Originally from Kentucky, Dr. McCoy’s experience includes more than 30 years working directly with city, town, and county governments in the region, as well as with both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. He earned BA and MA degrees from Western Kentucky University and a PhD from the University of Tennessee. He joined the Political Science faculty at UNC Charlotte in 1970, teaching primarily courses in local, state, and national politics. From 1985-2001, he served as Director of UNCC’s Urban Institute, working with many of the local governments in this region. Over the last three years, he has been involved in a major Institute study of the connections between the urban and suburban core of this region and the outlying rural areas.