06/30/2026
We are deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague and friend. Dr. Connaughton kindness, dedication, and impact on our community will be remembered always.
“On June 24, UNC Charlotte and the UNC Charlotte Belk College of Business lost a longtime colleague and respected mainstay of North Carolina economics with the death of John Connaughton.
Not long after Connaughton — who this spring was the University’s longest-serving faculty member — arrived in 1978 as a lecturer in the Department of Economics, he became director of the UNC Charlotte North Carolina Economic Forecast.
Key career milestones — while teaching more than 6,000 students through 278 course sections — include promotions to assistant professor in 1981, associate professor in 1984 when he also received tenure, professor of economics in 1991 and professor of financial economics in 2010, and appointment as coordinator of the Master of Science in Economic and Finance program in 1998.
Through his leadership over more than four decades, Connaughton’s quarterly forecast, which originated as a press release and evolved in 2001 into a live event held at a number of recognizable Charlotte locations, has been hosted since 2011 at The The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City.
No matter the format, the economic forecast has provided business leaders and policymakers from across the Carolinas with reliable, in-depth and data-supported analysis of the region’s economic conditions that they can trust to make informed decisions.”
UNC Charlotte Alumni
https://inside.charlotte.edu/2026/06/28/remembering-economic-professor-and-forecaster-of-north-carolinas-economy-john-connaughton/
