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• ������Ƶ holds largest-ever Spring Undergraduate Research Forum
• Personal experience inspires ������Ƶ student’s research to help children experiencing homelessness

Dozens of students showcased research projects inspired by personal experiences and academic interests, guided by faculty mentorship, during the 2026 Summer Undergraduate Research Experience presentations on July 23 in Schar Hall.

The most recent SURE symposium featured more than 50 students from both ������Ƶ and Queens University of Charlotte, marking the latest example of collaboration between two institutions in the process of merging into a united community.

“SURE continues to be one of the flagship events of ������Ƶ’s Undergraduate Research Program. This poster session is a celebration of their dedication and growth as budding young scholars,” said Justin Clar, director of undergraduate research and associate professor of chemistry. “I was especially pleased that we were joined by amazing students from Queens who shared their work with the ������Ƶ community.”

At ������Ƶ, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience has for years provided student researchers with a stipend to spend eight weeks working full-time on a project in collaboration with a faculty mentor with substantial and recognized expertise in the discipline.

The program concludes every July with a symposium that deepens students’ knowledge of the research experience while offering an opportunity to grow their public speaking and presentation skills.

“It was a great opportunity for the students to share their summer research in a low-stakes environment,” said Kira McEntire, director of undergraduate research and creative work; and associate professor of biology at Queens. “It was also fun to see the ������Ƶ students sharing their summer projects and to learn about some of the interests of ������Ƶ colleagues.”

At Queens, the university holds its annual in the spring, a campus-wide celebration of academic inquiry and community impact. The day starts with oral and poster presentations, followed by service activities in the afternoon.

Personal connections

For many students at SURE, like ������Ƶ student Thomas Gress ’27, projects carried a deeply personal connection. Gress designed a four-week study comparing exercise approaches for people with chronic fatigue syndrome, inspired in part by his brother’s experience with the condition.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the condition is a serious and often long-lasting illness that keeps people from doing their usual activities. It makes physical and mental exertion difficult, and symptoms include difficulty thinking, severe tiredness, and other issues.

“Before I started this project, (my brother had) been suffering for four years, and there seemed to be no end in sight. So, this was something small that I could do to be of use,” said Gress, a biology major from Savannah, Georgia. “For all of these patients, there’s no other option. There are no drugs available, only a few supplements with very little efficacy. So, it seems the best option is experimenting with lifestyle. And if not this, then there is nothing.”

Queens student Isabella Sherman ’27 has a love for nature that inspired her to explore plant communities at the Carolina Wildlands Foundation with mentor E. Davis Carter, assistant professor of biology at Queens.

“It was an excellent experience,” said Sherman, a conservation biology major from Charlotte. “It’s really close to what I want to do with my career. I love research, I love forestry, and every time I went out there, I was like, ‘This is exactly what I want to do.’ This kind of information is what people take into consideration when they’re trying to develop land or provide an additional environment for fauna and flora.”

Mentoring relationships

A common thread among many of the projects was the close relationship students developed with their faculty mentors.

Anna Grace Gilbert ’27, an ������Ƶ psychology major from Knoxville, Tennessee, says Associate Professor of Psychology Sabrina Perkins “completely changed” her undergraduate experience through their work studying infant motor development.

“I’ve worked with (Professor Perkins) technically since the summer of my freshman year. I just reached out to her and was like, ‘I love babies. I’d love to work with you,” Gilbert said. “I’m very grateful. We’ve really bonded over these almost three years.”

For Jack VanValkenburg ’27, a Queens student majoring in data analytics, undergraduate research provided an opportunity to apply his technical skills. He worked with Queens Assistant Professor of Biology Denni Einersson to develop a computerized system for organizing trash collected during community cleanup events.

“It was a great opportunity to work with people who know more than me. The coding that I’ve done in the past is more analytical and this was more developmental,” said VanValkenburg, who is from Atlanta. “(Clean-up crews) would go out with field cards, like pencil and paper, and just mark things down, which was super timely and it’s very inconvenient, and then that just led to a lot of data that wasn’t being used.”

Pushing through the learning process

������Ƶ business analytics major Chase Hannibal ’28 examined the sense of belonging among Black business students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly White Institutions. It can sometimes feel isolating as a Black female business student, Hannibal said.

“I just wanted to see if other students felt that way, and if it was a pattern, what could be fixed,” Hannibal said. “(I wanted to) let other students know that you’re not alone.”

