Posted on February 23, 2026

UNCG grads turn their tassels while filming selfies with big smiles!

The Spring Commencement season is here once again, and all are cordially invited to join UNCG’s graduating class in these celebratory occasions.

Volunteers are an integral part of both the Doctoral and Master’s Commencement Ceremony and the University Commencement Ceremony. They play a key role in the success of these events each semester. Those ceremonies will be held on May 7 and 8 this year. Both are at First Horizon Coliseum.

The ceremonies begin at 10 a.m. Volunteers should report to the Coliseum by 8 a.m.

Volunteers will receive a continental breakfast the morning of the event, in addition to a volunteer thank-you event. For those that may be leery to commit to being a volunteer, we have a formal walkthrough with training and plan for virtual meet-ups. Volunteers will learn their team leads before the walkthrough.

Sign up here for the Doctoral and Master’s Commencement Ceremony, the University Commencement Ceremony, or both.

For more information about the ceremonies, please visit the Commencement Central website or email commence@uncg.edu.

UNCG very much appreciates everyone who contributes their time, expertise, and support in bringing these special events to life for graduating students and their families.

Why should you volunteer for Commencement ceremonies? You help make unforgettable moments like these from May 2025 that graduates and their loved ones will never forget.

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Posted on March 02, 2026

UNCG nursing student checks a man's blood pressure inside Minerva Mobile Health unit.

The $715,000 investment will go toward the School’s goals to grow its health care reach, particularly in rural and underserved areas of the state. It will go toward the purchase of a second Minerva’s Mobile Health van and hands-on training for even more students.

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Posted on February 18, 2026

Featured Image for SparkNC, UNCG and GCS Launch partnership to prepare students for technology careers
UNC System President Peter Hans signs the agreement launching NC's first SparkHub

New SparkHub at UNCG creates a first-of-its-kind bridge between K-12, higher education, and the global workforce


To bridge the gap between K-12 education, higher education, and the global workforce, SparkNC, UNCG, and Guilford County Schools (GCS) have launched North Carolina’s first SparkHub. This new learning environment is designed to connect high school students with innovative higher education experiences and in-demand technology careers.

Located on the UNCG campus, the SparkHub serves as a physical and intellectual bridge between K-12 education, higher education, and the global workforce. Through this partnership, GCS students will participate in immersive, hands-on learning experiences developed in collaboration with global technology leaders, including Apple, IBM, Epic Games, Lenovo, TEKsystems and Cisco. The launch is supported in part by Live Oak Bank, reflecting a shared commitment to expanding access to technology education.

The UNCG SparkHub is part of SparkNC’s growing inter-district network, enabling GCS students to collaborate with peers and technology professionals across North Carolina while gaining exposure to real-world career pathways.

“This partnership is about more than just teaching code — it’s about creating opportunity, confidence, and belonging,” said SparkNC President Lynn Moody. “By opening a SparkHub on the UNCG campus, we are breaking down barriers between high school and higher education and showing students where their potential paths can lead.”

“As a public research university, UNCG is committed to building pathways that expand access and drive economic mobility,” said Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. “This partnership demonstrates how higher education, K-12 schools and industry can work together to create meaningful opportunities for students across our state.”

NC’s first SparkHub launched on Tuesday with a digital signing ceremony including UNC System President Peter Hans, Guilford County Schools Superintendent Whitney Oakley, NC Senator Phil Berger, SparkNC President Lynn Moody, and UNCG Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr.

High-tech curriculum for a digital future

Students participating in the SparkHub will engage in modular learning experiences aligned with some of the fastest-growing, most in-demand fields in the modern economy, including:

  • Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning
  • Game design and esports
  • Cybersecurity
  • Software development
  • UX/UI design
  • Data analytics
  • Exploring technology careers

The curriculum emphasizes experiential, project-based learning and is designed to evolve alongside industry needs.

