Message from Chancellor Aswani K. Volety
Dear UNCW Community:
With the last day of spring semester classes behind us and exams about to begin, it’s a good time to pause and recognize the many ways our Seahawk community shines. This spring has been full of meaningful milestones that reflect the energy and dedication found across UNCW.
During Seahawks Give our community once again showed what’s possible when we come together. In just 24 hours, more than 1,700 donors contributed over $2.1 million in support of UNCW. Every gift demonstrates belief in our work, our goals and, most importantly, our students. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make this year’s event such a success.
I am pleased to officially welcome Rob Burrus as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. After serving in the interim role, Rob now steps fully into this position. I look forward to working together as we build on UNCW’s academic strengths, support our faculty and staff, and remain focused on student success and academic excellence. We also add our incoming Student Government Association President Russia Naranjo and Jansen Huff as vice president to our Seahawk leadership. They represent the student voice and provide an important perspective in shaping the university’s future.
In that same spirit of looking ahead, UNCW shared an informational proposal with the UNC System Board of Governors, through the appropriate committee, to request authorization to initiate planning for an accredited four-year medical degree program with a three-year accelerated track option. North Carolina continues to face a shortage of physicians, particularly in regions with long identified healthcare service disparities. While this is an early stage in the process, the proposal reflects UNCW’s commitment to thoughtful growth and to being part of solutions that matter.
I want to thank High Point University President Nido Qubein for taking the time to visit our campus as the featured speaker for the Chancellor’s Dare to Learn Lecture. His remarks offered both humor and thoughtful life lessons that resonated with students and other attendees.
We celebrated four new inductees into the UNCW Athletic Hall of Fame during its 15th induction ceremony. The contributions of men's basketball coaching legend Jerry Wainwright, record-setting baseball coach Mark Scalf, volleyball standout Amy Chilausky and tennis star Rafael Aita continue to shape Seahawk athletics. Our student-athletes have made postseason runs, earned individual honors, and demonstrated the discipline and teamwork that define the Seahawk spirit. Here are just a few of their honors, with more at uncwsports.com.
This Seahawk spirit goes beyond our Division I teams. Our men’s rugby players once again took the title of National Collegiate Rugby Men's DII National 7s Champions, making it two in a row. Cheerleading earned its best ever national award, rowing had a state championship finish, and the equestrian club ended the season as the Region 3 High Point Team. These students represent UNCW with skill, commitment and leadership well beyond the classroom.
This is also a time to celebrate excellence among our faculty and staff. Congratulations to those recognized with this year’s Faculty Excellence Awards and Staff Award for Excellence. These colleagues exemplify the teaching, scholarship, service and professional achievement that move our university forward.
As we prepare to celebrate commencement, I want to thank each of our faculty, staff, students, alumni and supporters for the role you play in UNCW’s success. Seahawks soar higher together.
Yours in Seahawk spirit,