Hannibal says her mentor, Shanetta Pendleton, assistant professor of strategic communications, pushed her to be better, even when she was at her “stopping point.”

“Even when I felt at the worst of the worst, she supported me throughout everything,” Hannibal said. “She was great, and I’m very excited to work with her in the future.”

Amelia Weaver ’28 also explored the experiences of college students, particularly women. Her ������Ƶ Honors Fellows research examines the motivations of college-aged women who participate in sports betting after she noticed women were less vocal about the topic in class discussions.

“It made me think about why the women in the class weren’t as talkative or excited about their own experiences with sports betting,” said Weaver, a sport management and media analytics double major with a minor in . “I wondered if this was because they didn’t participate, didn’t care, or they just didn’t want to say anything.”

Weaver said her mentor, Alex Traugutt, an assistant professor of sport management, has helped guide her through the process.

“He immediately said, ‘This is going to be a partnership. We’re going to take steps together. We’re going to figure this out together. I’m not just going to throw you into everything,’” said Weaver. “That’s been really helpful in the learning process.”

Twenty-six students participated in Phoenix Summer, held July 6-17 on ������Ƶ’s campus, where they immersed themselves in hands-on, college-style academics while fostering curiosity, community and independence.

“The transition from high school to college is one of the biggest milestones in a student’s life, and after working with first-year students for many years, I’ve learned that one of the most common things they say is ‘I wish I had known what to expect,’” said Theresa Higgins, academic coordinator for alternative start programs. “Phoenix Summer gives students the opportunity to experience college before they get here full time.”

Students lived in the residence halls, navigated campus, ate in the dining hall, learned from ������Ƶ faculty, connected with staff and explored the academic and social opportunities ������Ƶ has to offer.

Students selected two courses to take throughout the camp, including Order in the court!, An introduction to law and justice, taught by Shilanka Lewis, assistant professor of law; Chemistry in the kitchen, taught by Mary McManamy, associate teaching professor of chemistry; Exploring astronomical and poetic light, taught by Claudine Moreau, assistant teaching professor of physics; and Start-up Spring: concept to creation, taught by Elena Kennedy, associate professor of entrepreneurship and Dan Reis, assistant director of creative learning technologies.

“The Phoenix Summer faculty were truly the highlight of this pre-college experience,” Higgins said. “Their enthusiasm, passion and genuine engagement with their subject matter inspired students to see college as a place to explore their interests and discover new possibilities.”

Each day the students spent time learning and engaging in the classroom through a variety of hands-on lessons.

“The law class was my favorite part of the camp,” said Ava Hendricks, an eleventh grade student from Raleigh, North Carolina. “I have always been interested in law and what we have been doing in the class to prepare for a mock trial has been so cool. Phoenix Summer gave me the opportunity to picture college. I would never have known what college would be like without this possibility.”

During the day, students participated in their courses, while evenings and weekends were filled with social events, activities, several off-campus excursions and signature ������Ƶ experiences to help students build community. Activities students participated in included a trivia night, human bingo, s’more making, karaoke, a water balloon fight and a sip and paint.

“My favorite parts of the camp were meeting new people, living in a dorm and attending the classes,” said Sienna Rohan, a twelfth grade student from Greensboro, Georgia. “It’s been nice meeting new people, and I’ve learned a lot about ������Ƶ.”

Higgins’ hope is that students left the camp with not only a greater appreciation for ������Ƶ, but also a renewed excitement about the possibilities that lie ahead as the students transition from high school to college.

“The primary goal of Phoenix Summer is to provide high school students with an authentic college experience that builds confidence, independence and a sense of belonging before they begin their college journey,” Higgins said. “The most exciting part of the camp was watching the students truly thrive in the experiences we intentionally designed for them.

“I watched them blossom from students who arrived on the first day feeling nervous and uncertain about what to expect into confident, engaged learners — and, in the case of our Order in the Court students, budding lawyers in training. I hope they leave believing in themselves. Whether they ultimately choose ������Ƶ or another institution, I hope ������Ƶ will always hold a special place in their hearts as the place where they first experienced college and began to see themselves as future college students.”

For more information about Phoenix Summer and information about future camps, contact Theresa Higgins, academic coordinator for alternative start programs, at thiggings7@elon.edu.

The Love School of Business is one of 208 schools included on the unranked annual list, which is based on surveys of business school administrators and MBA students.

The program earned its for faculty teaching and availability. Students gave ������Ƶ a 97 for the quality of its professors as teachers and a 96 for faculty accessibility outside the classroom.

