Just as UNCG says goodbye to students who found their way here, it also sends off staff who retired over the past academic year. Each one of them put in long hours and dedicated service to making the college experience the best it could be for each new class that called campus their home away from home.
Forever a Spartan
UNCG thanks all these staff members for their work and wishes them a restful, fulfilling retirement.
Linda Alexander, University Program Associate Karen Blackwell, Director of Institutional Research and Enterprise Data Management Eric Boyce, Chief of Police Patricia Booker, Business Officer Ronald Burford, Vehicle/Equipment Repair Technician Tammy Jo Capps, BT Applications Specialist Brett Carter, Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students Mitzi Cartright, Foundations Accountant Christopher Castelloe, Human Resources Consultant Shannon Clegg, Senior Director of Auxiliary Services Paul Cloninger, Business Services Coordinator Betty Coats, University Program Specialist John Comer, Alumni House Manager Megan Corum, Research Specialist Cheryl Cross, University Library Specialist Barbara Dawson, Pharmacist Stephen Duncan, Specialty Trades Technician Rebecca Fallon, Administrative Support Associate Deborah Gainey, Business Services Coordinator Carla Garrett, Early Childhood Program Specialist Theresa Hancock, Director of Stewardship Jennifer Hill, Research Associate Felicia Joyner, Medical/Nursing Assistant Hmoc Ksor, Building and Environmental Technician Michele Laudenbacher, Director of Financial Planning and Budgets Samuel Locklear, Building and Environmental Services Technician Mitzi Lorenz, Administrative Support Specialist Jeanne Madorin, Chief Human Relations Officer Patrick Martin, Assistant Athletic Director Robin McAdams, Network Analyst Tina McEntire, Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Kathleen McGirty, Business Officer Mark Meacham, Program Coordinator Ruth Morales-Giron, Administrative Support Associate Loring Mortensen, Public Communications Specialist Christina O’Connor, Project Director Anne Owens, University Library Technician Brian Craig Payne, Building and Environmental Services Technician Cathy Payne, Business Officer Donald Dean Perdue, Facility Maintenance Technician Denise Phillips, Accountant Carolina Pittman, University Program Associate Sandra Redmond, Business Officer Mary Russell, Budget Analyst Rhonda Sawyer, Assistant Coordinator Libby Schinnow, Marketing Coordinator Elias Segoviano, Facility Maintenance Technician Lilly Sharon, Business Officer Robert Shea, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Neil Shepherd, Business Officer Loretta Shorter, Building and Environmental Services Technician Connie Sidden, Tech Support Analyst Janette Szelkowski, Associate Director Kimberly Smith, Administrative Support Specialist Audrey Snyder, Assistant Director for Community Engagement and Academic Partnership Matthew Strupp, Physician Assistant Kimberly Titlebam, Research Associate Steve Tuck, Building and Environmental Technician Terry Wicks, Clinical Assistant Professor Kathy Wilson, Administrative Support Supervisor Kim Zinke, University Program Specialist
In Memoriam
With great sadness, UNCG also had to say goodbye to one of its employees whose family has achieved an institutional legacy. On Jan. 21, Paul Bigelow lost his life in a car accident. He had worked for Facilities for 23 years.
Bigelow and his family has contributed more than 100 years of service to the Facilities division. His mother Sarah Cottrell, aunts Maxine Graham and Carolyn Russell, and his cousins Robin Rorie, Vicki Russell, and Jamar Russell, as well as his partner Serena Raleigh, all have ties to the University. His celebration of life was held at Southside Baptist Church.
Retiring as a Friend
Staff leave their mark on campus each in their own way, long after they left. One of them, John Comer, retires this summer as Advancement’s Alumni House Manager this summer. Ahead of his departure, he was honored with the Friend of CVPA Award. The award recognizes contributions to the growth and success of the College of Visual And Performing Arts through on-going service or support of the college.
Countdown to 250: Alumna Shares What Makes NC Special
Posted on June 11, 2026
Anna Freeman Moore ’23 MA, a curator at the State Capitol, spends her days telling the stories of North Carolina in ways that appeal to visitors from all over the country.
Nikolai Tassin ’26 thought he had a solid path outlined when deciding where to attend college and what to major in. The Fayetteville, N.C. native knew he wanted to stay in North Carolina and become a therapist, so he focused his search on schools with strong psychology programs.
However, early in his first semester at UNCG, Tassin realized that path may not be the one for him to follow.
“I came into college thinking I wanted to be a therapist,” Tassin says. “Psychology to therapy, pretty one-to-one. I took the Careers in Psychology class my first semester, freshman year. While the professor was talking about what [being a therapist] would look like, I was thinking, ‘Oh no I have to change majors. I don’t want to do this.’”
Fortunately, Tassin quickly learned that UNCG is a safe place for exploring new paths, and he would eventually find the one that would bring him to Spring 2026 Commencement Day.
“I’ve just grown so much more confident in approaching strangers and having conversations and being willing to go out and experience something new,” Tassin says. “So many doors opened for me, because I had opened a door already and kept walking through.”
Discovering Research and a Place to Belong
Just as the Careers in Psychology class began its unit on research and academic positions. Tassin saw an event posting for an undergraduate research workshop held by the Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Office (URSCO). He applied, hoping to connect the dots with what he was learning in class.
That decision would ultimately shape the remainder of his time at UNCG and post-graduate journey.
At the workshop, Tassin heard an undergraduate student in the lab of Dr. Kari Eddington, professor and director of Clinical Training, share his research. Afterwards, Tassin emailed the student to say how cool his work sounded and asked to see what was happening in the lab.
“I joined in for some meetings, and I’ve been with [Eddington] ever since,” Tassin says. “I found the lab, I loved it, and I never left.”
