UNCP Occupational Therapy Program Earns Full Seven-Year Accreditation
Less than two years after welcoming its first cohort of students, UNC Pembroke’s Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program has earned full accreditation from the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE), marking a major milestone for the university’s expanding healthcare education efforts.
UNCP alumna Michelle McNeil Named 2026 Gaston County Social Worker of the Year
Michelle McNeil serves as a social services director in a long-term care facility, where she has built her career around showing up for residents and families during deeply personal transitions. She helps coordinate care, supports discharge planning, provides emotional support and walks families through difficult decisions, including end-of-life care. For her, social work has never been about checking a box or completing a task. It has been about making sure people feel seen, heard and respected.
Ashtin Bullard Finds Calling in Helping Others Heal
After stepping away from college years ago, Ashtin Bullard returned to UNCP with a new sense of purpose. Now, the Master of Social Work graduate is turning lived experience into a career focused on advocacy, mental health and addiction support.
UNCP students earn statewide recognition at 2025 NC SHAPE Convention
UNC Pembroke health and physical education students and faculty recently stepped onto a statewide stage at the 2025 NC SHAPE Convention, presenting original sessions and earning top honors at the professional gathering for health and physical education educators across North Carolina.
UNCP Awards First Doctoral Degrees, Marking a New Chapter in University History
As the lights rise inside Givens Performing Arts Center tonight, eight nurse leaders will step onto the stage and into the history books. Their doctoral hoods, symbols of perseverance, scholarship and service, mark a moment 138 years in the making for the University of North Carolina Pembroke.
A Shared Vision: Transforming Healthcare, One Story at a Time
Shannon Cummings doesn’t remember a time when her father was healthy. From the moment she could read, she was by his side — helping manage his medications, keeping track of appointments and eventually driving him to dialysis treatments.
UNCP Sparks Regional Innovation Through Additive Manufacturing Expo
UNC Pembroke hosted its first-ever Southeastern Additive Manufacturing Initiative (SAMI) Expo last week, bringing together students, faculty and industry leaders from across the region for a day of hands-on learning, networking and innovation in 3D printing and additive manufacturing.
UNCP Hosts NC Optometric Society District Meeting as Optometry Program Advances
UNC Pembroke recently welcomed North Carolina Optometric Society (NCOS) members for a district meeting highlighting the university’s progress toward launching the state’s first public Doctor of Optometry program.
UNC Pembroke’s OPTIMISE Program Receives $2.3 Million Grant Renewal to Expand Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
The Department of Social Work at UNC Pembroke has secured a four-year, $2.3 million federal grant renewal to continue and expand the OPTIMISE program. The program trains graduate students to serve in integrated behavioral healthcare settings across rural North Carolina. The award comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training (BHWET) Program.
Professor Ash Walker Elected to National Board for Clinical Exercise Physiology
Dr. Ash Walker, assistant professor of exercise and sport science at UNC Pembroke, has been elected treasurer and member of the Board of Directors of the Clinical Exercise Physiology Association (CEPA), a national organization affiliated with the American College of Sports Medicine.