A unique pathway to credit

Moving beyond fixed class periods and schedules, the SparkHub allows students to progress through learning modules at their own pace. By completing six learning experiences and building a professional portfolio students may earn a high school computer science credit through GCS.

This modular approach provides students with greater flexibility, autonomy, and ownership over their learning while aligning academic achievement with real-world skills.

The SparkHub launch event included remarks from signatories, current SparkNC students, and technology partners, followed by a tour of the UNCG ARCADE lab and technologies that will be available to incoming students.

Mentorship and innovation

The SparkHub’s location within the UNCG ecosystem provides students with access to faculty expertise and cutting-edge research through ARCADE (Applied Research in Computer Arts, Digitization and Esports). UNCG faculty will provide mentorship and guidance, connecting students to advanced technology applications across disciplines.

The initiative also serves as a living classroom for UNCG students, particularly future educators and researchers, who will support programming while gaining hands-on experience in next-generation teaching and learning environments.

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Posted on February 26, 2026

High school campers sit in UNCG Gatewood Studio lobby working on artwork.

Registration is now open for camps held each year at the College of Visual and Performing Arts. These camps are a big draw for kids who want a deep immersion into art and music and want to work with professionals in an art style of their choosing.

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Posted on March 18, 2026

Littlefoot Matcha owner Anna Sullivan with UNCG dining staff.

UNC Greensboro students walked out of Fountain View Dining Hall with matcha smoothies they knew they’d like. UNCG Spartan Dining hosted the vibrant Matcha Smoothie Bar Teaching Kitchen, serving more than 350 handcrafted matcha smoothies to students.

This special event on Feb. 18 came together thanks to Littlefoot Matcha, a Greensboro-based small business owned and operated by UNCG alumna Anna Sullivan ’14.

Coming back to UNCG felt like coming full circle for Sullivan, who earned a degree in consumer, apparel, and retail studies with a minor in business. “When I was in school, I drank a lot of coffee and Red Bulls,” she says. “It felt good to introduce something to students that I love, with a healthier version of caffeine.”

Jennifer Domingo Candelario, a double major in accounting and marketing, enjoyed the opportunity to add a twist to her usual menu. “I tried the mango smoothie, and I honestly loved it,” she says. “It was my first time trying a flavored smoothie, so it was a fun change from what I usually get.”

The collaboration brought more than just a refreshing, antioxidant-rich beverage to campus; it showcased the power of supporting local businesses and celebrating Spartan success beyond graduation.

Good Taste Meets Benefits

Through the interactive teaching kitchen experience, students came away with a high-quality product sourced from a local, woman-owned business and new knowledge about the origins and benefits of matcha. Sullivan explains, “Matcha has different properties similar to other teas, and it has more of a bell curve with your energy versus a ‘crash out’ you get with espresso.”

Spartan Dining’s partnership with this alumna-owned company is part of its commitment to fostering meaningful community connections while highlighting entrepreneurship within the UNCG network. The overwhelming turnout reflected the growing student interest in menu options and experiential dining events centered on wellness. Sullivan says she would have loved to have this kind of program when she was still a student.

“It seemed all the students really enjoyed it,” she says. “It’s nice to be able to teach that you can enjoy matcha in many different ways other than just a latte, which a lot of people are now ordering from Starbucks.”

Spartan Dining looks forward to continuing to elevate campus dining through collaborations that celebrate the Spartan community, both on campus and beyond.

Story by Des St. Cyr, Spartan Dining
Photography courtesy of Spartan Dining

Students sit at a table eating food in UNCG's Fountain View Dining Hall.

Spice up your menu.

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Posted on March 23, 2026

Portrait of UNCG business analyst Adwoa Arhin.

Education is a major investment for anyone. But the investment looks different when you have to factor in travel to another country.

Adwoa Arhin ’24 M.S., with UNC Greensboro’s Global Engagement Office (GEO), knows this firsthand. She went through the complex, sometimes nail-biting process of traveling from Ghana to Greensboro, playing the waiting game until she secured her seat in the Bryan School of Business and Economics.

