Lori Thomas, Ph.D.

By Lori Thomas, Ph.D.
Last week, the Institute + Data Trust celebrated the end of a successful investment campaign to support the development of an enduring community data infrastructure. The campaign was the first in the Data Trust’s 20-year history as a nonprofit organization. The celebration and demonstration of our new web portal mark a transition from an […]

By Lori Thomas, Ph.D.
On Feb. 1 at our annual Schul Forum, more than 175 Charlotte residents, neighbors and friends, along with national and local experts, explored the implications of recent research that suggests that economic connectedness, a form of social capital, is connected to upward economic mobility. Dr. Lori Thomas, Executive Director of the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute and Charlotte Regional Data Trust, opened the Forum with these comments […]

By Lori Thomas
December marks the midpoint in our academic and fiscal calendars at UNC Charlotte. It’s a time when the buzz of the holiday season adds a layer of exams, grading, and graduation. And just as quickly, faculty and staff on campus begin preparing for the semester to come, the remainder of the academic year. Sometimes it’s…