Senior Scholars at Queens

Spring Luncheon - June 5
2026-06-05 11:30 - 14:00 (America/New_York) | Brewers at 4001 Yancey, 4001 Yancey, Charlotte, NC, 28217
SPRING LUNCHEON
Date: June 5, 2026
Time: 11:30 – 2:00 pm
Cost: $47/person
Place: Brewers at 4001 Yancey, 4001-A Yancey Rd. Charlotte, NC 28217. Private dining room with adjacent patio area.
Speaker: Sheri Lynch, radio personality, “The Bob and Sheri Show”
Topic: Anecdotes of 30+ years as an on-air radio personality
Buffet lunch includes:

Caesar salad
Grilled bistro steak and lemon herbed chicken
Whipped potatoes, rosemary vegetables and roasted brussels sprouts
Dessert,
Beverages: iced tea and water (coffee, soft drinks and cash bar available for extra charge).

Sign up at the Welcome/donut desk at Friday meetings starting April 10 until May 29.
$47.00 check to SS or cash.
Mail checks to:
Senior Scholars at Queens
1900 Selwyn Ave
MSC 1409
Charlotte, NC 28274
Checks must be recieved by Friday May 29.
For questions, contact Nancy Stancill at nancy.stancill@gmail.com

A New Future with Rachel Cusick
2026-09-11 10:00 - 11:00 | Hybrid: In-Person at PUMC & via Zoom, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28211, United States
TOPIC: A New Future, Discovery Place Nature Museum
SPEAKER: Rachel Cusick, Chief Advancement Officer, Discovery Place Museums
The upcoming new Charlotte Museum of Nature will feature an expanded layout integrated directly into the surrounding canopy and park space, including:

Native Wildlife Habitats: New custom enclosures for North American river otters, a frog bog, and an owl aviary.
Treetop Canopy Walk: An outdoor elevated trail system designed to take advantage of the park’s older forest setting.
Hands-on Naturalist Lab: Immersive indoor spaces designed for local ecosystem schooling and science exploration.
Saplings Zone: A dedicated, nature-inspired indoor play space built explicitly for early childhood discovery.
Public Plaza & Gardens: Free community spaces and gardens facing the Little Sugar Creek Greenway that do not require museum admission.

BIOGRAPHY
Coming soon.

NOTE: Attend in-person at PUMC, no registration required. Attend via Zoom, please register with the Zoom link above.

Immigration and Charlotte with Dr. Maggie Commins
2026-09-18 10:00 - 11:00 | Hybrid: In-Person at PUMC & via Zoom, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28211, United States
TOPIC: Immigration and Charlotte: What does it mean to be a “welcoming city?”
SPEAKER: Dr. Maggie Commins, Queens University of Charlotte
Charlotte’s population is growing and changing. We are often told that over 150 people move to the region every day.
What you may not have heard is that Charlotte attracts people from around the world. Almost one in five Charlotte Mecklenburg County residents was born in another country, four times the percentage in 1990.
This changing demography is transforming our city and challenging local governments to connect with and integrate people from many backgrounds. During the national celebration of “Welcoming Week” (September 10th – 19th), join us to explore what it means to be a “Welcoming City,” and whether the Queen City measures up.

BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Maggie Commins is the Shelton Professor of Political Science and chair of the Department of Political Science, International Studies, and Sociology at Queens University of Charlotte. Her research interests include U.S. immigration policy, municipal immigrant integration, U.S. policy toward Latin America, and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, with a focus on pedagogies that encourage students’ civic engagement.
In 2020 Queens honored Maggie with their Hunter-Hamilton Love of Teaching award. Modeling what she encourages in her students, Dr. Commins is actively involved in the Charlotte community. She serves on the Charlotte International Cabinet, an advisory board for the mayor and city council that focuses on promoting both international business and immigrant integration in the Queen City.
She is also a board member of the Latin American Coalition, the city’s oldest immigrant-serving nonprofit organization, and of the National Issues Forum Institute, a national nonprofit that promotes civic dialogue and engagement.

