We are proud to announce the establishment of the Dr. Steven Nils Ulosevich RISE Speaker Series, which will kick off Science Everywhere beginning in 2022.
Dr. Ulosevich, better known as Steve, passed away peacefully on June 3, 2020. Steve had an abiding love for learning, especially for all things science; a profound commitment to education and educators; and a deep appreciation for UNCG’s mission and its impact on his life. Steve, along with his future wife Pam, graduated from UNCG in 1969 with a BA in Chemistry. His wife and children decided that the legacy of their beloved husband, dad and grandpa could best live on by supporting STEM education through UNCG’s RISE program. We proudly welcome their support in the form of the Dr. Steven Nils Ulosevich RISE Speaker Series.
Biography
Dr. Steven Nils Ulosevich, better known as Steve, was born in Tampa, Florida in 1947. He demonstrated in his early years an interest in chemistry, biology, physics and aeronautics. As his family prepared to move to Greensboro after his graduation from high school in 1965, Steve applied and was accepted at UNCG. He quickly became involved in the life of the university, participating in student government, playing on the first Spartan Men’s Basketball Team, and loosely organizing the fledging group of new men students with steak cookouts and pickup basketball games. He played volleyball on the winning Greensboro YMCA team, and he worked nights running the massive computer at the Federal Home Loan Bank in downtown Greensboro. He found time to relax as one of the town students who gathered in the basement of Elliott Hall.
After graduation from UNCG in 1969, Steve taught biology for a year at Grimsley High School before marrying his UNCG sweetheart and co-chemistry major, Pamela Locke, and joining the United States Air Force. He learned to fly both helicopters and fixed wing aircraft and taught the skills he had acquired to future AF pilots. Throughout his AF career, he incorporated his deep interest in and knowledge of the sciences to benefit pilots and their training: from the earth’s topography to the pitch of the aircraft; from weather to physiological human factors, from survival techniques to laser eye protection.
Steve obtained his Master’s in Business Administration from Webster University in 1981 and his Ed.D. from the University of Southern California School of Education in 1991, both while he remained on active duty. He closed his professional career as Coaching Supervisor for South Carolina’s Coalition for Mathematics and Science, a teacher-coaching model that has made a positive impact on teachers and students throughout that state.
Steve and Pam were selected as the first “Spartan Valentines” because of their “he said – she said” responses to the competition. And fifty years after his UNCG graduation, Steve volunteered to chair the Newsletter Committee and organized a highly successful Military Panel for the 50th Reunion of the Class of 1969.
Steve was diagnosed in 1992 with sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease that chiefly attacks the lungs. While he dealt daily with its impact, he taught many people about the disease and could often be found explaining the benefits of his portable oxygen machine to a caregiver or another oxygen user. He passed away peacefully on June 3, 2020, from the effects of his disease.
To view the welcome to this lecture series from the Ulosevich family, please see the video below.
