queens university of charlotte mfa creative writing

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Learn more about Queens University of Charlotte’s low-residency MFA program.

Write Your Path. Write Where You Are.

Choose from four concentrations—Fiction (including Young Adult), Creative Nonfiction; Poetry, and Writing for Stage & Screen—and complete your graduate degree in two years. The Queens MFA in Creative Writing has the flexibility that makes our program possible without interrupting your life.

Build your community of writers in a workshop format, or dig deep to break through blocks in a 1:1 tutorial setting. Queens University of Charlotte’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing allows you to customize your program with your program administrator.

You’ll be under the guidance of acclaimed writers such as:

Concentrate on Your Creativity

Choose Your Adventure: Workshop vs. Tutorial

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MFA in Creative Writing—Hone Your Craft

Stretch the creative boundaries of your mind–and your work–in a way you’ve never imagined with Queens University of Charlotte’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Here, you can write wherever you find inspiration. Our low-residency program offers two week-long residencies in Charlotte each year (or one two-week residency in Latin America). In between those residencies, you’ll complete your coursework remotely in both synchronous and asynchronous arrangements, depending on the course. You’ll build your skills in real-time under the guidance of our award-winning instructors like Ada Limón, the current Poet Laureate of the United States.

• Intensive residencies with award-winning instructors and fellow writers for two weeks a year
• A studio arts degree that focuses on practice and craft
• Immerse yourself in a lifelong community of supportive and inspiring writers
• Strengthen your network, reignite your creativity, and meet with agents and editors from NY and LA at the Annual Professional Development Weekend For Writers
• Gain editorial experience working on our literary magazine, Qu, or the Southern Review of Books
• Take advantage of our Book Development Program and work one-on-one on your book with a top New York editor
• Immerse yourself in the Latin American writing and culture through our international residencies
• Post-master's certificate also available
• Strengthen your critical skills in a workshop format
• Individualized attention with our 4:1 student-to-faculty ratio
• Discuss career aspirations and challenges in 1:1 tutorials
• Benefit from fresh eyes: work with a new instructor each term
• Choose your residency: Charlotte or Latin America
• Author of six books of poetry, including “The Carrying,” which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry.
• Her book “Bright Dead Things” was named a finalist for the National Book Award, a finalist for the Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
• Currently the Poet Laureate of the United States and a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellow.
• Author of three novels, including “The Department of Speculation,” named one of the 10 Best Books of 2014 by the New York Times, and shortlisted for the Pen/Faulkner Award and the L.A. Times Fiction Award.
• Co-editor of two anthologies: “The Friend Who Got Away” and “Money Changes Everything.”

It’s time to elevate your career and creativity. Fill out the form to learn more about Queens University of Charlotte’s Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing.

Our alumni have published 125 books in the last 5 years

70% of alumni have been published in magazines or journals

• Her play “Tin Cat Shoes” premiered in 2018 kicking off Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks (Playwrights Horizons Superlab).
• Executive producer on the off-beat comedy series “Driver Ed” which premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.
• She has been a resident at MacDowell, Yaddo, The Millay Colony, and SPACE at Ryder Farm.
• Her short film, “You Wouldn’t Understand,” (director/co-writer/producer) was an Official Selection at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, and her recent short, “A Significant Problem,” (director/EP) was part of Dances With Films 2022 and the Florida Film Festival.
• Winner of a Pulitzer Prize
• Author of five books of fiction and nonfiction, published in ten languages, including the New York Times bestseller “Deep Down Dark,” which was adapted into a feature film.
• Work appears in Best American Short Stories, L.A. Noir, The New Yorker, and The Los Angeles Times, and he is currently a contributing writer for the New York Times opinion pages.
• He is an associate professor at the University of California, Irvine.

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Queens University of Charlotte

North carolina, united states.

The Queens University MFA Program offers low-residency programs in Charlotte, North Carolina and in Latin America. The Charlotte program offers a one week residency on campus in January and May; our Latin America program offers a two week residency experience in July of each year rotating among Buenos Aires, Santiago, and Rio de Janeiro. In addition to rigorous academic components, the residencies in both programs offer both formal and informal contact between faculty and students.

In both programs, over the course of two years students focus on a specific genre—either fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, or writing for stage and screen. In addition to the residencies, each semester includes an online workshop (in the Charlotte program) where students share their writing with three or four other students and a faculty mentor for that semester, or tutorial (in the Latin American program), where students work one-on-one with the faculty mentor.

