With longtime chancellor Philip Dubois set to retire later this year, UNC Charlotte is renaming the university’s uptown Charlotte center city building in the honor of Dubois and his wife Lisa Lewis Dubois. The 11-story glass structure on the corner of 9th and Brevard Streets will now be known as the Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City (The Dubois Center).
The more than $50 million facility opened in 2011, and is the only University of North Carolina building designed specifically to serve the business, organizations and people in an urban center. The space accommodates more than 1,300 students annually who are earning bachelor’s or master’s degrees along with nearly 2,600 participants in continuing education options.
Erskine Bowles was president of the UNC system when the concept was first proposed. “Phil came to me with this audacious idea of starting a new campus right in the middle of uptown Charlotte,” said Bowles. “Over time, we were able to convince the legislature this building could make an enormous difference, that it could drive business and opportunities for Charlotte and the region for decades to come.”
“We knew we needed to have a more substantial and visible presence,” Dubois said. “That led to the decision to make our No. 1 campus construction priority a new building in Center City.”
Dubois says the change in the university’s visibility has paid real dividends, and that he feels good about leaving UNC Charlotte in a strong position as an integral partner in Charlotte.
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