“Our faculty set a high standard for teaching while remaining deeply invested in each student’s success,” said Haya Ajjan, dean of the Love School of Business. “They bring strong academic and professional experience into the classroom, challenge students to grow and make themselves available beyond class. That combination is central to the ������Ƶ MBA experience.”

The Princeton Review selected the programs using data collected in 2025–26 from administrators at 245 schools offering on-campus MBA programs and more than 24,250 students. More than 60 data points were considered, including academics, faculty, career services, technology, campus life and student satisfaction.

The Princeton Review’s of the Love School of Business highlights the MBA program’s flexible format, small class sizes and supportive environment. Students surveyed for the profile praised the program’s leadership focus, accessible professors and options for working professionals.

Students also noted that professors are willing to meet outside class and bring professional experience into their courses.

About the MBA program

The Master of Business Administration program is designed for professionals who want to strengthen their business knowledge and leadership skills while continuing to work.

The program offers full- and part-time options, small classes and close access to faculty. Students also receive advising and career support throughout the program.

Applications are reviewed throughout the year for fall, winter and spring enrollment.

The case, “” focuses on Grupo Los Danzantes as the company considers whether to launch a lower-cost mezcal line to remain competitive in an increasingly crowded global spirits market.

The proposed line, Encantado, could help the company reach broader international audiences and respond to distributor needs. But the move also raises questions about whether expansion could weaken the brand’s artisanal identity, cultural mission and long-standing relationships with producers.

The case asks students to weigh the strategic, operational and cultural trade-offs of growth within a mission-centered organization. Students must consider whether Destileria Los Danzantes should pursue category expansion or preserve its differentiated identity amid industry pressures.

The case was published by Harvard Business School through Harvard Business Publishing with co-authors James Riley and David G. Fubini at Harvard Business School and Bernal Cortes.

Harvard Business Publishing case studies are used by business educators to bring real-world decision-making into undergraduate, MBA and executive education programs.

Cerecedo Lopez joined ������Ƶ in Fall 2024. Lopez’s teaching and research focus on organizational theory, entrepreneurship and strategy, with particular interest in how individuals make decisions under uncertainty.

The research, “” looks at how perceptions of inclusion and acceptance in residential communities carry into the workplace.

Using survey responses from 151 employees at a U.S.-based manufacturing company, the researchers found that employees who viewed their communities as more inclusive reported greater psychological safety at work. That sense of psychological safety not only inspires the confidence to express the one’s true self at work but is also linked to a stronger intent to stay with their organization.

Key findings:

• Community experiences carry into the workplace. Employees who perceived their communities as more inclusive reported greater psychological safety at work.
• Psychological safety is linked to retention. Employees who felt psychologically safe reported stronger intent to stay.
• Support from inclusive communities may also help when workplaces are perceived as less supportive. The connection between community inclusion and psychological safety was strongest among employees who viewed their organization’s diversity climate as less supportive.

The research is also part of discussions in Singh’s Organizational Behavior and DEI courses at ������Ƶ.

“It serves as a great way to help students understand that employees’ perceptions regarding organizational culture and inclusion are not confined to the workplace alone but are shaped by larger societal contexts,” Singh said. “I incorporate these discussions in my classroom to encourage students to think about how leaders can create psychologically safe environments and how organizations can engage with communities to support inclusion and employee retention.”

The study was co-authored with Sarthak Singh of Sheldon B. Lubar College of Business at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and T.T. Selvarajan of the College of Business and Economics at California State University, East Bay and published in Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal.

Singh, who joined ������Ƶ in 2017, teaches courses in organizational behavior, human resource management and business ethics. His research has appeared in leading journals, including the Journal of Organizational Behavior, the Journal of Business Ethics and Human Resource Management.

The co-authored article, “,” looks at entrepreneurship beyond traditional business measures such as profit, growth and market opportunity.

It asks how religious beliefs and practices may shape the way entrepreneurs understand risk, make decisions, build organizations and define success. The research also considers how entrepreneurship may affect religious organizations and communities, making the relationship more complex than religion simply influencing business.

Key Highlights:

• Religion may shape entrepreneurship at multiple points, from how entrepreneurs recognize opportunities and judge risk to how they seek funding, respond to uncertainty and define success.
• Different religious traditions and practices may influence entrepreneurs in different ways. The article notes research connected to Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Judaism and other traditions, while cautioning that religion should not be treated as one single influence. Religious practice can also vary within the same religion.
• The article introduces a framework showing how religious beliefs and practices may overlap with entrepreneurial thinking and action. Religious beliefs may shape how entrepreneurs think about opportunity, while religious practices may shape how they build relationships, access resources or run organizations.
• The relationship may work both ways. Religion may shape entrepreneurship, but entrepreneurship may also shape religious organizations, practices and communities.
• Future research could look more closely at how religious entrepreneurs measure success beyond profit, including financial, social, psychological and spiritual outcomes.

