Alumnus Named Mayor of Troutman
Congratulations to Teross W. Young Jr (’93) for being named mayor of Troutman, North Carolina, following the resignation of Ron "Duck" Wyatt. Young, vice president of government relations for Delhaize America (Food Lion), currently serves on the UNC Charlotte Foundation and is a previous member of the UNC Charlotte Alumni Board.
Young believes his time at UNC Charlotte heightened his interest in public service. "My involvement in student affairs allowed me the opportunity to meet and interact with public officials such as former Charlotte mayors Harvey Gantt and Richard Vinroot, as well as former U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young," said Young. "Although I did not plan to follow in their footsteps, this early interaction definitely played a role in my decision to join the public service arena."
"Young has been a great advocate for UNC Charlotte with key legislators and participates in our legislative events," said Betty Doster, special assistant to the chancellor.
Congresswoman Adams Visits Campus
Congresswoman Alma Adams, who represents the 12th Congressional District of North Carolina, which includes UNC Charlotte, made a visit to campus in late August. After meeting with Chancellor Dubois, she toured the University Career Center and participated in a STEM roundtable with students and faculty.
Adams has sponsored multiple bills related to higher education including the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Professional Readiness Education Preparation Act. The STEM PREP Act creates a competitive grant program that directs federal funding to career and technical education programs focused on training workers to enter the STEM field. It also prioritizes the inclusion of fine arts into technical STEM education to support greater critical thinking and problem solving skills. Adams serves on the Education and the Workforce Committee, the Agriculture Committee, the Small Business Committee and the Joint Economic Committee. Adams also founded the first-ever Congressional Bipartisan HBCU Caucus.
(Pictured above: Congresswoman Adams, second from left, speaking with students)
House Caucus Elects Alumnus as Majority Whip
Rep. Dean Arp (’99) has been elected majority whip of the N.C. House Republican Caucus. He was the engineer of the Connect NC bond package that included $90 million to fund a new science building at UNC Charlotte.
Former Senator Aaron Plyer Passes
UNC Charlotte mourns the passing of former senator Aaron Plyler of Union County. Sen. Plyer was an advocate for higher education and played a pivotal role in UNC Charlotte’s growth. In 1994, he provided the critical legislative leadership needed to approve and fund UNC Charlotte’s first doctoral degrees. Today, the University has 23 doctoral programs.
Former chancellor James Woodward was quoted in the Charlotte Observer saying Sen. Plyler’s support was critical. “Aaron was one of the most important supporters we had in the General Assembly during my time as chancellor.” Sen. Plyler died just five weeks shy of his 90th birthday.