2022 Belk College Alumni Awards

Yvonne Hinson '86 Accounting, '90 MBA, CEO of the American Accounting Association, will receive the Belk College’s highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Award.

Hinson has served as the Chief Executive Officer for the American Accounting Association since 2020. She began the role after serving as the Academic in Residence at Vice President of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA). A frequent speaker on academic and student initiatives, Hinson's background also includes an 18-year tenure with Wake Forest University as an Associate Professor of Accounting as well as Director of Accountancy, Director of Graduate Studies and Dean of Charlotte Programs.  Hinson is a past president of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy and past Chair of the AAA Membership Advisory Committee. 

Hinson earned both her Bachelor of Science in accounting and her MBA at UNC Charlotte where her late father, Dolan Hinson, taught accounting and finance courses for more than 30 years. The Distinguished Alumni Award celebrates alumni who have had a transforming influence on the college and the community over a lifetime.

Joe Price '83 Accounting, partner at Falfurrias Capital, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Service Award. 

Price, who earned a Bachelor of Science in accounting, was the third alumnus to served as chair of the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees. He has also shared his strategc vision as a member of the Belk College of Business Board of Advisors, the University's Exponential Capital Campaign and the Turner School of Accountancy Advisory Board. Price has championed the UNC Charlotte Habitat for Humanity student organization as well as Charlotte 49ers athletics. 

Price has more than 30 years of senior operating management experience in executive roles including former Chief Financial Officer as well as former President of Consumer and Small Business Banking for Bank of America prior to joining Falfurrias Capital Partners. 

Sen. David Craven '12 Accounting, Finance, Political Science was elected to the North Carolina Senate in 2020 and is the youngest serving member of the body. 

Sen. Craven has eight years of community banking expereince and serves as the Senior Vice President at Fidelity Bank focusing on business development. He was appointed to the board of directors for the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina in 2016 by the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and has served as the treasurer, vice chairman and chairman for the Randolph County Economic Development Corporation. 

Craven earned Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting and finance as well a Bachelor of Arts in political science from UNC Charlotte. 

The award recognizes an alumnus/a who is under 40, has demonstrated achievement and shows a promising future in business.

Fred Klein, senior managing partner at Childress Klein, will receive the Honorary Alumni Award. 

Klein serves on the UNC Charlotte Board of Trustees and is a founding member of the the Childress Klein Center for Real Estate. He has previously served on the UNC Charlotte Foundation Board as well.  

He is an ardent supporter of the Belk College. Klein and his business partner Don Childress named the Childress Klein Center for Real Estate with generosity totaling over $2.5 million to the University. He has also named the Childress Klein Distinguished Professorship in Real Estate and Urban Economics, the Childress Klein Fund for Professional Training for M.S. in Real Estate students, the Childress Klein Faculty Fellowships Fund, and the Childress Klein Fund for Research Grants.  He also launched and lead the fundraising efforts to establish the Steven Ott Distinguished Professorship.  

Klein previously served Trammell Crow Company as both partner and regional partner before forming Childress Klein in 1988. Childress Klein has grown to become one of the largest full-service commercial real estate firms in the Southeast. 

The award recognizes individuals who, while not graduates of the Belk College, have made significant contributions to its leadership, vision and educational mission.