Students also engage in extensive reading for a series craft seminars at the upcoming residency, and, in the case of the Latin America program, cultural seminars tailored to the residency city. Over these four semesters of course work, students develop material for the thesis, a book-length manuscript of original work. At the end of two years, MFA candidates finish the program by returning to campus or the third Latin American city for a graduating residency, in which candidates present their theses, offer a public reading from their work, and lead their fellow students in a craft seminar that has been developed with a faculty advisor.

Support Beyond Graduation

Because all of the faculty and staff of the MFA program are also working writers, we understand that matriculation in an MFA program is only one phase in a writer's life, and a brief one at that. We also know that if an MFA program is about educating you on how to create your best art, there are sometimes a different set of skills required to share that art with a larger audience, sustain a productive writing life and stay in touch with a community of writers. With that in mind, we offer several different programs designed to develop the writer's career beyond the MFA. These include annual alumni gatherings, opportunities to workshop with agent and editors, and an innovative program which pairs a writer with a manuscript draft with an editor from a major publishing house.

Contact Information

MFA in Creative Writing 1900 Selwyn Avenue Charlotte North Carolina, United States 28274 Phone: (704) 337-2499 Email: [email protected] www.queens.edu/mfa

Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing +

Undergraduate program director, master of fine arts in creative writing +, graduate program director.

The paradoxical truth about writing is that it demands both solitude--the time and space to think and write--and community to sustain that work too. The low-residency MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte is expressly designed to meet both of those demands. A community of writers-in-residence and on-line, the Queens MFA program brings together experienced and emerging writers for intensive seven-day residencies on campus twice a year and connects students and teachers on-line throughout the rest of the year as they work on their writing in the privacy and comfort of their own homes. It is aimed at committed writers who want to hone their craft without uprooting their lives.

In keeping with Queens' long-standing commitment to excellence in teaching, the MFA program offers an intensely personalized course of study, with a student-teacher ratio that never exceeds four-to-one. This emphasis on teaching is embodied through daily one-on-one contact between instructors and students and through daily small group contact - with formal written comment on students' work--during the on-campus residencies and through continual Internet contact in the periods between residencies.

The focus of each semester is the writing workshop itself, which begins during the residency and continues on-line for the remainder of the semester. Under the direction of an accomplished faculty leader, each student must produce six submissions during the semester (two during the residency and four in the distance learning component of the semester) and must comment as well on the work that he or she receives from the two or three other students in the workshop. This on-line workshop is specifically designed to insure that all participants experience a sense of a larger writing community throughout the entire semester, not just during the residency.

During residencies, students also attend daily seminars. Craft Seminars focus on technical and aesthetic issues relevant to the student's genre, while Gateway Seminars cross genre lines to explore key issues of the writer's vocation, including "Reading as a Writer," "Literary Reviewing," "Shaping the Book," and "Teaching Creative Writing." At each May residency, all MFA students participate in a Core Seminar that investigates the broader cultural contexts of creative writing, including basic tenets of contemporary literary theory and the role of the writer in a culture of images.

Each residency also features panel presentations on professional issues, such as submitting work for publication and preparing book proposals.

Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing - Latin America +

We are pleased to announce Queens' latest opportunity for writers seeking to further develop their craft while being immersed in, and inspired, by the multifaceted culture of Latin America.

Each academic year of this two year low-residency program begins with an annual 15-day residency abroad, rotating annually among Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago. In addition to the program's creative writing curriculum in fiction, young adult, creative nonfiction, and poetry, these residencies include a cultural curriculum specific to each city.

The residencies are followed by two consecutive semesters of distance learning. The program ends with a third and final graduating residency.

We offer study in five genres: fiction, young adult, creative nonfiction, poetry and writing for stage and screen.

Website: http://www.queens.edu/Academics-and-Schools/Schools-and-Colleges/College-of-Arts-and-Sciences/Academic-Departments/MFA---Creative-Writing-Program/Creative-Writing---Latin-America.html

Mary Gaitskill (Fiction)

Mary Gaitskill is the author of the novels “Two Girls, Fat and Thin” and “Veronica,” as well as the story collections “Bad Behavior,” “Because They Wanted To” and “Don't Cry.” Her story “Secretary” was the basis for the feature film of the same name. Her stories and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, Harper’s, Granta, Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Prize Stories. In 2002 she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for fiction.

Francisco Goldman (Fiction/Creative Nonfiction)

Francisco Goldman has published four novels and one book of non-fiction. His most recent novel is Say Her Name, published in April 2011. His books have been published in 16 languages. The Long Night of White Chickens won the American Academy’s Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction; his other novels have been finalists for several prizes, including The Pen/Faulkner and The International IMPAC Dublin literary award.

