Long-time Geography and Earth Sciences Faculty Member Passes Away

Long-time UNC Charlotte colleague and Professor Emeritus Alfred (Al) Wright Stuart passed away on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015 after a brief illness. He was a retired member of the faculty of the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences.

Stuart was a native of Roanoke, Virginia who was instrumental in shaping and leading the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences and served on the faculty at UNC Charlotte for 30 years. He earned his bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of South Carolina and a master’s degree in geology from Emory University,

He then served in the United States Army in Greenland with a civilian research team. In 1958, Stuart served for 15 months on an international team of researchers commissioned by the National Science Foundation for its US Antarctic Research Program, then underway as part of the International Geophysical Year. This work is detailed in two books and many articles, including in National Geographic magazine, and commemorated by a mountain named in Stuart’s honor and the awarding of a U.S. Polar Medal. This life-shaping experience served him and many generations of his students well in his course titled “Geography of the Polar Regions.”

He continued his formal studies, earning a doctoral degree in geography from The Ohio State University and began his teaching career at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. He was later recruited and in 1969 joined as an associate professor what was then called the Department of Geography and Geology in 1969 at UNC Charlotte.

He immediately was named the acting chair and went on to serve as department chair for 18 years. He and professor colleagues Jim Clay and Doug Orr were instrumental in helping shape the applied nature of the department’s early geography program, focusing on the display and analysis of social, economic and environmental patterns, both spatial and temporal, for decision-makers and the general public. Under his direction, the department educated students who went on to guide growth and development of cities and towns nationwide.

During his distinguished career, Stuart served as a community planner in Roanoke, Virginia; wrote or co-edited 21 books; penned numerous articles; and garnered $1.5 million in research grants and contracts. His work on local and statewide atlas projects are of particular note and were a defining passion. He also served as research director for the Institute for Organizational Management for the US Chamber of Commerce.

He and his colleagues pioneered new ways of making highly complex information accessible and compelling and described himself as an “academic journalist.”

He concluded his work with the publication of The North Carolina Atlas: Portrait for a New Century (2000), originally published in 1974, and led the effort to produce the subsequent online versions. He retired from UNC Charlotte in 1999, but as emeritus professor he was a constant presence in the department, updating the atlas project and publishing his work from his time in Antarctica. He is a person who touched many lives and is greatly missed.

A service in celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, November 7 at 3 p.m. at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlotte with a reception to follow in the church Fellowship Hall. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Trinity Presbyterian Church or to UNC Charlotte Foundation (fund #448043), 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223