Senior Scholars at Queens

Royal Easter Egg Hunt 2025
2025-03-29 10:00 - 12:00 (America/New_York) | Levine Center for Wellness and Recreation, 2201 Wellesley Avenue, Charlotte, NC, 28274, United States
Join us for the 27th Annual Easter Egg Hunt!
Face painting, photos with the Easter Bunny and Rex will be available at 9:30 a.m. and the hunt will begin promptly at 10:00 a.m.

Please fill out your contact information for the event and enter in the number of total people who will be attending.
Levine Center for Wellness and Recreation
South Lawn 2201 Wellesley Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28274
United States

Distinguished Leaders in Action: Rick Schnall
2025-04-03 18:00 - 19:00 | Sykes Learning Center, Ketner Auditorium, 1900 Selwyn Ave, Charlotte, 28274, United States
Join us for the Distinguished Leaders in Action Lecture Series featuring Rick Schnall, Co-Chairman & Governor of the Charlotte Hornets and Hornets Sports & Entertainment.
The Peter and Kathy Browning Leaders in Action Lecture Series provides the McColl School of Business and Queens University’s campus community an opportunity to interact with and be exposed to a variety of leaders with varying leadership styles and experiences.
The lecture begins at 6:00 p.m. and a networking reception will immediately follow.

American Foreign Policy in the Middle East with Dr. Harry Chernotsky
2025-04-04 10:00 - 11:00 | Hybrid: In-Person at PUMC & via Zoom, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28211, United States
GREAT DECISIONS TOPIC: American Foreign Policy in the Middle East
SPEAKER: Dr. Harry Chernotsky, Professor Emeritus Global Studies, UNC Charlotte
This presentation – part of the Great Decisions 2025 program -will address the continuing search for peace in the Middle East, as the region looks to move beyond the events of October 7 and confronts the realities of an uncertain future. We will review the latest developments impacting the region’s many trouble spots and will examine the changing posture of the United States under the Trump administration.

BIOGRAPHY
Harry I. Chernotsky is Professor Emeritus in Global Studies, retiring after 43 years on the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He served as the founding chair of the Department of Global Studies from 2009-2016 after spending 30 years in the university’s Department of Political Science. Previous positions included Director of International Studies and Interim Associate Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. He is the recipient of UNC Charlotte’s Bank of America Teaching Excellence Award and its International Education Faculty Award.
Chernotsky received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Rutgers University. He specializes in international political economy and American foreign policy and has published in a wide range of professional journals. He is most proud of his work (with Heidi Hobbs) – Crossing Borders: International Studies for the 21st Century (4rd edition, 2022) – one of the first textbooks providing an interdisciplinary perspective on the field.
Throughout his career, Chernotsky was a leader in international studies education. He spearheaded numerous initiatives at UNC Charlotte, including the development of the Model United Nations program and the interdisciplinary International Studies major. He was Director of the North Carolina Great Decisions public affairs series and still lectures widely on international affairs and U.S. foreign policy. He also served as President of the Southern region of the International Studies Association (ISA) and as Chair of ISA’s International Education section. He worked for many years with the University of Cantabria (Spain) on its global studies certificate program and was Scholar in Residence at Florida Atlantic University’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, where he continues lecture each year.

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

Field Trip: Duke Mansion Tour
2025-04-07 10:00 - 12:00 | Duke Mansion, 400 Hermitage Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28207
DATE: April 7, 2025
TIME: 10 am
COST: $10 donation, optional
ADDRESS: 400 Hermitage Road, Charlotte, NC 28207
CARPOOLING: Because parking is limited, carpooling is encouraged. Meet in the lower lot of Providence United Methodist Church at 9:40. Please let us know if you will be carpooling.
Tour the inside of the mansion & hear the history. The gardener will also give a tour of the gardens.
Wear good walking shoes.
The tour is free but a suggested $10 donation to the Duke Mansion would be much appreciated. Bring your donation with you that morning.
Sign up deadline is April 1. Please let us know you’re coming, click the RSVP button and fill out the form.
Duke Mansion

Curriculum Committee Meeting - April 9
2025-04-09 13:15 - 14:00 | Zoom Registration Required
Curriculum Committee Meetings are open to Membership.
Join our monthly Curriculum Committee meetings, via Zoom, to hear about upcoming speakers/events or to suggest speakers you know (or have heard speak) and believe would be of interest to your fellow Senior Scholars.
These meetings are always held on the Zoom platform.