She’s put her degree and her new job as a business analyst to use improving the workflow for incoming international students, work that has earned the praise of her colleagues in GEO as well as ITS.

Processing student applications in fewer steps

Arhin came to the U.S. for her master’s in information technology and management with a concentration in business analytics. She began working for GEO while she was still a graduate student.

“And once I became a business analyst, I was put in a position to change things,” says Arhin. “I was so happy that I could change so many manual steps in all these processes.”

After graduation, she proposed redesigning the international admission workflow. Before the redesign, processing applications depended on multiple handoffs across Slate, Banner, and the Terra Dotta System (TDS). Students would upload their documents in Slate, and their visa data would be updated in Banner. Synchronizing visa data in Banner with TDS could take up to 24 hours, and only then could staff proceed with student profile creation. GEO staff — primarily graduate student assistants — often had to download the documents and upload them into TDS.

“For each student, there were about five documents moving through the process,” Arhin adds for context. Teams messages signaled colleagues to begin the next step while spreadsheets tracked each student’s status. The designated school official (DSO) reviewed the documents, issued the I-20 form necessary for students to travel to the U.S. to study, and then graduate assistants downloaded and sent the I-20s to students

Even when everything went smoothly, the process typically took 7–10 days — and if a student missed the submit-to-enroll step, the workflow could stall.

Identifying Workflow improvements

Arhin worked directly with Terra Dotta to automate many of those steps and with ITS to implement changes. Since there are fewer undergraduate international students, Undergraduate Admissions agreed to run a pilot program.

In the new process, admitted students are loaded into TDS and profiles can be created in bulk rather than one at a time. Students submit their financial documents directly in the system, and once documents are submitted, the case moves through a structured review flow — first to graduate assistants for completeness checks and then to the DSO for I-20 issuance.

With fewer downloads and uploads and less back-and-forth messaging, staff can track each student’s status more easily. “Now the graduate assistants have a lot more time to do other meaningful tasks,” says Arhin. “The system also gives us built-in reporting. We no longer have to rely on spreadsheets for reporting — the data lives in one place, and Terra Dotta can generate weekly updates for leadership on students’ I-20 status and related milestones.”

Time makes the difference in college choice and funding

Arhin says international students will see the difference. It cuts the wait time for an I-20 from 7–10 days to 1–3 days. And time matters, she says, because they can’t make visa appointments and travel plans without an I-20. A delay may also cost them funding not guaranteed for a later term, and those students may defer enrollment or just go to another institution.

She speaks from personal experience. She applied for Fall 2022 and submitted her documents in March. She did not get feedback until July, and with no visa appointment available, she had to defer to Spring 2023. As a result, she lost her graduate assistantship.

Micah Chartier, ERP Developer student lead in ITS, says Arhin deserves to be congratulated by the University as a whole. “Her work helped remove delays, reduce manual handling, and improve consistency across systems,” he says.

Mark Silverthorn, lead business analyst for ITS, says, “Adwoa has been pivotal in implementing efficiency and data quality improvements for international student admissions processes.” He adds, “Not only have I seen an unprecedented level of dedication to the work, but she has displayed incredibly high levels of strategic thinking and kindness towards others.”

Arhin appreciates that her colleagues noticed the difference. “I’m just thankful for the recognition,” she said. “I value the work that improves services for students, that makes daily operations more effective for staff. It makes me happy and fulfilled that the work I’m doing is noticed by others.”

Arhin represents the passion and motivation of UNCG students. When confronted with a challenge, they immediately harness their skills to make the journey easier for those who come after them.

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Posted on February 23, 2026

Steve Haines playing bass with ensemble
Steve Haines, interim director of the Miles Davis Jazz Music program.

