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Around Campus

Ambassadors at your service

Like theater ushers or arena attendants, Carolina Together ambassadors will help you find your way in and out of some of the University’s busiest class buildings.

An man stands near the outside of a door with the words

If the new Carolina Together ambassadors stationed around campus look familiar, that’s because you might have seen them last fall at Kenan Stadium during a football game. This fall, their roles have changed. Now, more than three dozen staffers from Rhino Sports and Entertainment Services, the Winston-Salem-based company that usually staffs University sporting events, will help students, faculty and staff safely and efficiently navigate a changed campus.

One of the many safety precautions the University has implemented, the ambassadors, along with athletic event management assistants, will be on hand outside and inside 11 campus buildings with large numbers of classrooms to support physical distancing and mask-wearing, give directions, answer questions and monitor pedestrian traffic flow. They will be on duty from 30 minutes prior to a building’s first class until after the last class finishes, helping students enter and leave buildings promptly so that classes can begin on time.

Have questions? Misplaced or forgot your face covering? The ambassadors are there to answer questions and direct you to one of the University’s distribution sites where you can pick up a spare mask. Think information desk — without the desk.

“We want to help ensure students have a safe and pleasant experience as we all work together to get used to this new normal, and we are pleased to use our ambassador program to support these efforts,” said John Brunner, the University’s associate athletic director for event management.

The ambassadors received special training jointly designed by athletic event management, the provost’s office, student affairs and facility services. The Rhino Services uniform shirts may not be Carolina blue, but their credentials are. They read: “Carolina Together ambassador: How may I help you?”

Ambassadors will work at the following buildings:

  • Carroll Hall
  • Dey Hall
  • Friday Center for Continuing Education
  • Gardner Hall
  • Genome Sciences Building
  • Greenlaw Hall
  • Hanes Art Center
  • Hill Hall
  • Kenan Stadium
  • Loudermilk Center for Excellence
  • Peabody Hall
  • Phillips Hall

Among important things to note:

  • Students may not begin entering a building until 15 minutes prior to their class start time.
  • Signs on the exterior of each building show the location of safe entrances and exits.
  • Anyone seeking an accessible entrance or exit may ask an ambassador for assistance in finding one.
  • If students are required to line up prior to entering a building, anyone with a medical reason may notify an ambassador of their need to enter.
  • Anyone needing to use a restroom should plan to the best of their ability and be prepared to stand in line.
  • Ambassadors will point anyone without a mask to one of Carolina’s mask distribution sites.

Students can prepare for entering buildings by checking when.unc.edu, a part of the Carolina Together Roadmap. They can find class entry and exit schedules by either entering their ONYEN or by searching for course name, number, instructor or day.

The buildings map feature enables viewers to look at individual campus building entrances and exits, including those compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Reese Innovation Lab in the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media developed the when.unc.edu site under the direction of Steven King, associate professor.

Carolina has added a new wayfinding feature that provides turn-by-turn walking directions, including travel time between campus buildings, according to Abbas Piran, director of facilities technology group in Facilities Planning and Design.

And the Carolina Together Campus Map shows location points for help student mask distribution sites, outdoor seating, food trucks and indoor study rooms.

Read more stories on faculty and staff at TheWell.unc.edu