New Member Orientation - April 11
2025-04-11 09:00 - 09:30 | Providence United Methodist Church (PUMC) – Wolfe Hall, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28211
All members old and new are invited to attend our New Member Orientation meeting in person.
Learn more about the organization including how to meet people, join events and how you can help the organization – the best way to meet new people!
In person meeting, in Room 106 in PUMC.
Click the RSVP button for an email to tell us you’re coming!

Update on Mecklenburg County Initiatives with Dena Diorio
2025-04-11 10:00 - 11:00 | Hybrid: In-Person at PUMC & via Zoom, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28211, United States
TOPIC: Update on Mecklenburg County Initiatives
SPEAKER: Dena Diorio, Mecklenburg County Manager
Dena will provide an update on County projects and initiatives and answer questions.

BIOGRAPHY
Dena Diorio has been a leader in public administration since 1988. After graduate school Dena started what would be a ten-year stint with the City of New York, eight of which were in the Mayor’s Office. Serving under three different Mayors, Dena started as a financial analyst in the Departments of Sanitation and General Services where she provided financial support to various operating divisions. In 1990, she was appointed a supervising analyst at the Mayor’s Office of Operations where she rose to the level of Deputy Director in only five years. In 1995, she was appointed the Director of City Legislative Affairs and served as the Mayor’s lobbyist to the City Council. In that role she is credited with facilitating the passage of over 100 local laws included in the Mayor’s legislative agenda.
In 1998, Dena was appointed the inaugural Director of the Office of Policy and Management for the City of Stamford, Connecticut. She established a strong budget and auditing department that improved efficiency and accountability. In 2002, Dena moved to the City of Danbury, Connecticut where she served as the Director of Finance and Human Resources.
Dena joined Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in 2007 as Director of the Department of Financial Services. She is recognized for guiding the County through the fiscal crisis and implementing policies that significantly improved the financial position of the County. In 2013, she was promoted to Assistant County Manager and in 2014 was selected as the first woman to serve as County Manager for Mecklenburg County. As County Manager Dena serves as the CEO of the organization and is responsible for a workforce of 6,000 employees and an annual operating budget of $2 billion.
In her role as County Manager, Dena serves on a variety of boards including Charlotte Center City Partners, the Charlotte Sports Foundation, the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance, Blumenthal Performing Arts, and United Way of Central Carolinas.
Dena has been recognized for her leadership by many organizations. In 2015, she was named Public Policy Leader of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners, and in 2016, she received the Leadership in Action award by Career Mastered. In 2018 she was named one of the 50 Most Influential Women by the Mecklenburg Times, and in 2019 a Most Admired CEO by the Charlotte Business Journal. In 2020, Dena was chosen as the Businesswoman of the Year by Queens University, the first woman from the public sector to receive the honor. In 2021, she was awarded the Excellence in Leadership Award from the Centralina Regional Council, received a Woman in American History Award from the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Pegasus Award from the Public Relations Society of America, which honors someone from outside the public relations profession for embracing the strategic use of communications. In 2023, she was awarded the Whitney M. Young award by the Urban League of Central Carolinas that honors those that have made significant impacts in the black community.
Dena earned her bachelor’s degree in social services from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. She earned a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University.
Dena lives with her husband Phil in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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

