural Learning and Support
Although 5% of our student enrollment identifies as Asian American, these students contribute substantially to the vibrancy of our campus. Groups like the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) and the Japanese Club (known around campus as the J-Club) allow students to learn more about their culture and meet like minds.
Class of 2026 graduate Swee Paw admitted that, as an introvert, she was timid about joining campus organizations until a classmate invited her to join a VSA meeting. “While not everyone in VSA identifies as Asian American, it has been such a supportive community for me,” she says. “Now I am the treasurer, and I also performed the Vietnamese traditional fan dance with the club last semester.”
“We will be celebrating AAPI Heritage Month through APIC’s annual signature event, now in its third consecutive year, with the generous support of the Provost’s Office and the Affinity Group Council,” she announces.
The luncheon is open to the public and features an Asian fusion menu. Held in Room 3501 of Moore Humanities & Research Administration Building on Friday, May 15, noon-2 p.m., it will provide an opportunity for fellowship and cultural sharing. Wang welcomes the entire campus community to attend.
Staff like SaQuang Lam, (left) assistant director of Student Health Services, find their way to UNCG and make it a better place!
Community Engagement and Research
Equally as important as opportunities for connection between Spartans of Asian descent, are the resources and support that UNCG dedicates to causes that affect Asian communities. Many of our faculty members are engaged in research and creative discovery focusing on Asian cultures.
The cause is especially important to UNCG because the Greensboro metro area has the largest population of Montagnards outside of Southeast Asia. They are indigenous people of the Vietnamese Central Highlands whose parents and grandparents fought alongside U.S. Special Forces in Vietnam and relocated here after the war.
The award specifically recognizes the efforts of faculty members Drs. Sharon Morrison, Sudha Shreeniwas, and Assistant Professor Ana Sucaldito, who have worked tirelessly alongside Montagnard civic leaders on community-based participatory research to advance the health and wellness of their community.
Whether through engagement and research, cultural celebrations, or student support, UNCG is proud to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage. Occasions like this give us a reminder to take pride in the ways cultural groups make us who we are.
Story by Becky Deakins, University Communications. Photos by Sean Norona, University Communications.
Daniel Rust’s Blueprint for Finding Success at Lenovo
Posted on May 28, 2026
The double alum took advantage of every opportunity at his disposal in the Bryan School of Business and Economics. He became one of the first beneficiaries of a new scholarship and, as part of the inaugural class of the highly-touted Blueprint Series, built key skills that catch the eye of prospective employers.
2026 Commencement ceremonies showcase the best of UNCG
Posted on May 08, 2026
University Undergrad Commencement Ceremony May 2026
Preparedness, earned achievement, and academic excellence on parade
“Being a Spartan means we don’t just walk into rooms,” Jiyah McLaughlin said during her remarks at UNC Greensboro’s 2026 undergraduate commencement ceremony. “We transform them.”
As she spoke, the First Horizon Coliseum — one of the largest rooms in the nation — had already been transformed into a fellowship hall of Spartan goodwill and gratitude, a sanctuary for customs that stretch back more than 100 years, and a celebration of this year’s graduates, each of whom embodied the many facets of Spartan tradition.
UNCG graduated 2,813 students on May 7–8 to the Class of 2026, each with their own story that brought them here. And every one of them will leave with something lasting and transformative, their degrees like passports for entry into big places and bright futures.
Graduate Degree Recipients Stand Ready to Lead
The doctoral and master’s ceremony took place on Thursday morning, conferring 704 master’s degrees and 79 doctorates. In his remarks, UNCG Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. took the opportunity to go off script with a piece of timeless advice for the graduates: “Take a moment, at least today, and savor this,” he said. “You know why? Because you earned this. It is an earned achievement.”
Spartan Brian Hall ’12 MBA recounted his own UNCG experience in an address to the graduates. “My path to this point wasn’t a straight line,” he said, “and I want to share a bit of that with you because I think it matters.”
After growing up in Greensboro, Hall played soccer at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. And while the lessons afforded there gave him a solid foundation, he said, “I also learned that I had more to learn.”
Now president of real estate for Samet, Hall illustrated how the values instilled in him at UNCG remained with him.
“I pulled those same late-night class sessions and study sessions,” he said. “I had those same moments of thinking, “’Will I ever actually use regression analysis?’
“The answer, by the way, is yes,” he continued, “though maybe not in the way you expect.”
He closed with three principles that he said guided him in his career and life:
Lead with wisdom and humility.
