UNCW/3C is pleased to announce the annual Challenging the Paradigm Conference, to be held on April 27-28, 2023. The theme of the event is Partnerships for Sustainable Solutions to Overcome Barriers to Student Success.
The Challenging the Paradigm Conference will focus on collaborative best practices and future trends from a national and international perspective to share with North Carolina Community Colleges.
Dr. Pamela Gibson Senegal has served as president of Piedmont Community College since 2017. She recently completed the Aspen New President’s Leadership Fellowship program for 2020-21.
She is a lifelong educator who is committed to ensuring that educational opportunities are available to all communities. With more than 22 years of experience in both industry and education, she brings strengths in economic development and partnership creation.
Her dedication to public service is seen in her volunteer work on various boards (Person Memorial Hospital, UNC Chapel Hill World View Council of Advisors, NC Campus Engagement, Person Memorial Foundation, Roxboro Savings Bank, Person and Caswell Economic Development Boards), membership in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Boy Scouts of America and in her church.
Senegal earned degrees in Political Science and Spanish (Bachelor’s), Public Administration (Master’s) and Adult and Community College Education (Doctorate of Education) from North Carolina State University.
Senegal has three sons, two of whom are Eagle Scouts, graduates of Hampton University and Winston Salem State University, both gainfully employed, and one who is a 10th grader at Piedmont Community College’s Person Early College for Innovation and Leadership (PECIL).
Dr. Aswani K. Volety, Chancellor an experienced leader in higher education with deeply rooted connections to the University of North Carolina Wilmington, returned to the institution on July 1, 2022, as the seventh Chancellor. Chancellor Volety previously served as the Dean of UNCW’s renowned College of Arts & Sciences and the Executive Director of the Center for Marine Science. Most recently he served as the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Elon University.
Dr. Volety, a first-generation college graduate who moved from India to the United States at age 23, brings diverse cultural awareness and extensive higher education experience to UNCW. In his role at Elon, he served as the Chief Academic Officer and Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for setting the university’s strategic, operational and financial direction. He provided oversight and support for the Divisions of Academic Affairs and Student Affairs and led the budget committee that planned and allocated more than $300 million in annual operating funds.
As UNCW’s College of Arts and Sciences Dean and as the Executive Director of the Center for Marine Science, Dr. Volety guided the implementation of several innovative programs, expanded the number of experiential learning opportunities, funded faculty professional development initiatives, and increased fundraising efforts. Through his collaborative efforts with the Chancellor’s Office and the Division for University Advancement, Dr. Volety secured a $5 million gift from Quality Chemical Laboratories in 2018, the largest outright philanthropic commitment by a corporate donor in UNCW’s history at the time.
Prior to UNCW, he spent 15 years as a professor of marine science and director of Vester Marine Field Station, and later as interim dean for the College of Arts & Sciences at Florida Gulf Coast University. While there, he secured three $1 million gifts to establish a marine laboratory and endow two professorships. His research expertise includes shellfish diseases, physiology, immunopathology, toxicology, and management and restoration of shellfish habitat. He is an accomplished scholar and has been funded by various federal, state and private agencies such as the National Research Council, the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, Sea Grant, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration.
Dr. Volety graduated from the College of William & Mary with a Doctorate in Marine Science. He received his master's degree in zoology with a specialization in marine biology and his Bachelor of Science from Andhra University in India. Volety also earned graduate certificates in management development, and management and leadership in education from the Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, and he is the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to France. He is a graduate of the American Association for State Colleges and Universities’ Millennium Leadership Initiative. He and his wife, Ai Ning Loh, have two children, Uma and Mia.
Please contact UNCW 3C Coordinator Denise Henning at henningd@uncw.edu or 910.859.4889.