List of University of North Carolina at Charlotte people

This is a list of notable alumni and faculty of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte .

Academia, science and technology

• Benjamin Chavis, civil rights activist, head of NAACP
• Greg Gbur, author and physicist
• Glenda Gilmore, Peter and C. Vann Woodward Professor of History, Yale University
• Lily "Appalachian" Gross, a member of the inaugural United States Women's Cyber Team ^[1]
• Mohammad Ab Rahman, Chief of Defence, Malaysian Armed Forces (Computer Science 1982–1985)
• Jill S. Tietjen, electrical engineer and consultant
• Shane Wighton, engineer and YouTube personality for Stuff Made Here

Arts and literature

• Jeffery Beam, poet (1975) ^[2]
• Amanda Oleander, fine artist (2013)
• Caridad Svich, playwright ^[3]
• Toby Witte, Architect (2004)

Music

• Clay Aiken, singer, Broadway star, and 1st runner-up of the second season of American Idol
• Nicole Atkins, pop singer (2001)
• Seth Avett, musician, of The Avett Brothers (2002)
• Chris Lane, musician, of the Chris Lane Band
• The Moody Brothers, Grammy-nominated musicians
• Dave Moody, Dove Award-winning artist, producer, songwriter and indie filmmaker

Athletics

• Eddie Basden, Chicago Bulls guard/forward (2005) ^[4]
• Duggar Baucom, Citadel Bulldogs head basketball coach (1995) ^[5]
• Calvin Brock, heavyweight boxer (1999)^{[ citation needed ]}
• Jon Busch, Columbus Crew goalkeeper (1996) ^[6]
• Cameron Clark, NFL player for the New York Jets
• Fieldin Culbreth, former Major League Baseball umpire
• Jon Davis, professional basketball player for Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Nate Davis, NFL player for the Tennessee Titans
• Floyd Franks, Chicago Fire midfielder (2006) ^[7]
• Leemire Goldwire, professional basketball player (May 2008)^{[ citation needed ]}
• Bryan Harvey, California Angels and Florida Marlins pitcher ^[8]
• Alex Highsmith, NFL player for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• DeMarco Johnson, professional basketball player (1997) ^[9]
• Bobby Lutz, Charlotte 49ers head basketball coach (1980) ^[10]
• John Maine, New York Mets pitcher ^[11]
• Cedric Maxwell, NBA great with the Boston Celtics and commentator (1983) (attended 1973–1977) ^[12]
• Kelly Earnhardt Miller, NASCAR owner ^[13]
• Benny Moss, UNC Wilmington head basketball coach (1992) ^[14]
• Larry Ogunjobi, NFL player for the Cleveland Browns
• Joe Posnanski, national columnist at NBC Sports, New York Times best-selling author^{[ citation needed ]}
• Layne Riggs, NASCAR driver ^[15]
• Donnie Smith, professional soccer player (2013–2018) ^[16]
• Myatt Snider, NASCAR driver
• Melvin Watkins, head basketball coach at Charlotte and Texas A&M (1977) ^[17]
• Rodney White, professional basketball player (2001) ^[18]

Business and law

• R. Andrew Murray, US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina ^[19]
• Robert A. Niblock, Lowe's Chairman, President, and CEO (1984)
• Anne Tompkins, former US Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina

Politics and public life

• W. Ted Alexander, member of the North Carolina Senate ^[20]
• Mike Davis, member of the California State Assembly (2006-2012)
• Dan Forest (1993), 34th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina ^[21]
• Richard Hudson (1996), U.S. Representative from North Carolina ^[22]
• Cassanni Laville, Dominican politician, MP and cabinet minister ^[23]
• Lillian M. Lowery, Superintendent of the Maryland State Department of Education ^[24]
• Vickie Sawyer, member of the North Carolina Senate ^[20]
• Michael Whatley, chairman of the Republican National Committee ^[25]
• Dean Arp, member of the North Carolina House of Representatives and Senior Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee ^[26]

Miscellaneous

• Kimberly Clarice Aiken, Miss America 1994 (attended; did not graduate)
• Heather Childers, Fox News weekend anchor
• Chelsea Cooley, Miss USA 2005 (attended; did not graduate)
• Joe Posnanski, 2011 NSSA Sportswriter of the Year
• Aimy Steele, Founder and CEO of the New North Carolina Project

Notable UNC Charlotte faculty

Social science, arts and humanities

• Blaine E. Brownell, Director of the School of Architecture and author of the Transmaterial book series (2006-2017)
• Blair Rudes, professor of linguistics; re-created the extinct language of Virginian Algonquian ^[27] for Terrence Malick's 2005 film The New World
• James D. Tabor, Religious Studies Chair, designated occult expert in the case of Waco, Texas; author of the international bestseller The Jesus Dynasty

Science and technology

• Kathy Reichs, bestselling author; inspiration of the Fox television drama Bones
• Raphael Tsu, physicist known for his research in man-made quantum materials, superlattices, and quantum wells

References

1. "Announcing the US Women's Cyber Team". uscybergames.com.
2. "Poet Jeffery Beam". Poet Jeffery Beam. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
3. "Caridad Svich". Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
4. "Eddie Basden". Pro-Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
5. "Duggar Baucom". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
6. "Jon Busch". 2014 MLS. All Major League Soccer trademarks and copyrights used by permission. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
7. "Floyd Franks". 2014 MLS. All Major League Soccer trademarks and copyrights used by permission. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
8. "Bryan Harvey". Pro-Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
9. "DeMarco Johnson". Pro-Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
10. "Bobby Lutz". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
11. "Adam Thomas Kennedy". Baseball-Reference.Com. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
12. "Cedric Maxwell". Pro-Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
13. "Kelly Earnhardt Miller". 2013 JR Motorsports. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
14. "Benny Moss". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
15. Carboni, Nick (December 13, 2024). "NASCAR Truck Series Rookie of the Year completes last lap at UNC Charlotte". WCNC-TV . Retrieved December 13, 2024.
16. "Donnie Smith - Men's Soccer". Charlotte Athletics.
17. "Melvin Watkins". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
18. "Rodney White". Pro-Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
19. R. Andrew Murray: Following his active duty service, Mr. Murray attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where he earned a degree in Political Science in 1989.
20. "Votes for Niners". Issuu. Retrieved 2025-03-02.
21. "Dan Forest". 2014 Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
22. "Richard Hudson". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
23. "Senator Cassanni Laville: "I had a choice-to comment from the back seat or seat at the table"". Sun Dominica. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2025.
24. "Lillian M. Lowery". April 22, 2014 Maryland State Archives. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
25. Poteat, Bill. "Gastonia's GOP State Chairman Michael Whatley excited as party builds toward 2022 election". Gaston Gazette.
26. L. Dean Arp Jr.. William States Lee College of Engineering. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
27. "How a linguist revived 'New World' language". NBC News. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020.