Belk College Alumni Awards
Hosted annually in the fall, the Belk College Alumni Awards recognize alumni and advocates of the UNC Charlotte Belk College of Business who have demonstrated leadership, outstanding career achievements, and enhanced the mission of the College.
Award Categories
- Distinguished Alumni Award — The Belk College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award honors an outstanding alumnus/a who has excelled in his/her careers and made a difference in his/her community.
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award — The Belk College of Business Outstanding Young Alumni Award recognizes an alumnus/a who is age 40 or under, who has demonstrated achievement, and shows a promising future in business.
- Honorary Alumnus(a) Award — The Belk College of Business Honorary Alumnus(a) Award honors contributions from valuable corporate partners or individuals who are not College of Business graduates.
- Distinguished Service Award — The Belk College of Business Distinguished Service Award is presented to a member of the Belk College community for outstanding service to the Belk College.
Nominations
- All alumni of the Belk College of Business are eligible for an award; however, a person must be nominated to receive consideration. Self nominations will not be accepted. The Alumni Awards Committee reviews all nominations and makes recommendations to the Dean each year. All award applications will be considered for three years.
- The nomination form is designed to collect only the most basic information about the nominee.
- In order for a nomination to be considered complete, nominations must include:
- Nomination form submission
- Nominee’s resume
- One or more letters of recommendation
- One or more supporting documents (publications, feature articles on nominee, media coverages, speaking engagements, or similar materials that highlight why your nominee is deserving of an award)
- Supporting documents may be submitted electronically via email to alumni relations director Kinsey Sheehan.
- If you know of a Belk College of Business alumnus/na deserving of an Alumni Award, please complete the award nomination form. The deadline for 2026 Belk College Alumni Award nominations is June 30, 2026.
Recipients
2025
- Distinguished Alumni Award: Eric W. Seidel ’90, Business Administration
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award: Amy Nance Lewis ’93, Business Administration
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Kate Frear ’12 M.A. Sociology, ’14 Ph.D., Organizational Science
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Samantha Paustian-Underdahl ‘10 M.A., Industrial and Organizational Psychology, ‘12 Ph.D., Organizational Science
- Honorary Alumni Award: Christopher L. Johnson
2024
- Distinguished Alumni Award: Darin Stafford ‘94 Accounting, Finance
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award: Kimberly Moore-Wright ‘95 Accounting
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Kwame Molden ‘12 MBA
- Honorary Alumni Award: Henry Atkins
2022-2023
- Distinguished Alumni Award: Yvonne Hinson ’86 Accounting, ’90 MBA
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award: Joe Price ’83 Accounting
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Sen. Dave Craven ’12 Accounting, Finance, Political Science
- Honorary Alumni Award: Fred Klein, member of of UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees and is a founding member of the Childress Klein Center for Real Estate
2022 Belk College Alumni Awards program: Watch the full program or the highlights recap.
2021
- Distinguished Alumni Award: Derrick Steele ’97 Accounting
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award: Mark Collard ’89 Business Administration
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Violeta Ramírez ’17 MBA
- Honorary Alumni Award: Ross Fowler, Belk College Risk Management and Insurance Advisory Board
Watch the full program or the four individual award recipient feature videos.
2020
- Distinguished Alumni Award: Verl Purdy ’73 MBA
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award: Leigh Goller ’93 Accounting
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Jane Wu ’07 MS, Mathematical Finance
- Honorary Alumni Award: Malcomb Coley, Belk College Board of Advisors
2019
- Distinguished Alumni Award: Susan Jamison ’78 Accounting
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Latesha Byrd ’12 Accounting
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award: Kelly McPhilliamy ’89 Finance
- Honorary Alumni Award: Tom Marshall, Faculty
Photos of the 2019 Belk College Alumni Awards program
2018
- Distinguished Alumni Award: Jill Tietjen ’79 MBA
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Christopher Moxley ’03 International Business
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award: Liz Ward ’14 MS Real Estate
- Honorary Alumni Award: James Boylan, Belk College Board of Advisors
Photos of the 2018 Belk College Alumni Awards program
2017
- Distinguished Alumni Award: Carol Lowe ’87 Accounting
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Shabari Basu ’13 MBA
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award: Tom Coley ’91 Business Administration, ’98 Accounting
- Honorary Alumni Award: Brian Marley, Belk College Board of Advisors
Photos of the 2017 Belk College Alumni Awards program
2016
- Distinguished Alumni Award: Robert Niblock ’84 Accounting
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: Bryan Delaney ’03 Management Information Systems
- Outstanding Young Alumni Award: James Hartsell ’02 Management Information Systems
- Distinguished Alumni Service Award: Julie Harris ’00 Finance
- Honorary Alumni Award: Marcia Avedon
Photos from the 2016 Belk College Alumni Awards program
2015
- Outstanding Alumni Advocate Award: Kirk Beatty ’87, ’10 MBA
- Outstanding Alumni Advocate Award: Tina Enrique ’12 MBA
- Outstanding Alumni Ambassador: Dave Wedding ’80 Accounting
- Outstanding Alumni Ambassador: Manuel Zapata ’69, ’72 MBA, P.E.
Photos from the 2015 Alumni Recognition Reception