 A new student union, a new research building, a new master plan and plenty of talk about securing a football team and stadium.
Another exciting school year gets under way on Aug. 17 at UNC Charlotte.
For starters, enrollment could top 24,000 for the first time.
STUDENT UNION FESTIVITIES START AUG. 24
Without a doubt the biggest development in sheer cost and size is the $65 million, 196,000-square-foot student union. The university's dynamic new hub for student life features a three-story grand rotunda, five-restaurant food court, 210-seat movie theater, and four retail spaces including an Apple computer store and Barnes and Noble bookstore.
The university plans a week of activities beginning with the ribbon cutting on Monday, Aug. 24, at 10:49 a.m. and culminating with a Grand Masquerade Ball on Saturday, Aug. 29.
Keep informed on the latest news about the building at http://studentunion.uncc.edu.
You also can take a student-led virtual tour thanks to a video posted at http://jefflail.com
MASTER PLAN WILL SET UNIVERSITY'S COURSE
The most far-reaching development is the university's new master plan, which will be presented to the Board of Trustees in September and likely receive approval by the end of the year.
Consultants, university faculty and staff and members of the broader community spent 18 months creating this vision for how UNC Charlotte might evolve over the next decade into a major research hub with 35,000 students.
One of the plan's key features is building stronger ties with the surrounding community.
Another is integrating the planned light-rail line from center-city Charlotte, which will include two stations on campus and a third at a key crossroads between UNC Charlotte and University Place.
Check out the latest master plan at http://masterplan.uncc.edu.
History buffs can see the 2000 plan as well at http://fmbld02.uncc.edu/MasterPlan/Default.htm
NEXT RESEARCH INSTITUTE BUILDING OPENS
Research has become a key component of UNC Charlotte's transformation into a major university. The latest piece of that development, the new Bioinformatics Building, opens to students and faculty in August on the Charlotte Research Institute campus along North Tryon Street. The 97,000-square-foot building will hold 20 labs and several super-servers capable of processing immense quantities of data.
Next up at the public-private research campus is the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center. The 200,000-square-foot building will provide classroom, office and research space devoted to helping Charlotte become a center for energy production and research.
WANT FOOTBALL? WRITE A CHECK, NOW
Are you ready for some 49er football? Then get out your checkbook and buy a 49er seat license for the planned stadium.
Football boosters are trying to sell another 3,400 of the $1,000-and-up licenses by October to convince university officials to move forward with a 2013 program launch.
Support looked strong a year ago, when the board of trustees approved a $45 million plan to build a 15,000-seat stadium and practice facility.
The economic collapse has stalled seat-license sales, however, and led Chancellor Phil Dubois to suggest starting at a more modest level. He has proposed renovating the university's track and field area for football, at a cost of about $20 million.
In either case, the program will require on private donations, starting with the FSL sales.
So are you ready for some check writing? Get details about buying seat licenses at www.charlotte49ers.com or by calling 704-687-4949.
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