The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has offered undergraduate programs in business administration since the 1960s. In 1968, the Division of Economics and Business Administration was formed, and in 1970, the College of Business Administration was established with departments of Accounting, Business Administration and Economics.
1970-1989
1970
UNC Charlotte creates the College of Business Administration with the departments of Accounting, Business Administration and Economics. Allan V. Palmer is appointed dean. The college has eight faculty members.
UNC Charlotte begins offering the first graduate program for working business professionals in the Charlotte region, the Master of Management (later Master of Business Administration).
1978
Richard Neel is appointed dean, replacing Allan V. Palmer. Neel will remain dean until 1993.
1981
The North Carolina Economic Forecast launches with John Connaughton as director.
1982
The Friday Building, named for UNC System President William Friday and his wife, Ida, is dedicated as the College’s home.
1983
The Eta Alpha Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor organization for financial Information students and professionals, is established.
1984
The College becomes the first business school in the region to receive accreditation from AACSB International, the leading accrediting agency for business and accounting programs.
1990-2009
1990
The first business advisory council is established with Thomas M. Belk as chair.
The College is renamed the Belk College of Business Administration in honor of the William Henry Belk family and the Belk organization.
The Master in Science in Economics launches.
1993
Edward Mazze, who previously served as dean of the school of business at Temple University, is appointed Belk College dean. He will remain dean until 1998.
1995
The Belk College becomes the first college or university to provide business courses in Uptown Charlotte with the opening of UNC Charlotte’s first Uptown campus, located in the Cityfair Center.
To accommodate growth at the College, a third floor is constructed to the Friday Building along with distinctive columns. The project is funded through $3 million from a state bond referendum approved by voters in 1993.
1999
Childress Klein donates $1 million to support faculty development at the College.
2000
Claude Lilly becomes dean at the College celebrates its 30th anniversary. Lilly will remain dean until 2007.
2003
The Belk Foundation donates $1.5 million to the Belk College to support the expansion of the college’s international programs.
2005
The Center for Real Estate launches; Belk College celebrates its 35th anniversary.
College officially shortens its name to the Belk College of Business.
2006
The Belk College launches its first doctoral program, Ph.D. in Business Administration.
A Dual MBA program with Global Business certificate begins with partner Graduate School of Business Administration and Leadership (EGADE) at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico.
2007
Business Week names UNC Charlotte one of the 10 most innovative colleges and universities in the nation.
2008
Joseph Mazzola, a professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, is appointed dean. Mazzola will serve until 2011. The College has more than 3,000 graduate and undergraduate students.
A committee of industry leaders raises $4.4 million to expand research and academic programs for the Center for Real Estate.
2010-Present
2010
Barings becomes a sponsor for the UNC Charlotte Economic Forecast
2011
Steven Ott, who first joined the Belk College in 1999 as the John Crosland Sr. Distinguished Professor of Real Estate and Development, is appointed dean. Ott will serve as dean until 2019.
The UNC Charlotte Center City, the only UNC System classroom building conceived and designed specifically to serve the business, organizations and people of an urban center, opens. The building houses all Belk College graduate and Executive Education programs.
The Belk College launches the Master of Science in Real Estate program.
2013
The Belk family continues its support of the college by donating $5 million, the largest gift in college’s history. The donation creates a Belk Scholars Program for undergraduate students, and also supports faculty research and teaching.
2014
The Master of Science in Data Sciences and Analytics, a collaboration between the Belk College and the College of Computing and Informatics, launches.
The Belk College launches the Executive Education program.
Belk College alumnus Kyle White ‘13 receives the Medal of Honor in a White House ceremony for this service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
2015
Belk College alumnus Robert Niblock, CEO of Lowe’s Companies Inc., donates $2.5 million to support the student center and professional development at the college. The gift creates the Niblock Student Center, a one-stop source for students based at the Friday Building.
The Center for Real Estate is renamed in recognition of a $2.5 million gift from real estate company Childress Klein.
The Women in Business initiative launches.
2016
The MBA program is named a tier 1 global program by CEO Magazine.
Professor Emeritus Thomas C. Turner, who helped establish the Department of Accounting, donates $2.5 million to UNC Charlotte. The department becomes the Turner School of Accountancy in his honor.
U.S. News & World Report researchers find that UNC Charlotte is one of only eight U.S. universities to have multiple alumni who serve as CEOs of Fortune 100 companies – Robert Niblock ‘85, CEO of Lowe’s Companies, and Joseph Swedish ‘72, CEO of Anthem.
2017
The Belk College reports enrollment of more than 4,700, an increase of 26% over 2012.
The Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program launches, becoming the only AACSB Accredited program of its kind in the Carolinas.
2018
The Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) LYNX Blue Line Extension enables a new level of connectivity with Uptown Charlotte.
The Belk College launches Entrepreneurial Decisions, a class open to all UNC Charlotte undergraduate and graduate students and also a public speaker series.
Madison Hartness ‘17 becomes the Belk College’s 30,000th graduate.
2019
First cohort for the M.S. Management, the first program of its kind in the UNC System.
2020
Jennifer Troyer, who has served in leadership roles at UNC Charlotte for 20 years, is named the Belk College’s seventh dean; the college celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Belk College is one of 25 business schools across the world recognized for innovative collaboration through AACSB International’s 2020 Innovations That Inspire Challenge.