Manuel Gonzalez (Fiction)

Manuel Gonzales is the author of THE MINIATURE WIFE AND OTHER STORIES published by Riverhead Books and the forthcoming novel, THE REGIONAL OFFICE IS UNDER ATTACK!, also to be published by Riverhead Books. He has published fiction and nonfiction in Esquire, The Believer, McSweeney's, Guernica, Virginia Quarterly Review, and One Story Magazine.

Ada Limón (Poetry)

Ada Limón is the author of three collections of poetry. Her most recent book Sharks in the Rivers (Milkweed Editions, 2010) was named one of the top 30 books of 2010 by Coldfront Magazine. Her second collection This Big Fake World was the winner of the 2005 Pearl Poetry Prize, while her first collection Lucky Wreck, was selected by Jean Valentine as the winner of the 2005 Autumn House Poetry Prize. Her work has appeared in numerous magazines and journals including, Harvard Review, TriQuarterly Online, Poetry Daily, and The New Yorker. She has received fellowships from the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and won the Chicago Literary Award for Poetry.

Orlando Menes (Poetry)

Orlando Menes was born in Lima, Perú, to Cuban parents but has lived most of his life in the U.S. Since 2000 he has taught in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Notre Dame, where he currently directs the Creative Writing Program. His third poetry collection, Fetish, won the 2012 Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry and will be published by the University of Nebraska Press in Fall 2013. He is also the author of Furia (Milkweed, 2005) and Rumba atop the Stones (Peepal Tree, 2001).

Héctor Tobar (Fiction, Nonfiction)

Hector Tobar is a Los Angeles born novelist and journalist. He is the author of three books. Most recently, The Barbarian Nurseries, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and named a New York Times Notable Book in 2011 and won the California Book Award Gold Medal for Fiction.He was also part of the reporting team that won a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1992 L.A. riots.He is the author of Translation Nation: Defining a New American Identity in the Spanish-Speaking United States (Riverhead Books) and The Tattooed Soldier, a novel (Penguin). His next book is a work of literary non-fiction about 33 trapped Chilean miners: it's scheduled to be published in 2014 by FSG.

Fred Leebron (Program Director, MFA)

Fred Leebron directs the MFA in Creative Writing program at Queens. He also is a professor of English at Gettysburg College, and a former director of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. His novels include "Six Figures," "In the Middle of All This" and "Out West." He has received a Pushcart Prize, a Michener Award, a Stegner Fellowship, and an O. Henry Award. He is co-editor of "Postmodern American Fiction: A Norton Anthology" and co-author of "Creating Fiction: A Writer’s Companion."

Morri Creech (Poetry)

Morri Creech is the author of three collections of poetry, Paper Cathedrals (Kent State U P, 2001), Field Knowledge (Waywiser, 2006), which received the Anthony Hecht Poetry prize and was nominated for both the Los Angeles Times Book Award and the Poet’s Prize, and The Sleep of Reason (Waywiser 2013), which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. A recipient of NEA and Ruth Lilly Fellowships, as well as grants from the North Carolina and Louisana Arts councils, he is the Writer in Residence at Queens University of Charlotte, where he teaches courses in both the undergraduate creative writing program and in the low residency M.F.A. program.

http://www.morricreech.com

Publications & Presses +

Qu: A Literary Magazine

Reading Series +

MFA Faculty Reading Series ( www.queens.edu/mfa )

English Department Reading Series ( www.queens.edu/mfa )

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MFA Program

Faculty for the U.S. track of the program:

Poetry : Cathy Smith Bowers, Morri Creech, Bob Hicok, Marcus Jackson, Ada Limón, Rebecca Lindenberg, Rebecca McClanahan, James McKean, Orlando Menes, Jon Pineda, Robert Polito, Claudia Rankine, Jeffrey Thomson Fiction : Ann Cummins, Jonathan Dee, Elizabeth Evans, Elizabeth Gaffney, Myla Goldberg, Zachary Lazar, Fred Leebron, Daniel Mueller, Naeem Murr, Jenny Offill, David Payne, Susan Perabo, Patricia Powell, Steven Rinehart, Elias Rodriques, Elissa Schappell, Dana Spiotta, Maxine Swann, Ashley Warlick Nonfiction : Kristin Dombek, Emily Fox Gordon, Rebecca McClanahan, James McKean, Rebecca McClanahan, Jon Pineda, Robert Polito,  Writing for Stage and Screen : Hal Ackerman, Khris Baxter, Peter Behrens, Nandi Bowe, David Christensen, Trish Harnetiaux, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Brighde Mullins, Daniel Pinchbeck Young Adult:  Laura Ruby

