CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Nearly two years after UNC Charlotte named a new chancellor, the university formally welcomed Sharon L. Gaber as its fifth chancellor at a celebration Tuesday morning.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the celebration was delayed until Tuesday.
Gaber started in her position as chancellor in July 2020 amid the pandemic.
As other universities across the state welcomed students back for in-person classes for the fall 2020 semester and subsequently had to move to virtual classes due to outbreaks of COVID-19 cases, Gaber made the tough decision to delay the start of in-person classes at UNC Charlotte that fall.
During Gaber’s time at UNC Charlotte, the university was awarded a 2021 Excellence and Innovation Award for Campus Pandemic Response Award. The American Association of State Colleges and Universities awarded the recognition for UNC Charlotte's wastewater testing program. Through the program, the university was able to detect COVID-19 cases early and quarantine students as needed to minimize clusters.
"Because of all of you, we did it,” Gaber said Tuesday. “We survived, and we thrived."
UNC System President Peter Hans praised Gaber for her leadership amid the pandemic and for stepping up to the challenge of leading the university through this difficult time.
"It's a call that Sharon Gaber answered,” Hans said. “I'm so proud of the way that she and this entire university rose to meet the moment."
Gaber started at UNC Charlotte a little more than a year after the campus shooting at the university on April 30, 2019.
The university has continued to pay tribute to the lives of Riley Howell and Reed Parlier, who died in the tragedy. The school continues to try and help the student body heal even as the world around them changed.
A university spokesperson said plans are in the works to mark the three-year anniversary on April 30 this year.
The Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners is expected to hear a proclamation Tuesday night declaring April 30, 2022 a Day of Remembrance in the county.
During Tuesday’s event at UNC Charlotte, the university also announced a partnership between Truist Financial Corporation and UNC Charlotte support student success and workforce development for the Charlotte region and beyond. Truist plans to invest $5.3 million in UNC Charlotte to launch Truist Institue for Student Success.
Contact Kendall Morris at kmorris2@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.