The Queens University of Charlotte is a

private university Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public student loans, and grant (money ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

. It has approximately 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students through the College of Arts and Sciences, the McColl School of Business, the Wayland H. Cato, Jr. School of Education, the James L. Knight School of Communication, and the Andrew Blair College of Health, which features the Presbyterian School of Nursing. Established in 1857, the university offers 34 undergraduate majors and 66 concentrations, and 10 graduate programs. It is affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...

History

Founded in 1857 as the Charlotte Female Institute, the school was originally at College and 9th streets in what is now Uptown Charlotte. From 1891 to 1896, it was called the Seminary for Girls. In 1896, the Concord and Mecklenburg Presbyteries chartered the Presbyterian Female College. The seminary merged with this new college. In 1912, anticipating the move to the present campus in the Myers Park neighborhood, the school became Queens College. The name Queens College was adopted for three reasons: at the request of the Alumnae Association to disarm prejudice in deference to other Presbyterian colleges which claimed an equal right to the denominational name; to commemorate Queen's Museum, a classical school established in Charlotte in 1771; and to honor Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg. In the aftermath of World War II, Queens admitted its first male students. A co-educational Evening College was established in 1948 that provided instruction for adults. It was the forerunner of the New College, which was inaugurated in 1979 as an undergraduate evening program designed for working adults. In 1995, New College was renamed the Pauline Lewis Hayworth College. In 1979, the traditional undergraduate liberal arts college at Queens was renamed the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS). It began admitting resident males in 1987 when Queens went

co-ed Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

. In 1989, CAS adopted the innovative Foundations of Liberal Learning program, which is now known as the Core Program in Liberal Arts and is required of all first-year students. The International Experience Program, now known as the John Belk International Program, was established in 1989. Juniors and seniors participate in a variety of study programs that range from study tours, language programs, a month-long environmental studies program in Yap in Micronesia or a summer-long foreign internship, to semester-long study abroad exchanges in Hong Kong or Ireland. Since its inception, the program has received national recognition from ''U.S. News & World Report''. Queens ranked no. 2 in the country for its "percentage of students who travel abroad" (2009) with close to 90 percent participation. In 2008, the program added study tours to Vietnam and South Africa. In 1996, the Internship and Career Development Program, also nationally recognized, began requiring a minimum of six credit hours for all students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences. The program has been recognized in the past by ''U.S. News & World Report'' as one of the leading internship programs in the country; it boasts 100 percent participation from the university's student body. Queens' first master's degree program, the

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

, launched in 1980. Since then, Queens has added the Master of Education (1983); the Executive Master of Business (1990); the Master of Arts in Teaching (1992); the

Master of Science in Nursing A Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) is an advanced-level postgraduate degree for registered nurses and is considered an entry-level degree for nurse educators and managers. The degree also may prepare a nurse to seek a career as a nurse admin ...

(1998); the Master of Arts in Organizational and Strategic Communication (1999); the Low-Residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (2001); the Master of Science in Organization Development (2008) and Master of School Administration (2008). With the additional master's degree programs, Queens achieved a university level rank in the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the ''U.S. News & World Report''. The Board of Trustees voted in the Spring of 2002 to recognize Queens' true university status and changed the institutional name from "Queens College" to "Queens University of Charlotte." The change became official on June 1, 2002. The university obtained the former Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing to form the Presbyterian School of Nursing at Queens in 2004. One of the most popular majors at Queens, the program produces the third-largest number of new registered nurses among higher education institutions in North Carolina. In 2006, the university officially opened its 65-acre Sports Complex at Marion Diehl Park, a planned $15 million project that is a partnership between Mecklenburg County and the university. Additionally, in 2008, Queens opened the Knight School of Communication and Wayland H. Cato School of Education that became its fifth and sixth primary units on its Myers Park campus. The Wayland H. Cato School of Education focuses on undergraduate education and runs graduate programs. In 2010, the School of Communication was renamed the James L. Knight School of Communication through a naming grant from the

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, also known as the Knight Foundation, is an American non-profit foundation that provides grants for journalism, communities, and the arts. The organization was founded as the Knight Memorial Education ...