Field Trip: Carolina Raptor Center
2025-04-15 10:00 - 12:00 | Carolina Raptor Center, 6000 Sample Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28078, United States
DATE: April 15, 2025
TIME: 10 am
COST: $14/person
ADDRESS: 6000 Sample Rd., Huntersville, NC 28078
CARPOOLING: Because parking is limited, carpooling is encouraged. Meet in the lower lot of Providence United Methodist Church at 9:40. Please let us know if you will be carpooling in the registration form.
The ¾ mile Raptor Zoo Trail is a self-guided tour highlighting raptors. There are 30 different types of birds located along the trail with educational placards and docents available to answer questions. There is also a new Quest Nature Center and picnic area located on the grounds. Take advantage of the of the spring weather and the opportunity to visit with fellow Senior Scholars, so bring a lunch and enjoy the day!
The $14 per person fee must be paid to Senior Scholars by end of business April 10.
Contact Pam Nemecek with questions.
Use the RSVP button to access a form to sign up and purchase your ticket.

Fluid Geopolitics of South Asia with Parag Jyoti Saikia
2025-04-18 10:00 - 11:00 | Zoom Only
GREAT DECISIONS TOPIC: Fluid Geopolitics of South Asia: Challenges and Opportunities
SPEAKER: Parag Jyoti Saikia, Doctoral Candidate, Department of Anthropology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
India is at a volatile crossroads in South Asia. In summer 2024, India lost one of its close allies as student uprising deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Towards the end of 2024, China announced to build new dams on rivers originating from Tibet, threatening India’s efforts to build similar dams downstream. Such tensions are not new in international relations, India’s reaction to China’s growing financial and infrastructural influence in South Asia has been closely observed. Drawing from scholarship on Indo-China relations and personal experience of growing up in a frontier area, my talk will discuss India’s challenges and opportunities to becomes a regional and global leader.

BIOGRAPHY
Parag Jyoti Saikia is studying the construction of a hydropower dam in India to understand how infrastructures in-the-making shape everyday life, the environment, and geopolitics. He is a doctoral candidate in anthropology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (UNC). His research is supported by the Wenner-Gren Foundation, Social Science Research Council and UNC’s Graduate School. He is a public-engaged scholar who has also been awarded to Public Scholar’s Training Fellowship from SAPIENS magazine. For nearly a decade, he has been associated with grassroots organizations working on dams, rivers, and the environment, and been writing about these issues both in English and Assamese, his mother tongue. His writings have appeared on The Conversation, SAPIENS, South Asia blog of London School of Economics, The Wire, and Asia Times.

NOTE: This meeting will be Zoom only. There will be no in-person meeting due to Good Friday and PUMC being closed.

Update on Queens University with Dr. Sarah Fatherly
2025-04-25 10:00 - 11:00 | PUMC – Wolfe Hall, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28211, United States
TOPIC: Update on Queens University
SPEAKER: Dr. Sarah Fatherly, Chief Academic Officer for Queens University of Charlotte
Learn about what has been happening at Queens over the 2024-2025 year.

BIOGRAPHY
Sarah Fatherly is the chief academic officer for Queens University of Charlotte, overseeing all academic programs and services. Having served in that role since 2017, Dr. Fatherly has almost two decades of experience in academic administration.
She joined the Queens community in 2012 as associate provost and dean of university programs providing a renewed focus to undergraduate student success and retention. In addition to scholarship in her academic fields of study, Fatherly has published and presented widely on scaling high-impact practices, equity-minded curriculum innovation, faculty development practices, and campus partnerships for student success. She earned a B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College, an M.A., and a Ph.D. in United States History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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

Lunch Bunch: April 25
2025-04-25 12:00 - 14:00 | Brixx Wood Fired Pizza, 7814 Fairview Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28226, United States
We have booked Brixx Pizza, for Friday, April 25, 11:45 a.m.
Located in the Foxcroft East Shopping Center.
Limited space available! Please sign up by 4/22/2025.
If you register and find you can’t attend, please email LunchBunch@SeniorScholars.net so that we can offer your seat to another member.
Brixx Wood Fired Pizza + Craft Bar
7814 Fairview Rd
Charlotte, NC 28226
704-295-0707

Wildacres Spring 2025 Retreat / April 28 - May 1, 2025
2025-04-28 08:00 - 2025-05-01 17:00 | Wildacres Retreat, 1565 Wildacres Road, Little Switzerland, NC, 28749, United States
Wildacres 2025: April 28 – May 1, 2025

Enjoy 3 nights in a Blue Ridge Parkway Mountaintop Resort with 75 of your Senior Scholar friends!
Speaker Meg Johnson, Music Therapy
Speaker Joe Kendrick, Music Impacts on Society
Waterfalls, hiking paths, fresh air, local entertainers, 8 home-style, all-you-can-eat meals!