UNCG faculty and staff can get a spring refresh this coming month thanks to incubators, jams, and other events provided by their colleagues for fun or professional development. There’s also a wide array of musical performances featuring Latin and Mongolian music, and the return of faculty member Steve Haines who is showing his gratitude for his health by dedicating a concert to his supporters.

WEDOIT Accessibility Incubator
March 2, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.
School of Education Building, Room 302

This hands-on event is designed to help instructors enhance their course materials for better accessibility. Bring syllabi, assignments, or any course content, and the SOE specialists will provide expert guidance and technical support, whether that be small tweaks or big changes.

Gale Archival Materials
March 3, 11 a.m.–Noon
Online

In 2025, the University Libraries increased its digital holdings with new Gale archival materials, providing access to more historical and contemporary voices with perspectives on social, political, and cultural events across time. This webinar led by Jenny Dale and Joshua Olsen discusses how these additions from Archives of Sexuality & Gender, British Library Newspapers, Indigenous Peoples of North America, and more complement the existing online library resources.

Three College Observatory Public Night
March 7, 7:30–9:30 p.m.
5106 Thompson Mill Road, Graham, NC 27253

Hosted by faculty volunteers from Physics & Astronomy, the public can take a closer look at objects through the observatory’s 32-inch telescope, including star clusters, nebulae, galaxies, double stars, planets, and the moon if available.

Reservations are required and all interested may sign up on the waiting list for upcoming public nights. On most nights prior to events, a decision will be made as to cloud conditions, sky suitability, and road conditions on the afternoon of the event. Participants are encouraged to check Is My TCO Public Night Cancelled before they arrive.

School of Education ATS Drop-in
March 13, 11 a.m.–Noon
Online

All SOE instructors — including faculty, lecturers, adjuncts, and teaching assistants, etc. — are invited to drop-in and receive the “just in time” assistance needed for their courses. They can receive assistance on such things as instructional design, course revisions & updates, as well as receive suggestions and recommendations for selecting and implementing learning tools like Canvas, Teams, and Microsoft Office 365. Register in advance.

New AI-powered Tools for Scholarly Literature Discovery
March 24, Noon–1 p.m.
Online

Learn about some of the AI-augmented databases for research discovery, citation analysis, and literature reviews. University Libraries’ Steve Cramer will go over tools including Scite, Research Rabbit, Consensus, Undermind, and Elicit, which allow researchers to search by semantics (concepts), map scholarly networks, provide context for citations, and evaluate citation patterns.

Governance Indexes
March 25, Noon–1 p.m.
Online

Governance indexes are composite measures that assess how effectively institutions govern, based on political, legal, and administrative indicators, but they are also complicated and sometimes controversial. This University Libraries session led by Rachel Olsen will go over different governance indexes and other index types and discuss how to evaluate and cite these tools. The free webinar is open to all regardless of their level of familiarity with these sources.

LLC Hands-on Culture Jam
March 30, Noon–3 p.m.
EUC, Cone Ballroom

Experience a wide-array of hands-on mini workshops presented by Language, Literatures, and Culture faculty, staff, students, and community members. Refreshments will be provided.

Music Performances

Her Piano, Her Voice: South American Women Composers
March 1, 7:30–9 p.m.
Tew Recital Hall

Enjoy the performance by Brazilian pianist, Dr. Alessandra Feris, assistant professor of piano and a scholar with a distinguished career as a performer, pedagogue, and advocate for Latin-American piano music.

Symphonic Band
March 3, 7:30–9 p.m.
UNCG Auditorium

Conductor Jonathan Caldwell is joined by Professor of Horn Abigail Peck among others with a musical selection featuring the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams, Catherine Likhuta, and Théo Schmitt.

Sympthony Orchestra
March 4, 7:30–9 p.m.
UNCG Auditorium

Dr. Jungho Kim, associate professor of conducting, welcomes acclaimed Mongolian artists for a collaborative presentation of Mongolian works: “Horqin Rhapsody” and the “Horsehead Fiddle Concerto.”