“This research helps students think more carefully about how religion and faith can shape entrepreneurs’ motivations, decisions, relationships and definitions of success,” said Cerecedo Lopez. “That is especially relevant for students in the inaugural Love School of Business Summer Business Institute, who are serving as consultants for Hustle USA, a non-denominational, faith-based entrepreneurial support organization launching in Charlotte.”

The article was published in Entrepreneurship & Regional Development with co-authors Chris Welter and Brett Smith at Miami University Ohio, Amanda Lawson at the University of Cincinnati and David Townsend at Virginia Tech.

Cerecedo Lopez joined ������Ƶ in Fall 2024. Lopez’s teaching and research focus on organizational theory, entrepreneurship and strategy, with particular interest in how individuals make decisions under uncertainty.

That question brought together students, professionals, community members and local government leaders for the Charlotte Decision Challenge, hosted through ������Ƶ’s Master of Science in Business Analytics Flex program in partnership with the City of Charlotte.

Guided throughout the day by Lakeisha Vance, assistant teaching professor of business analytics, and Vinayaka Gude, assistant professor of business analytics, participants worked in teams using real data and a custom analytics platform to explore potential impacts along the proposed Red Line corridor and develop recommendations aimed at supporting businesses and communities as growth continues across the region.

“One of the strengths of the MSBA Flex program is the opportunity to bring together industry partners, community leaders and learners from a variety of backgrounds to tackle real challenges,” said Mark Kurt, associate dean of curriculum and academic programming at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. “Partnerships like this allow us to apply analytics in ways that extend beyond the classroom and support the communities we serve.”

For city leaders, the challenge offered an opportunity to bring new voices into conversations that will help shape Charlotte’s future.

“As city leaders, we have to constantly ask ourselves who’s not here and who’s impacted by the decisions we’re making,” said Charlitta Hatch, deputy chief information officer and chief data and analytics officer for the City of Charlotte. “Bringing students, professionals and community members into that process helps us see challenges from new perspectives.”

Between July 2024 and July 2025, Charlotte added more residents than any other city in the nation.  Transportation infrastructure will play an important role in supporting that growth. As city leaders look toward future transit investments, they are also looking closely at lessons learned from previous transit projects and how those experiences can inform future decisions.

The proposed Red Line will bring commuter rail service to communities north of Charlotte, including Huntersville, Cornelius and Davidson. Throughout the challenge, participants looked to experiences from Charlotte’s existing Blue Line light rail system and explored themes including business ownership, entrepreneurship and economic mobility.

For Jackie Tynan, data analytics manager for the City of Charlotte, that combination of perspectives is exactly what makes partnerships like this valuable.

“The students here today are a different generation than those in leadership making the decisions,” Tynan said. “By including the voices of our future in the decisions, we can build stronger outcomes that reflect what matters most to them and better prepare them for what’s ahead. ”

Hatch described universities as “community think tanks” and emphasized the value of collaboration between higher education and local government.

“The partnerships are critical because we are limited in what we know and what we can do,” Hatch said. “The breadth that you have, from researchers to practitioners to emerging talent, really helps us make sure we are recommending the best solutions for our community.”

By the end of the event, participants had transformed publicly available data into recommendations for one of Charlotte’s most important future infrastructure projects, demonstrating the role collaboration can play in shaping stronger communities.

“It makes me hopeful about what a larger group can do over a longer period of time,” Tynan said.

Sarah Bunnell, director of ������Ƶ’s Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and associate professor of psychology, and George Talbert, assistant professor of marketing and sales, co-presented “The Power of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Individual and Institutional Transformation, in Business Schools and Beyond.” The online session marked the group’s second community event and drew educators from across Europe and beyond.

Bunnell opened by tracing SoTL’s roots to Ernest Boyer’s influential 1990 framework, which expanded the definition of scholarship to include systematic study of student learning. She then expanded on the field’s history to include later contributions from scholars like ������Ƶ’s Peter Felten, assistant provost for teaching and learning, executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, and professor of history, whose work has helped establish public dissemination, peer review and collaboration as foundational principles of SoTL practice.

