Dr. Martha Bedell Alexander, UNC Charlotte Alumna and Adjunct Faculty Member of Political Science and Public Administration, Receives 8 Over 80 Award for 2026

Dr. Martha Bedell Alexander, Adjunct Faculty Member in Political Science and Public Administration, is one of the recipients of Southminster’s 8 Over 80 Awards, to be presented on October 8, 2026. The award’s stated purpose: “Celebrates older adults in Charlotte who continue to provide leadership, creativity, and community impact.”

As presented in an excerpt of Department Chair Cheryl Brown’s nomination letter on behalf of Dr. Alexander, “She has expanded her role as an educator, reaching university students in teaching POLS 3010: The Realities of Politics, a topics course in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at UNC Charlotte. She not only teaches about realities but also brings reality into the classroom by integrating the theories and concepts of political science with her experiences as a state legislator of the North Carolina General Assembly during 1993 – 2013, leader and member of numerous committee assignments, representative to National Conventions and Mecklenburg County Conventions, state-appointed member of various boards and councils, and organizational participant of mission delegations to Botswana, Belize, Haiti, and Costa Rica.”

The inaugural 8 Over 80 awards, presented in 2025 to honor extraordinary, inspiring individuals over the age of eighty, “who continue to inspire with their creativity, leadership, and unwavering sense of purpose,” included Professor Emerita Dr. Boyd H. Davis of the Department of English at UNC Charlotte. https://chess.charlotte.edu/…/boyd-h-davis-receives-8…/

8 Over 80 2026 Honorees:

Martha Bedell Alexander

Erskine Bowles & Nelson Schwab

Larry Dagenhart

Rev. Dr. Clifford A. Jones, Sr.

Freda Nicholson

Glenn Proctor

Dorothy Counts Scoggins

Richard Vinroot