Serve others with excellence.
Build on a foundation that lasts.
Honorary degrees were bestowed upon Randall Kaplan, who accepted a Doctor of Laws based upon his legal career and legacy of philanthropy and wellness at UNCG. Kaplan has served on the UNCG Board of Trustees, the Bryan School Advisory Board, the UNCG Foundation Executive Committee, the Students First Campaign Steering Committee, and the Investment Fund Committee.
His Light the Way co-chair Susan M. Safran ’77 was awarded a Doctor of Science due to her varied and impactful years in healthcare after earning her nursing degree at UNCG. Safran, who has also served on the UNCG Board of Trustees, spent decades working in critical care nursing and healthcare management. Her most enduring legacy may be the founding of CPR Consultants in 1988. One of the very first American Heart Association training centers,the company has trained hundreds of thousands in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which has saved countless lives.
Undergraduates Claim Their Seat at the Table
On Friday morning, friends and family of the undergraduate Class of 2026 filled the First Horizon Coliseum as their loved ones cleared the first milestone of higher education. There were 2,030 baccalaureate degrees conferred on this day, labeled with 67 different majors. There were enough students in attendance to generate a palpable hum on the Coliseum floor.
“This is your day,” Chancellor Gilliam told them. “No matter where life takes you tomorrow, next year, or decades from now, you will carry this day with you.”
He acknowledged the plurality of the student body in terms of backgrounds, fields of study, skill and talents, and the various pathways that led them to UNCG.
“Whatever your journey looked like,” he said, “you found your spark. Your purpose. Your ‘why.”
“There’s a lesson in that,” he continued. “When you take a chance on yourself — when you lean into your potential — good things happen. When you persevere, work hard, and show initiative, you open doors you thought were closed.”
Class speaker Jihay McLaughlin peppered her remarks with paeans to the University and her classmates.
“UNCG doesn’t just give you a degree,” she said. “It gives you a community that stretches you. It challenges you. It dares you to show up fully.
“Spartan Spirit is a commitment,” she continued. “It’s the student who works a full shift and still shows up to a 9 a.m. class. It’s the first-generation student navigating systems no one explained. It’s the friends who check in when you go quiet. It’s the leader who makes space at the table, then pulls up another chair.”
During the ceremony, the UNC System Board of Governors Excellence in Teaching Award was awarded to Dr. Jeff Sarbaum, Sue W. Cole Distinguished Senior Lecturer of Economics at the Bryan School. The acclaimed textbook author is one of the University’s most decorated and accomplished educators.
The last word
As the ceremonies came to a close and the crowd filtered out of the First Horizon Coliseum on a gorgeous Friday afternoon, the words of McLaughlin still resonated.
“If there’s one thing this campus has shown me, it’s that every voice matters,” she told the room. “Class of 2026, we are creatives. We are scholars. We are entrepreneurs. We are advocates. We are future doctors, artists, educators, researchers, and community builders.”
And she closed with a directive for her peers: “Let’s keep showing up,” she said. “Let’s keep creating. Let’s keep leading, not because we need the spotlight, but because we understand the power of impact.
“Four years ago, we arrived here with potential. Today, we leave with purpose.”
Story by Brian Clarey, University Communications Photos by Sean Norona, University Communications
CELEBRATE OUR GRADS!
Graduates and their families are encouraged to share their accomplishments on social media by tagging the University accounts and using the hashtag #UNCGGrad. Visit UNCG’s digital swag page for Commencement-themed graphics and templates.
Mention @UNCG in celebratory posts on Instagram and X and @uncgreensboro on TikTok.
Homecoming 2026 is happening Oct. 2–3! In an effort to ensure that the Office of Alumni Engagement is able to promote alumni-centric campus events happening during Homecoming, they’ve created this event promotion form.
Please tell us more about what your department, office, School or College, unit, or team is doing during Homecoming festivities so we are able to add your event to our alumni events calendar and better support you in promotion efforts.
Please email questions to Assistant Director of Alumni Communications Peyton Upchurch at epupchur@uncg.edu.
Amy Harris Houk Named Interim Dean of University Libraries
Posted on May 21, 2026
UNC Greensboro has named Amy Harris Houk Interim Dean of University Libraries, effective June 1. A longtime member of the University Libraries faculty and administration, Harris Houk brings nearly two decades of experience in library leadership, teaching, student success initiatives, and campus collaboration to the role.