His work in Eddington’s lab began with running research study participants, walking them through completing questionnaires and digital tasks. He then progressed to helping graduate students with coding. By his second year, Eddington recognized the variety of experiences Tassin had gained and offered him additional opportunities. He began creating surveys and consent forms. Eventually, he wrote the entire procedures manual for one of their studies.
Being trusted with those responsibilities expanded his academic and personal outlook.
“Dr. Eddington gave me the trust and responsibility, and I was able to take that even a step further to apply what I learned. That was a really meaningful experience for me, because it showed me that I am a person who can be trusted.”
“Essentially I’m creating the idea,” Tassin says. “I’m not just doing the actual running of participants, making up the materials, but I’m thinking of questions and how to answer them.”
He began exploring data gathered during other projects and thinking about it differently. His weekly task of downloading participants’ responses led Tassin to conduct a qualitative analysis and present his findings to the rest of Eddington’s lab.
While existing studies focused on long-term goal success, Tassin wanted to explore the effect of day-to-day behaviors on goals. He decided to develop his Lloyd International Honors College project around that idea.
“I did a secondary data analysis looking at if traits actually predict what students are doing,” he says, “seeing how people, day-to-day, put effort towards or avoid their goals, rather than long-term success,” he says. “So, I was able to read the literature, find a gap, and find a way to fill it, which was really fun and exciting.”
In his last semester, he presented two projects at the Lloyd International College Honors Symposium: “Generative AI Use and the Propensity of Pro-Anorexia Content” and “Goal Pursuit: Comparing Grit and Goal Adjustment with Daily Measures of Goal Pursuit.” The generative AI presentation received first place in the UNCG Sciences and Professional Schools category.
A third project, “Testing the Impact of a Self-Regulation-Based Micro Intervention on Depression and Subject Well-Being” placed second in the Carolyn and Norwood Thomas Undergraduate Research & Creativity Expo category for Business, Economics, Education, Behavioral and Social Sciences. In between those research showcases, he also got to travel to present at the Southern Psychological Association’s annual conference in New Orleans, La. The trip, his first out-of-state conference, was made possible, in part, thanks to $500 in funding provided by URSCO.
Nikolai describes his growth as a researcher and as a person as being intertwined. Research taught him not to be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes aren’t failures — they are part of the process.
Dedicated Crafter
Tassin founded the Make Cool Stuff Club and served as its president for three years.
Outdoor Adventurer
Tassin work as an outdoor adventures assistant where he co-led student groups on recreational activities ranging from backpacking to canoeing.
passionate advocate
In his role as a gender and sexuality educator, Tassin worked to educate others and himself.
Science enthusiast
Tassin participated in UNCG’s Science Everywhere for multiple years, giving demonstrations to local community members.
Avid Researcher
Tassin discovered and developed a love of research during his time at UNCG, undertaking several projects, including his independent research projects.
Building Community through Creativity and Advocacy
Outside the lab, Tassin built community at UNCG in other ways, from art to advocacy to student leadership.
During his first year, he discovered the SELF Design Studio and founded Make Cool Stuff, an art club for students of any major. For three years he served as president, leading meetings and monthly workshops on crafts like polymer clay sculptures, bookbinding, and henna.
“It’s really just providing the space for creativity and community that you might not necessarily get in your academics,” Tassin says.
He has also worked several jobs on campus: as a fitness assistant in the Kaplan Center, and an outdoor adventures assistant where he co-led student groups on recreational activities ranging from backpacking to canoeing. He served as a gender and sexuality educator at the Office of Intercultural Engagement, leading events, allyship and advocacy workshops, and creating spaces for queer students to connect with alumni and each other.
“I absolutely love that position and the people I work with,” Tassin says. “It’s been a really great way to be connected to the queer community on campus, find ways to be an advocate, and educate others and myself.”
His commitment to advocacy extended into an internship with UNCG’s Dean of Students Title IX Support Office, helping plan Relationship Violence Awareness Month programming and researching support systems for pregnant and parenting students. That led to his service as a student committee member of the Campus Violence Response Center.
“Through the internship, I got to tie in research that was more people-focused,” Tassin says. “Add the event managing, and it kind of coalesced all my different talents and avenues into one thing. It was a really wonderful experience.”
“I used to be the kind of person who would make a mistake and think that’s the end of the world, But research is so beautiful because mistakes are just part of it. If you don’t make a mistake, you’re probably doing something wrong. There’s a saying that goes, It’s re-searching because you’re always searching again.”
Nikolai Tassin ’26
Looking Ahead while Reflecting Back
Tassin has accepted a position as a lab manager at the University of Michigan’s FAST Lab. His long-term goal is to become a psychology professor and mentor, and inspire the next generation of researchers.
“All the professors and graduate students that I’ve met have been so keen on mentorship and showing me the ropes,” he says.
He thinks back to the time he was a timid student in high school, afraid of public speaking, of making mistakes, of building connections. Now he’s proud of how he put himself out there and took advantage of opportunities provided to him at UNCG.
Reflecting on his own experience, Tassin wants current and prospective students to know that while the college experience may feel overwhelming at times, they should always give themselves grace.
“Take a breath,” he says. “You have plenty of time. Be kind to yourself. Not everything may work out how you want it to, but that’s part of the process.”
Story by Amanda Kennison, College of Arts & Sciences Photography courtesy of University Communications and Nikolai Tassin, College of Arts & Sciences
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.
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.
Data Central is a gateway rather than a single data system. It is for faculty and staff access only and helps users identify the right resources, understand data definitions, and find support more easily. It went live on June 8.
Resources shared through Data Central follow UNCG Data Governance standards and use approved definitions whenever available, supporting more consistent and trustworthy use of institutional data.
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.