NOTE: Attend in-person at PUMC, no registration required. Attend via Zoom, please register with the Zoom link above.

Is Classical Music Irrelevant? with Conductor James Meena
2026-10-02 10:00 - 11:00 | Hybrid: In-Person at PUMC & via Zoom, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28211, United States
TOPIC: Is Classical Music Irrelevant?
SPEAKER: James Meena, Conductor; Founder & President, Charlotte Lyric Theatre
In this presentation, we posit that the preponderance of entertainment, immediate gratification on all levels, shortened attention spans have made classical music irrelevant to modern society.

BIOGRAPHY
Maestro James Meena is a musical entrepreneur. His 50year career in classical music has touched the world of the symphony orchestra, ballet, musical theater and opera.
Mo. Meena consistently earns critical acclaim for his artistic vision and dynamic presence on the podium. His guest conducting engagements have included the Washington Opera, the Pittsburgh Opera, L’Opera de Montreal, Michigan Opera Theater, Festivale Puccini Torre del Lago, Teatro del Giglio Lucca, Teatro Pavarotti Modena, Teatro Ravenna, Teatro Sociale Rovigo, the Arizona Opera, Edmonton Opera, the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul, South Korea, the National Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of China, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Cairo Philharmonic in Egypt, the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Memphis Symphony, the Toledo Symphony, the Orchestra of the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Sicily and the Orchestra Regionale Toscana in Florence, Italy. Recently, he led performances of Puccini’s Turandot in the historic Teatro Antica in Taromina Sicily and the Teatro Greco in Siracusa.
For more than a decade he was Resident Conductor of the Toledo Symphony, General Director of Toledo Opera and conductor for the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet. He concluded a 25-year tenure as General Director & Principal Conductor of Opera Carolina in Charlotte in May 2025, after which he founded the new Charlotte Lyric Theatre, an advanced mentorship program for emerging artists. Mo. Meena has conducted legendary singers James McCracken, Renee Fleming, Denyce Graves, Diana Soviero, Mignon Dunn, Marilyn Horne, Sherril Milnes, Jerome Hines, Carl Tanner, Jerry Hadley and Marcello Giordani.

NOTE: Attend in-person at PUMC, no registration required. Attend via Zoom, please register with the Zoom link above.

Learning from the Past with Pat McCrory
2026-10-30 10:00 - 11:00 | Hybrid: In-Person at PUMC & via Zoom, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28211, United States
TOPIC: Learning from the Past to Lead Better in the Future
SPEAKER: Pat McCrory, Former NC Governor and Charlotte Mayor
Leadership examples on major decisions made in Charlotte and NC.

BIOGRAPHY
Mayor of Charlotte: 1995-2009
Governor of NC: 2013-2017

NOTE: Attend in-person at PUMC, no registration required. Attend via Zoom, please register with the Zoom link above.

“Nazi” POWs in the Tar Heel State with Dr. Robert Billinger
2027-01-29 10:00 - 11:00 | Hybrid: In-Person at PUMC & via Zoom, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28211, United States
TOPIC: “Nazi” POWs in the Tar Heel State, 1942-1946
SPEAKER: Dr. Robert D. Billinger, Jr., Emeritus Professor of History, Wingate University
This presentation demonstrates the unique and lasting influence on North Carolinians and their 10,000 German POW “guests” of the POW presence in the state during World War II.
His thesis is that enemies were found to be human.
Main Points include: Uniforms concealed diversity and memories of disunity among the POWs themselves and increasingly good relations with Americans were most lasting in the minds of America’s wartime guests and their hosts.

BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Robert D. Billinger, Jr., is member of the Monroe Rotary Club and an emeritus professor of History at Wingate University. A native of Bethlehem, PA, he graduated from Lehigh University and has graduate degrees from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Vienna and has written three books: Metternich’s South German Policy; Hitler’s Soldiers in the Sunshine State, and Nazi POWs in the Tar Heel State.
See robertbillingerbooks.com for background and bibliography.

NOTE: Attend in-person at PUMC, no registration required. Attend via Zoom, please register with the Zoom link above.
