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Associate Professor CJ Fleming, a Faculty Administrative Fellow at Elon University, leads a campus tour for Queens University of Charlotte faculty and staff visiting campus on Feb. 13, 2026.<\/p>\nNearly 80 faculty and staff met face-to-face at Elon University to shape academic, cultural and operational plans for a merger that will enhance the student experience on both campuses and expand educational offerings in the Charlotte region.<\/p>\n
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Faculty and staff from Elon University and Queens University of Charlotte gathered this month for the first in-person meetings of the strategic planning and integration teams, which are continuing to work on a merger that will expand educational opportunities and strengthen education across the region.<\/p>\n
A daylong visit to Elon\u2019s campus in Alamance County on Feb. 13, 2026, brought together representatives from both institutions to advance conversations centered on the academic, operational and cultural framework of a merged university. Combined, the integration team and the SOAR Strategic Planning Committee are composed of nearly 80 members.<\/p>\n
In welcoming remarks, Elon University President Connie Ledoux Book thanked participants for their leadership in what she described as a historic effort. While expressing confidence in the regulatory path ahead, she emphasized that the real work extends beyond approval.<\/p>\n
The goal, she said, is to ensure the merger \u201cadvances both of our institutions and fulfills the hopes and dreams and aspirations that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n
Book framed the integration as an opportunity to build new pathways for students, pointing to recent program expansion at Elon and the power of launching new academic initiatives. \u201cIt\u2019s this reminder that we can bring to life a vision, that we can build a future, and that future can create meaningful educational opportunities for deserving people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Participants responded to her invitation to describe their feelings about the merger in a single word: \u201cHopeful,\u201d \u201cenergized,\u201d \u201cinvigorated,\u201d \u201cproud,\u201d and \u201ccurious\u201d echoed across Turner Theatre inside Elon University\u2019s School of Communications.<\/p>\n
Associate Professor CJ Fleming, a Faculty Administrative Fellow at Elon University, leads a campus tour for Queens University of Charlotte faculty and staff visiting campus on Feb. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n
Book also shared insights from conversations with business leaders experienced in mergers, outlining three principles she said are essential for organizational success: relevance, reputation and clear reward for engagement. Those ideas, she explained, will inform how the combined institution positions its academic programs and community partnerships moving forward.<\/p>\n
Acknowledging Queens\u2019 history \u2014 which traces its roots to the Presbyterian Institute for Women \u2014 she noted the importance of honoring a legacy that expanded educational opportunity, particularly for women, in Charlotte. \u201cIt\u2019s on my mind, but it\u2019s also in my heart,\u201d Book said of preserving that mission while building something new together.<\/p>\n
Leaders from both institutions have said the merger aims to create a stronger, more comprehensive university serving students across the region, while maintaining a commitment to academic excellence, community engagement and student-centered learning.<\/p>\n
Book emphasized the value of in-person connection in building trust and shared purpose. \u201cVisiting somebody in their home is how you get to know them,\u201d she said. \u201cWelcome to our home.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Faculty and staff from Queens University of Charlotte are led on a campus tour by Elon University Assistant Vice President for Student Life Eleanor Finger (left).<\/p>\n
Following campus tours, a panel conversation on Elon University\u2019s signature experiences, and a group lunch in McEwen Dining Hall, members of both teams broke into subcommittees for deeper discussion on questions and possibilities within focus areas such as operations and systems, engaged teaching and learning, the undergraduate campus experience and student life, access and opportunity, and corporate and community partnerships.<\/p>\n
Work was centered on the ideation of bold, creative ideas about what becomes possible through the merger.<\/p>\n
The SOAR committee plans to present a preliminary list of ideas to the universities\u2019 boards of trustees at their springtime meetings as a midpoint check-in.\u202fA final compendium of the best ideas and concepts\u202fis\u202fexpected by July 1.<\/p>\n
Faculty, staff, and administrators from Elon University will travel to the Queens University of Charlotte campus on Feb. 27 for the next in-person gathering of the two teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nearly 80 faculty and staff met face-to-face at Elon University to shape academic, cultural and operational plans for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-140551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}