Since joining UNCG in 2005, Harris Houk has held a variety of leadership positions within University Libraries, including department head for Research, Outreach, and Instruction, and currently serves as Assistant Dean for Teaching and Learning and Professor in the University Libraries.
Throughout her career, Harris Houk has been deeply engaged in advancing student success and academic innovation across the university. She chaired the General Education Council during the 2021-22 academic year and served as the co-chair of the General Education Revision Task Force in 2019, helping to guide significant curricular initiatives at UNCG.
“For the past two decades, I have been a part of the UNCG University Libraries faculty,” said Harris Houk. “In that time, I have been lucky enough to work with some incredibly talented and dedicated professionals. I have seen firsthand the care and commitment that each of my colleagues devotes to their jobs and to the UNCG community. I consider it an honor to have the opportunity to lead our unit as we move through this next chapter in our collective story.”
An accomplished scholar and educator, Harris Houk has authored and presented extensively on information literacy, library leadership, student engagement, and academic collaboration. She has been an active leader in professional organizations at the state and national levels, including serving as the chair of the Leadership and Management Section of the North Carolina Library Association.
“Professor Harris Houk has consistently demonstrated thoughtful leadership, deep institutional knowledge, and a strong commitment to student and faculty success,” said Provost Alan Boyette. “Her collaborative approach and extensive experience within University Libraries positions her well to lead during this transition period.”
The search for the permanent dean of the University Libraries will resume in August.
UNCG awarded $2 million to grow bioindustrial manufacturing workforce across North Carolina
Posted on May 14, 2026
UNCG has received a $2 million award to launch NC BioMISSION, a bioindustrial workforce training and research program in North Carolina.
The U.S. bioindustrial economy is projected to support at least 1 million jobs by 2030, but qualified biotechnology workers are already in short supply. NC BioMISSION will help address this gap by equipping students with technical, applied, and industry-aligned skills for careers in the growing sector.
The initiative has been funded by BioMADE, a Manufacturing Innovation Institute sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense to secure U.S. global leadership in industrial biotechnology.
Bioindustrial manufacturing uses biological systems to generate high-value chemicals, materials, textiles, fuels, bioplastics, and other products, often using agricultural feedstocks and waste streams as starting materials. The program will prepare students to convert biomass into high-value, industry-ready materials that strengthen supply chains, advance sustainability, and drive economic growth.
NC BioMISSION’s self-paced certificate of completion, opening to all majors in January 2027, will combine in-person instruction, online modules, and immersive virtual reality experiences. The program will be designed to be accessible to UNCG’s diverse student population, including adult learners and the university’s large number of military-affiliated students and veterans.
Coursework will be developed in conjunction with an industry advisory board. “Rather than people at the university saying, ‘these are the skills people need,’ it will be the industry telling the university the skills they require in order to hire these individuals,” said Dr. Sherine Obare, UNCG Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement.
The program will also include opportunities for capstone projects with industry partners. “The goal is for students to gain practical experience and professional preparation for immediate workforce entry,” said Obare. “We want to develop high-level, critical thinking in these students.”
In addition to skills related to the use of industrial reactors, NC BioMISSION will incorporate education in data analytics, data science, and machine learning, to support process optimization and data-driven manufacturing.
NC BioMISSION personnel will conduct research on optimal methods for transferring bioindustrial skills to students. Ultimately, the team aims to develop a scalable, replicable model for bioindustrial manufacturing workforce development that can be implemented across the country.
UNCG’s NC BioMISSION is one of six national educational and workforce development projects funded by BioMADE this year. Bioindustrial job opportunities are broad, with roles ranging from highly skilled technical workers to engineers, plant operators, scientists, and more. While the United States has led the world in biotechnology since the 1970s, in recent years China has surged ahead in key emerging areas, leading to increased federal investment in biotechnology initiatives.
The UNCG project will be housed in iCOMMAND, the university’s research institute for military advances and national defense, with Obare, Dr. Chartanay Bonner, and Dr. Charlene Mello at the project helm.
“Leveraging North Carolina’s strong agricultural base and aligning academic training with industry demands, NC BioMISSION represents a strategic investment in North Carolina’s future,” said Obare. “This initiative will accelerate bioindustrial manufacturing across North Carolina, creating clear pathways to employment, advancing sustainability, and driving economic growth.”
In October of 2025 BioMADE and UNCG partnered to host an eight-day Warfighter to Scientist workshop, designed to help service members, veterans, and their families transition into the growing bioindustrial manufacturing field.
article and lead photo by UNCG University Communications staff, inset photo by Chris English
