Jeff Stein returned to Elon University on Dec. 29. He’ll serve as chief integration officer and executive vice president while the school joins with Queens University of Charlotte. The appointment brings back someone who spent years in senior roles at the institution before he left to become president of Mary Baldwin University in Virginia.
Stein will co-chair the Integration Team with Queens President Emerita Pamela Davies. The team will respond to regulatory and accreditation requirements while establishing shared services, working alongside the strategic planning committee. Both groups will also identify future opportunities that build on the schools’ commitment to teaching, hands-on learning, and student success.
The Integration Team will work closely with President Book and Queens Acting President and CEO Jesse Cureton during the transition period.
“It’s clear to me that Queens and Elon intend to be and continue to be indispensable partners with and for Charlotte,” Stein told the Triad Business Journal, according to Today at Elon. “So that is a key goal for all of us, but I think the point of coming together, this new chapter of reimagining the future of emerged entity, is mostly about students.”
Creating opportunities for students remains the top priority, he added. “That means we have to create opportunities for students and hear from students about the opportunities they need,” Stein said.
Stein first joined the university in 2002. He started as assistant dean of students and assistant professor of English. By 2010, he’d moved to the senior staff as special assistant to the president and secretary to the board of trustees. Later, he became chief of staff.
The schools plan to launch a new full-time law program in Charlotte as part of the merger. They signed a definitive agreement in December 2025 to move forward with the combination.
Both institutions serve students in North Carolina. Queens sits in Charlotte. The other campus operates in the Triad region. The merger aims to expand educational opportunities across the state.