Steve Haines and Friends
March 21, 7:30–9 p.m.
School of Music Organ Hall

Steve Haines, interim director of the Miles Davis Jazz Studies program, gratefully returns to playing and teaching after the repair of a heart aneurysm in August. This concert is dedicated to the doctors at the Cleveland Clinic and to his incredibly supportive family. His fellow faculty, Janinah Burnett and Dr. Thomas Heflin, will provide vocals and trumpet respectively.

Tickets are free, but a reservation is requested.

Lorena Guillén Tango Ensemble: Música para Todos
March 22, 3:30–5 p.m.
Tew Recital Hall

The award-winning band features music faculty, Drs. Lorena Guillén, Alejandro Rutty, Guy Capuzzo, and Adam Ricci. They’ll perform a soul-filled selection based based on Argentine tango, jazz, classical and contemporary music, and other world and popular music styles.

Conferences hosted at UNCG

Harriet Elliott Lecture Series
March 24-25
EUC Auditorium and Kirkland Room
Hosted by Communication Studies

Brock’s Critical Conversations Conference (formerly the ELCCCC)
March 21
School of Education Building, Room 366
Hosted by Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations

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Posted on February 23, 2026

UNCG cheerleaders with mascot Spiro pose with kids at basketball court.

University Communications (UC) has a tradition to “send off” our basketball teams to the Southern Conference Tournament with a good luck video shared on social media.

UC’s social media team invites all departments, offices, and units to email short video contributions by end of day Monday, March 2.

It will be distributed on Wednesday, March 4, with a call-to-action for other members of the Spartan community to share their messages and virtual cheers online.

How to make your video stand out

  1. Please email your cell phone videos, filmed in horizontal orientation, to social@uncg.edu or maream@uncg.edu.
  2. Use statements like “Let’s go G!,” “Good luck, Spartans!,” “Go Spartans!,” etc.
  3. Don’t forget to incorporate blue and gold!
  4. We plan to keep the video to about 60 seconds. Regardless of whether we use your contribution, we encourage you to share it on your own social media channels after we post ours.

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Posted on February 20, 2026

Students work on papers around a table.

North Carolina students can learn Spanish, French, Cherokee, Japanese, and more thanks to K-12 dual language programs. Dr. Ye “Jane” He is a key supportive pillar for more than 300 immersive initiatives statewide.

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Posted on February 13, 2026

Spiro relaxing in the stands with fans
NAV1GATE 1st Day at the G

 Vote for Spiro in the SoCon Mascot Challenge

Calling all Spartans: Spiro needs you! 

Just weeks ahead of the 2026 SoCon Basketball Tournament, UNC Greensboro’s beloved mascot Spiro has a chance to get in the game. 

The Ingles Southern Conference Mascot Challenge pits Spiro against the other mascots in the SoCon. And like Spartans everywhere, as the living embodiment of Spartan Spirit, Spiro belongs at the front of the action. 

Spiro is wise. Spiro is fearless. Spiro is strong. Spiro is kind to children and animals, has sweet dance moves, and looks great in a helmet. Spiro is us. And we are them. 

Spartans can vote for Spiro every day at the Mascot Challenge page. It takes just seconds, and every vote shows your school pride. Even better, a Spiro win means $1,000 for UNCG athletic scholarships and another $1,000 donated on behalf of that school to Hoops Against Hunger, a charity that feeds the schoolkids of western North Carolina when classes are not in session. It’s a win-win-win! 

Voting stays open through the men’s semifinal games at this year’s tournament, held March 5–9 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville. The winner will be announced during the men’s championship game there on Monday, March 9. 

Spiro has been showing up for the Spartans since 2004, when the UNCG Spartans mascot debuted. Let’s rally together, stand up for our Spartan, and propel Spiro to the top of the SoCon mascot leaderboard.  

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