. The grant initiatives include working to improve digital and media literacy in the Charlotte community. Daniel G. Lugo assumed the role of Queens' 21st president on July 1, 2019, after the retirement of Dr. Pamela Davies, who led Queens for 17 years. In 2020, the board of trustees have voted unanimously to rename Burwell Hall, which was named in 1914 after

Margaret Anna Burwell Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, the wife of the Robert Burwell. Burwell was the first head of Queens and the building was renamed because the couple were slaveowners.

Academics

Many of Queens University's students are enrolled in either the Business and Marketing programs (33% of undergraduates) or the Communications and Journalism programs (15% of undergraduates). Rounding out the top three most popular majors are the health professions, which are studied by approximately 10% of the undergraduate population, according to the College Board.

General Education program

Queens University has an undergraduate general education curriculum called the "Queens Advantage". Students join learning communities, where they work together to develop solutions and build connections between their experiences at Queens and the world around them. Learning communities gather small groups of students from diverse backgrounds and interests to collaborate towards common objectives. A learning community that includes students studying history, biology, and communication may collaborate to examine a topic such as sustainability, social justice, or immigration. Within these interdisciplinary environments, the groups explore new concepts, express their voice, and activate higher levels of thinking to evaluate themes and address real-world issues. During their senior year, students weave together all they've learned during Queens Advantage into one culminating experience. When they complete the curriculum, students are able to evaluate approaches to complex problems, integrate learning from multiple contexts, and communicate fluently.

Blair College of Health

The Blair College of Health houses the Presbyterian School of Nursing, Human Service Studies Department, and Kinesiology Department.

Knight School of Communication

The Knight School of Communication was established in 2010 and is the only school of communications in the country to be endowed by the Knight Foundation. It houses two undergraduate programs (Bachelor of Arts in communication and a Bachelor of Arts in multimedia storytelling) and two graduate programs (Master of Arts in communication and a Master of Arts in communication—online).

McColl School of Business

The McColl School of Business was established in 1993 and is named after Bank of America chairman Hugh McColl, Jr. The school has been accredited by AACSB International since 2007 and offers undergraduate business degrees in accounting, business administration, finance, management and marketing leading to the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree. The school is known for its internship program (all students complete internships), its study abroad program (John Belk Study Abroad Program), and its high placement rate for graduating seniors. The school is home to the McColl School of Business DECA Chapter and the McColl Investment Club. The McColl School of Business is the home of two graduate programs - Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Organization Development (MSOD). The Flexible MBA enables flexible delivery options through on-campus study or through distance education. Students may elect to follow one mode exclusively or mix and match modes.

Student life

Greek life

Queens University of Charlotte has six sororities.

Sororities

* Alpha Delta Pi: Beta Iota Chapter - chartered in 1931 *

Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is a women's fraternity and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the umbrella organization of 26 women's fraternities. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chap ...

: Theta Gamma Chapter - chartered in 1928 * Kappa Delta: Alpha Omicron Chapter - chartered in 1928 * Phi Mu: Gamma Gamma Chapter - chartered in 1929 *

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen s ...

: Tau Beta Chapter - chartered in 2009 *

Zeta Phi Beta Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic ach ...

: Sigma Upsilon Chapter - chartered in 2015

Clubs and organizations

Queens University of Charlotte has more than 30 clubs and student organizations, ranging from musical ensembles to nature groups. Politically minded students spar in debate between the College Republicans and College Democrats; aspiring journalists write pieces for the ''Queens Chronicle''; service-minded students travel to Guatemala; and the Campus Union Board plans on-campus activities.

Athletics

Queens University of Charlotte's athletic teams take the identity of the Queens Royals on the field and cheer their teams on via their mascot, Rex. Queens is a member of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

's Division I program nationally; regionally, the Royals participate in the ASUN Conference. A statue of Rex at the Queens Sports Complex is the largest standing lion sculpture in the world.

Men's sports

Men's athletic teams include

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, cross-country,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, swimming,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

, and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat s ...

Women's sports

Women's athletic teams include basketball, cheerleading, dance, cross-country, equestrian,

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

, golf, lacrosse, rugby, soccer,

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

, swimming, tennis, track & field, volleyball, and triathlon.

References

External links

*
Official athletics website

Student yearbooks 1937–2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queens University Of Charlotte Universities and colleges affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) Private universities and colleges in North Carolina Universities and colleges in Charlotte, North Carolina Former women's universities and colleges in the United States Educational institutions established in 1857 Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Presbyterianism in North Carolina 1857 establishments in North Carolina