William David Siegfried oral history interview, 2013 January 28

Description

Dr. William (Bill) David Siegfried, Jr. talks about how the University of North Carolina at Charlotte established a presence in downtown Charlotte. He describes how he came to UNC Charlotte as a Professor of Psychology in 1976. He then relates the accomplishments of Chancellor James H. Woodward which he feels were: establishing the aesthetic of the campus through new campus construction, introducing doctoral programs, and forging relationships within the community. He lists the reasons why it was important for UNC Charlotte to establish an off-campus center, and notes that Chancellor Woodward's ability to build relationships helped bring together the principal people involved in establishing UNC Charlotte Uptown in the CityFair Building in 1995. He also notes that this venture was the first off-campus credit granting center in the University of North Carolina System. However, he explains the reasons why CityFair was unsuccessful and why the center moved to the Mint Museum of Craft + Design in 1999. He briefly talks about how the land for the current Center City Building was acquired in 2005 and concludes the interview talking about challenges at the Center City Building, including the lack of available parking, and the delay in light rail connection to get more undergraduate students into the facility.