All this for only $305/double occupancy.
Reservations now open. Hurry, it will fill up fast!
Details Here

Wildacres 2025 Speaker Meg Johnson: Music Therapy
2025-04-28 10:00 - 11:00 | Wildacres Retreat, 1565 Wildacres Road, Little Switzerland, NC, 28749, United States
Senior Scholars annual Wildacres retreat is scheduled for April 28-May 1, 2025. For full details and to register for this event, please go to the Wildacres page.
TOPIC: Music Therapy: The science, the singing and everything in between.
SPEAKER: Meg Johnson, Music Therapy Program Director and Clinical Coordinator, Queens University
The presentation will provide an overview of the field of music therapy: the academic foundations, the education of students and therapists, the places we work and how we do what we do.

BIOGRAPHY
Meg Stanley Johnson has extensive clinical experience with a variety of client populations including child, adolescent and adult psychiatric settings, memory care groups, and children and adults with neurodevelopmental disabilities in both individual and group settings. Her current clinical focus is with young adults with autism who have limited verbal skills and a history of aggression.
She is the music therapy program director and clinical coordinator at Queens in addition to teaching in the music therapy and general education programs.
Education

M.M., Neurologic Music Therapy, Colorado State University
B.M., Music Therapy, Queens College, Charlotte, NC
B.A., Psychology, Queens College, Charlotte, NC
Bi www.musictherapy.org
www.ncmusictherapy.org
www.cbmt.org

Wildacres 2025 Speaker Joe Kendrick: How Music Impacts Society
2025-04-29 10:00 - 11:30 | Wildacres Retreat, 1565 Wildacres Road, Little Switzerland, NC, 28749, United States
Senior Scholars annual Wildacres retreat is scheduled for April 28-May 1, 2025. For full details and to register for this event, please go to the Wildacres page.
TOPIC: Songs of Solidarity, Songs of Protest, Songs of Hope Amidst Struggle: A Brief Survey of the Impact of Music on the Radio for Social Movements
SPEAKER: Joe Kendrick, Director of Programming and Operations Manager, WNCW
An overview of songs, artists, genres and eras of music on radio that reflect and have impacted various social movements in America.

BIOGRAPHY
Public radio programmer, music host, writer, podcaster, college instructor, public speaker, event producer
My role is to envision and develop the sound and image of WNCW, create original programming and manage round the clock operations. I recruit, develop and manage our programming staff. Also I host and produce weekly music shows and a bi-weekly podcast, Southern Songs and Stories. I represent WNCW in person as well as virtually worldwide to donors and industry partners. Additionally, I am part of the team that produces the annual Earl Scruggs Music Festival in Tryon, NC.
Joe Kendrick profile

The Levine JCC's Butterfly Project with Lori Semel
2025-05-02 10:00 - 11:00 | PUMC – Wolfe Hall, 2810 Providence Rd, Charlotte, NC, 28211, United States
TOPIC: The Levine JCC’s Butterfly Project with Lori Semel
SPEAKER: Lori Semel, Butterfly Project Coordinator
The Butterfly Project was developed as a call to action through education, the arts, and memorial making, which uses the lessons of the Holocaust to educate about the dangers of hatred and bigotry and cultivates empathy and social responsibility.
Participants paint ceramic butterflies that are displayed as symbols of resilience and hope, with the goal of creating 1.5 million butterflies around the world—one for each child who perished during the Holocaust, and honoring the survivors.

BIOGRAPHY
Lori graduated from East Carolina University. She taught middle school for 10 years, leaving to stay home with her two children. She began volunteering with the LJCC Butterfly Project in 2011, joined as staff shortly after and is now Coordinator.

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