Faculty for the Latin American track of the program:

Poetry : Ada Limón, Orlando Menes, Jon Pineda Fiction : Carolina De Robertis, Mary Gaitskill, Cristina Garcia, Francisco Goldman, Manuel Gonzalez, Fred Leebron, Chris Offutt, Nelly Rosario, Maxine Swann, Héctor Tobar Nonfiction : Francisco Goldman, Chris Offutt, Jon Pineda, Maxine Swann, Héctor Tobar Writing for Stage and Screen:  Khris Baxter, Chris Offutt Young Adult:  Cristina Garcia, Laura Ruby

Qu: A Contemporary Literary Journal , Southern Review of Books

The program offers a concentration in writing for stage and screen, in addition to concentrations in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Students can also concentrate in young adult writing. Mode of instruction is the student’s choice, either workshop or tutorial (one on one).

Students attend two weeklong residencies each year, in January and May, at the Queens University campus in Charlotte, North Carolina. Students in the Latin American track of the program attend a 15-day residency each July/August, which rotates each year among Buenos Aires, Argentina; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Santiago, Chile. The 2023 residency will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Students may move back and forth between Charlotte and Latin American tracks.

The program hosts a biennial professional development weekend for alumni and matriculated students that offers small workshops with editors and agents. Other features include the post-graduate Book Development program, during which students work on a manuscript with an editor from a major press.

The application deadline is March 1 for the summer term, July 1 for the fall term, and October 1 for the spring term. Please check the program website for more information.

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Queens University of Charlotte

Charlotte , NC

http://www.queens.edu/Academics-and-Schools/Schools-and-Colleges/College-of-Arts-and-Sciences/Academic-Departments/MFA---Creative-Writing-Program.html

Degrees Offered

Fiction, Poetry, CNF, Drama, Screenwriting

Residency type

Low-residency

Program length

• Mary Akers MFA (Fiction) 2003
• Doug Crandell MFA 2013
• Erika Dreifus MFA (Fiction) 2003
• Anjali Enjeti MFA (Fiction) 2015
• April L. Ford MFA (Fiction) 2012
• Beth Uznis Johnson MFA (Fiction) 2010
• Rosemary Jones MFA (Fiction) 2004
• Anne Kornblatt MFA
• Abby Lipscomb MFA
• Margaret MacInnis MFA (CNF) 2004
• Mesha Maren MFA (Fiction) 2014
• Madge McKeithen MFA 2006
• Erin McReynolds MFA
• Carla Sameth MFA (CNF) 2016
• Hershella Smith MFA 2007
• An Tran MFA 2015
• Susan Woodring MFA 2004

Send questions, comments and corrections to [email protected] .

Disclaimer: No endorsement of these ratings should be implied by the writers and writing programs listed on this site, or by the editors and publishers of Best American Short Stories , Best American Essays , Best American Poetry , The O. Henry Prize Stories and The Pushcart Prize Anthology .

THE MFA BLOG

: A Creative Writing Community

Monday, January 17, 2011

My first low-residency at queens university of charlotte.

14 comments:

Thank you for this and all the other MFA advice. I plan on spending this year getting ready for applications, and what I read on this blog is incredibly beneficial. Sarah Allen ( my creative writing blog )

You're welcome :-) Hope it helps as you go through the application process!

I was there! I'm in my second residency in creative nonfiction. Great description of the way the program works, btw.

I'm an alum who lives in Charlotte. And I came by for Fred and morri's fantastic readings on Friday. You describe the program well!!

Hi Jessie! The readings were great. I loved Fred's reading. Listening to Morrie - especially after attending his seminar - makes me want to switch to poetry (except poetry's just not my thing!)

Thanks for the post, Sheila. I'd love to know how you decided which program(s) to apply to...for me, it was nearly impossible; there are so many low-res schools out there and limited information about what makes one better than another (although it sounds like Queens has worked out well for you so far).

