Today a C-17 Air Force aircraft from North Carolina’s 145th Airlift Wing will fly across our state to salute frontline workers during the current COVID-19 crisis.

According to their press release:

“This Air Force Salute is to demonstrate the Department of the Air Force’s continued readiness during the national COVID-19 response, while saluting the American Heroes at the forefront in our fight against COVID-19. These flyovers will incur no additional cost to the taxpayers and are being conducted as part of regularly scheduled training.”

The flight took off this morning at 10 am and flew over Caromont Health:

Check out this video @CaroMontHealth shot of the 145th Airlift Wing flying over Gastonia! More coverage today @wcnc. pic.twitter.com/X9Ey4HAARV

— Brandon Goldner (@BrandonWCNC) May 7, 2020

The flight then made its way to other cities around our state:

After making flyovers across North Carolina cities, the flight will make additional passes over several additional Charlotte medical and charitable facilities, including:

• Harris Teeter Distribution Center at 1:21 pm
• Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center at 1:25 pm
• Atrium Health Charlotte at 1:25 pm
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina at 1:27 pm

With the coronavirus pandemic costing roughly 33.5 million Americans their jobs so far and a growing number of states beginning to reopen some businesses in an attempt to help, WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States with the Biggest Increases in Unemployment Due to the Coronavirus, as a follow-up to last month’s report on the Cities with the Biggest Growth in Unemployment Due to COVID-19.

To identify which states’ workforces have been hurt most by COVID-19, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on increases in unemployment claims. We used this data to rank the most impacted states in both the latest week for which we have data (April 27) and overall since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis (March 16). Below, you can see highlights from the report, along with a WalletHub Q&A. To see the states most impacted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, click here.

Increase in North Carolina Unemployment Due to Coronavirus (1=Worst, 25=Avg.):

• 2,689.46% Increase in Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs April 2019)
  • 84,716 the week of April 27, 2020 vs 3,037 the week of April 29, 2019
  • 6th highest increase in the U.S.
• 2,314.94% Increase in the Number of Unemployment Claims (April 2020 vs January 2020)
  • 84,716 the week of April 27, 2020 vs 3,508 the week of January 1, 2020
  • 3rd highest increase in the U.S.
• 4,109.67% Increase in Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Started
  • 833,728 between the week of March 16, 2020 and the week of April 27, 2020 vs 20,287 between the week of March 18, 2019 and the week of April 29, 2019
  • 6th highest increase in the U.S.

To view the full report and your state’s rank, you can visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/states-with-the-biggest-increase-in-unemployment-due-to-coronavirus/72730/.

UNC Charlotte announces new leadership for three academic areas–business, engineering, and urban research and community engagement–pivotal to the University’s mission to serve the greater Charlotte region and beyond. All three leaders will report to Joan Lorden, provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs.

• Jennifer Troyer is named dean for the Belk College of Business, one of the Carolinas’ largest business schools. Troyer has served UNC Charlotte for 20 years, most recently as interim dean of Belk College.
• Robert Keynton is appointed dean for The William States Lee College of Engineering, a leader in engineering research and education for nearly 50 years. He joins from the University of Louisville where he was interim executive vice president for Research & Innovation and professor and Lutz Endowed Chair of Biomechanical Devices in the Department of Bioengineering at the Speed School of Engineering.
• Byron White will join UNC Charlotte as associate provost for the newly reorganized Office of Urban Research and Community Engagement, focused on connecting UNC Charlotte with community research, collaboration, and engaged scholarship to continue building a thriving, inclusive region. White joins from StrivePartnership where he is vice president and executive director of the public-private collaborative focused on cradle-to-career outcomes in urban education.

“We sought innovative, accomplished leaders who are gifted in building nationally recognized programs and research, developing strong internal and external partnerships and possessing a deep commitment to student success,” said Lorden. “Following a national search, we believe these three leaders embody the right qualities to further UNC Charlotte’s mission as we enter the next chapter in the University’s story.”

About Jennifer Troyer, dean of the Belk College of Business
Troyer has served UNC Charlotte for 20 years, most recently as interim dean of Belk College.

Prior to becoming interim dean of the Belk College, Troyer served in the same role for UNC Charlotte’s College of Health and Human Services. Previously, she held several administrative roles within the Belk College, including senior associate dean, associate dean for research and graduate programs, and chair of the Department of Economics. As associate dean, she was instrumental in the creation of three new graduate certificates and the Master of Science in Management program. She also helped launch the first Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) program in the Carolinas.

Troyer holds a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Economics from Florida State University. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Memphis. She has conducted policy-relevant research on the quality of U.S. nursing homes, the cost-effectiveness of medical interventions and strategic behavior in the pharmaceutical industry. Her research has earned several awards and has been funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Read more about the Belk College of Business.

About Robert Keynton, dean of The William States Lee College of Engineering
Keynton led the creation of the Speed School of Engineering Bioengineering Department and its associated curriculum at the University of Louisville and was successful in realizing the vision to achieve national recognition of the bioengineering program by being named a Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Partner. Keynton’s area of expertise is development of biomedical micro-electromechanical systems (BioMEMS) and cardiovascular mechanics, the development of micro Total Analysis Systems (uTAS), experimental and computational microfluidics, acoustic transducer design and fabrication, and experimental fluid mechanics. Author of over 100 published works, he has applied his research in areas as diverse as diabetic retinopathy, detection of autism and diagnosis of lung cancer. Keynton holds 15 patents for his discoveries.

Keynton is an elected fellow in the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). He received a B.S. in Engineering Science and Mechanics from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the University of Akron.

Read more about The William States Lee College of Engineering.

About Byron White, associate provost for the Office of Urban Research and Community Engagement
Byron White will lead the Office of Urban Research and Community Engagement (known historically as Metropolitan Studies). Comprising the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, the Women + Girls Research Alliance, the Charlotte Action Research Project and Engaged Scholarship, its interdisciplinary partnerships will focus on increasing access to community-based learning and community-engaged research, streamlining collaboration among shared research, and expanding community partnerships.

White previously served as vice president for university engagement and as chief diversity officer at Cleveland State University, vice chancellor for economic advancement at the Ohio Department of Higher Education, and associate vice president for community engagement at Xavier University, following a career at the Chicago Tribune. He received a B.S. in journalism from Ohio University, an M.A. in social science from University of Chicago and an Ed.D. in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania. He led the successful applications for the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification at both Cleveland State University and Xavier University by facilitating the co-design of strategies to demonstrate alignment of curriculum and research with the changing demands of an urban workforce and civic needs. He also co-developed programs to support engaged scholarship through grants for community-engaged research, training by industry experts and community recognition.