Talbert then offered a personal lens, reflecting on his own transition from a senior marketing and sales career into higher education and how engaging with SoTL has reshaped his approach to teaching and student learning. Rather than focusing solely on content delivery and student satisfaction, he described moving toward deeper questions about how students’ thinking develops and whether his teaching approaches achieve their intended learning outcomes. This personal insight was highlighted by event organizers as a “”, and its accessibility to faculty across disciplines, not just educational researchers.

Bunnell and Talbert’s work is an example of meaningful collaboration between faculty across disciplines who center student learning, professional growth, and development of one’s teaching practice within their work. Their session is a meaningful contribution to the growing international dialogue about SoTL’s role in higher education, which ������Ƶ is increasingly recognized as leading. The invitation for the keynote reflects the continued recognition of ������Ƶ’s leadership in undergraduate teaching and educational development on the global stage. Following the session, Bunnell and Talbert were invited to remain engaged with the international SoTL community, with plans to continue building on the conversation in future collaborations.

To kick off the summer, Beyond 12 welcomed 50 rising sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students to ������Ƶ for a hands-on exploration of career pathways and interests. Throughout two days, students traveled across campus, participated in interactive learning experiences, and engaged with ������Ƶ faculty, staff, and community members representing a variety of professional fields.

Each session offered a unique learning experience for the students. During an introduction to cinema and television arts led by Bryan Baker, director of technology, operations and multimedia projects in the School of Communications, students explored the university’s live television studio and viewed student made productions. Participants also gained hands-on experience such as with ������Ƶ’s Interprofessional Simulation Center, where Nita Skillman, director of the ISC, and Bethany Fearnow, simulation coordinator, introduced students to using healthcare simulation technology. In addition to exploring careers, students were able to observe different facilities on ������Ƶ’s campus. During a sports management session led by Jenn Strawley, director of athletics, participants stepped into the world of collegiate athletics with a visit to the Schar Center, where they got a behind the scenes look at ������Ƶ Athletics.

“Spending time with the Beyond 12 program was such a rewarding experience. I appreciated their curiosity and loved their questions,” said Strawley. “I hope that hearing about my journey and learning about career pathways in college athletics opened their minds to new possibilities and inspired them to continue to dream.”

Students also had the opportunity to engage in thoughtful conversations with presenters, asking questions, and gaining deeper insight into different fields.

“I spoke with the students about what finance, corporate finance, and investment really are, and I was genuinely surprised by how interested they were,” said Feng Dong, director of the Reed Finance Center. “Many asked great questions, and even the teachers were engaged. Beyond 12 gives students an early, hands-on look at fields they may not have considered, exactly the kind of exposure that can shape where they go next.”

The program had an equally meaningful impact on the presenters involved. Dr. Janine A. Scott, founder of TriUnity Healthcare Inc., shared her story of overcoming adversity and creating positive change through her work in healthcare, and found herself thinking about the impact of programs such as Beyond 12.

“I really enjoyed myself during my interaction with both the students and staff,” Scott said. “Just hearing what they were doing prior to coming to our session made me wish I was a student again and able to participate.”

Through experiences like these, Beyond 12 is helping students recognize a wide range of opportunities within their reach.

“I remarked to someone that I wish I had the opportunity to attend a program like this back in my day. I truly believe that exposure and representation matters, and that is exactly what these students gained from being part of the Beyond 12 program,” said Scott.

Following the summer session, participating students from Turrentine Middle School and Broadview Middle School will attend monthly Beyond 12 sessions throughout the academic year, where they will continue to focus on career readiness and developing essential life skills. Beyond 12 programming is made possible through the generous support of NC Glaxo Smith Kline.

Alongside this infographic, these stories highlight some of the positive impact across campus through community partnerships during the past academic year:

• ������Ƶ receives Carnegie classification for community engagement
• ������Ƶ recognized for advancing nonpartisan student civic engagement
• ������Ƶ creates community through Special Olympics and ������Ƶ Athletics partnership
• Turning service into impact: How an ������Ƶ alumna is bringing Alamance County together
• Literary Journalism class engages Town of ������Ƶ mayor in civic dialogue
• Writing for Impact students secure funding for local nonprofit
• Showing up, growing together: Inside KING/PINK Academy’s power of mentorship
• Students reflect on service, community and connection during Fall Break
• New HealthEU course encourages students to go ‘beyond the ������Ƶ bubble’
• ������Ƶ empowers staff to make an impact in the community through paid volunteer leave