For me, I looked at the faculty. Queens has writers who I've read and admire. So did other programs - but I also looked at the curriculum, cost, etc. (did I want a program that required critical papers? A program with a teaching credential?) Lori Mays has come out with a brand new book: The Low Residency MFA Handbook! http://www.amazon.com/Low-Residency-MFA-Handbook-Prospective-Creative/dp/144119844X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1295877421&sr=1-1

Hello Sheila, I've really enjoyed reading about your experience at Queens. Thank you for sharing it. I was accepted for fiction and was wondering what your thoughts are on the long distance portion of their programs. How do you like their workshop? I've read once in this blog (fairly old post, I think) some comment about critique responses taking too much time away from one's writing or reading. Do you feel that way? I certainly see the value of getting different perspectives on your writing, though. Would you mind sharing your opinion? Thanks in advance

Hi G - Thanks for the comment. It motivated me to write a much-delayed new post today. Hopefully, it will answer most of your questions. Short answer - I like the workshop and the critiquing. For me, it's a valuable part of the writing process. The workshop format is why I chose Queens.

Thank you, Sheila! I'll check your new post! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it!

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i'll be there this january~

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Alison Wellford

B.A., University of Virginia M.F.A., Queens University of Charlotte

Alison Wellford is associate professor and director of the Pan-European MFA in Creative Writing at Cedar Crest College. She published the novel, INDOLENCE, and wrote the screenplay adaptation that has been optioned for film. Her work has appeared in  The Gettysburg Review  and  The Barcelona Review , among other journals, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She has received fellowships from Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and The MacDowell Colony.

Partial list of publications: Indolence , short fiction in  The Gettysburg Review ,  The Barcelona Review , and  Fence , among other journals Genres:  Fiction, nonfiction, and cross-genre writing Awards:  Fellowships at The MacDowell Colony and The Virginia Center for the Creative Arts

www.alison-wellford.com

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Leading the way: queens university welcomes new faculty members.

As the fall semester kicks off, Queens University is thrilled to announce the addition of talented new faculty members to its academic community. These distinguished educators bring a wealth of expertise and experience to Queens, further enriching its commitment to providing transformative educational experiences for its students.

“We are thrilled to welcome our newest faculty members to the Queens community,” said Sarah Fatherly, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Their diverse backgrounds and commitment to excellence will undoubtedly enrich our academic environment and inspire our students. We are confident that they will make significant contributions to our campus and foster a more vibrant learning experience for our students.”

New faculty members include:

Jany A. Cabezas, M.S. joins the College of Arts and Sciences as an instructor of biology . This semester, Cabezas will teach courses in anatomy and physiology and a general education course in the university’s interdisciplinary learning community program. A dedicated and innovative educator, Cabezas most recently served as a medical associate instructor at Indiana University School of Medicine in Bloomington, Indiana. With experience teaching a diverse range of students, from medical students to undergraduates and international learners, Cabezas is excited to transition from large lecture halls to smaller, more intimate learning environments. She believes this approach will allow her to connect with students on a personal level and tailor her instruction to their individual needs. Cabezas is eager to explore the natural beauty of Charlotte and is looking forward to collaborating with her colleagues and students in a supportive environment. Her goal is to inspire students to develop a deep appreciation for the human body and to equip them with the knowledge and skills to apply their understanding in various contexts.

Davis Carter, Ph.D. joins the College of Arts and Sciences as a visiting assistant professor. This semester, Carter will be teaching geospatial analysis and introduction to biological writing. A seasoned wildlife disease ecologist, Carter most recently served as a postdoctoral fellow at Salisbury University in Salisbury, Maryland. His expertise in wildlife disease ecology, coupled with his enthusiasm for teaching, will undoubtedly inspire students to explore the fascinating world of biology. A Charlotte native, Carter is thrilled to be returning home and has been impressed by the growth and development of the Meyers Park area. He hopes to spark students’ curiosity and encourage them to think critically and creatively.

Colleen Dunham, RN, FNP joins the Presbyterian School of Nursing as a nursing instructor. This semester, Dunham will be teaching pediatrics and health assessment. Most recently she served as a nursing learning lab coordinator at Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her background as a family nurse practitioner in urgent care and emergency medicine provides her with a unique perspective on patient care. She is excited to work in a smaller, more intimate setting at Queens, where students feel comfortable asking questions and exploring their learning. Dunham is most looking forward to becoming deeply involved in the Queens community, getting to know the student body, and interacting with new people. She hopes to inspire students to pursue nursing as a rewarding and fulfilling profession, emphasizing that while nursing can be challenging, it is undoubtedly worth the effort.

Sveinn Einarsson, Ph.D. joins the College of Arts and Sciences as an assistant professor of biology . Formerly a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Florida, Einarsson will teach cellular and molecular biology courses at Queens this fall. He’s looking forward to working in a smaller classroom setting and values collaboration and engagement with students. His goal is to equip them with practical skills that will benefit them in their future academic pursuits. When asked about his new home in Charlotte, Einarsson expressed enthusiasm for the city’s vibrant atmosphere and its proximity to both the mountains and the beach.

Christopher Garcia, Ph.D. joins the Knight School of Communication as an assistant professor of sports media . This semester, Garcia will teach sports communication and global communications. Prior to joining Queens, he taught at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, and served as a graduate research assistant at Florida State University, contributing to research projects in various areas of communication studies. Garcia is particularly excited about the opportunity to collaborate closely with students and believes this personalized approach will enhance their learning experience and prepare them for success in their future careers. He is enthusiastic about the vibrant and diverse sports scene in Charlotte and sees great potential for students to apply their studies in the field of sports media and management. Garcia hopes to instill in students an appreciation for the rich history of sports and the diverse professional opportunities available both locally and internationally.

Paula McDonald, M.A.’16, NCIDQ, RID-NC joins the College of Arts and Sciences as an assistant professor of design . A proud alumna of Queens, McDonald will share her expertise in the fundamentals of interior design and human environments. With a proven track record of success in the industry, McDonald is passionate about teaching and has served as an adjunct professor at multiple institutions. She embodies the Queens motto, “Not to be served, but to serve,” by returning to the university to inspire and educate the next generation of talented designers.

Dawn M. Norwood, Ph.D. joins the Blair College of Health as an associate professor of sport management . Previously at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, Norwood is excited to return to Charlotte, where she once resided, and teach in a smaller classroom setting. With a passion for both education and research, Norwood values the opportunity to connect with her students on a deeper level and create innovative curriculum. She is excited about Charlotte’s vibrant sports scene because it offers students ample opportunities for hands-on experience through internships and practicums. Norwood emphasizes the importance of professionalism and networking in the field of sport management and encourages her students to take advantage of volunteer opportunities to build their careers.

David A. Reppenhagen, Ph.D. joins the McColl School of Business as an assistant professor of accounting . A seasoned accounting professor with over 15 years of experience, Reppenhagen will be teaching both principles of accounting and intermediate accounting this semester. Before joining Queens, he taught at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Prior to his academic career, Reppenhagen worked as a senior auditor at Ernst & Young, LLP. He is passionate about helping students develop a strong foundation in accounting and understand its practical applications. He believes that accounting is a challenging but rewarding field with numerous career opportunities. Through his teaching, Reppenhagen aims to equip students with the critical thinking skills they need to succeed in their academic and professional endeavors.

Peter D. Smith, B.A., M.S.N., RN, CNE joins the Presbyterian School of Nursing as an instructor of nursing . Smith is a seasoned nursing educator with extensive experience in curriculum development, program administration, and clinical practice. He has held leadership roles at multiple institutions, most recently serving as nursing program director at Lindenwood University in Saint Charles, Missouri. Smith is committed to student-centered learning and has a proven track record of achieving high-quality outcomes in nursing education. Upon joining the Queens community, Smith was immediately impressed by the sense of belonging and professionalism. He is particularly excited to return to the classroom and engage with students in a hands-on learning environment. This is Smith’s first time in Charlotte, and he is eager to explore the Queen City and contribute to the nursing program.

Erin Taylor, B.S.N.’07, RN, MSN joins the Presbyterian School of Nursing as an instructor of nursing . This semester, Taylor will be teaching a course on transitioning into professional practice and a medical-surgical clinical rotation. A Queens alumna, she most recently served as a faculty member at Colorado Northwestern Community College in Craig, Colorado. With a strong background in adult health, Taylor has worked as a registered nurse in critical care, medical-surgical, and neuro-trauma settings. Passionate about education, she is excited to return to Queens and give back to the school that prepared her for her nursing career. Taylor shared her enthusiasm for returning to Charlotte, a city that has grown significantly since her graduation, and expressed her eagerness to share the lessons learned from her nursing adventures with students.

Kyle Thomson, Ph.D. joins the College of Arts and Sciences as an assistant professor of Spanish . Joining us from the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega, Georgia, Thomson is excited to connect with students in a smaller classroom setting and contribute to the vibrant Queens community. A newcomer to Charlotte, Thomson is eager to explore the Queen City and build relationships with colleagues and students. He emphasizes the importance of language learning, highlighting the city’s growing international business sector and the personal benefits of expanding one’s worldview. Thomson believes that studying a second language fosters critical thinking, cultural awareness, and personal growth.