As an assistant director for the Center for Race, Ethnicity & Diversity Education, Gutierrez-Luviano manages El Centro, a space that promotes celebration, collaboration, dialogue and research to support advocacy, cultural appreciation and academic achievement related to Latin American cultures and the Spanish language.

鈥淚 want to help build belonging at Elon by proactively engaging with our students’ voices to understand their needs and create inclusive spaces where they can feel supported,鈥� she said.

Gutierrez-Luviano achieves this each day by supervising and mentoring students, organizing programming and events and developing educational workshops. Outside of her professional role, Gutierrez-Luviano participates in the Latinx/Hispanic Employee Resource Group, which she says is an important program at Elon that supports her cultural identity as she navigates her professional role.

A first-generation Mexican-American, Gutierrez-Luviano鈥檚 parents moved from Michoac谩n, Mexico, to Wilson, North Carolina, where she was born and raised. She remembers regularly going to a Hispanic flea market growing up, where her parents allowed her and her siblings to buy one item during most visits. Gutierrez-Luviano would often pick a snack like raspado (shaved ice), nieve de coco or fresh cut fruit with tajin and Chamoy while navigating vendors with the backdrop of loud music coming from each stand.

She attended Barton College in her hometown for her undergraduate degrees in business administration and Spanish and earned a master鈥檚 at the University of Georgia in college student affairs administration.

鈥淎s a first-generation Mexican-American, there were times throughout my undergraduate experience where I did not know what questions to ask, or what I should be doing to be successful,鈥� said Gutierrez-Luvianos, highlighting why she values playing a mentoring role for students.

鈥淚 had wonderful mentors who saw potential in me and guided me in the right direction,鈥� she added. 鈥淚 want to serve my students in that same way, especially if we may share similar cultural experiences because it adds a layer of connection.鈥�

Gutierrez-Luviano said her mentorship begins with curiosity 鈥� understanding where students want to be in the future, what worries them and ways to build confidence. 鈥淚 see potential in my students and guide them in the right direction by listening to their hopes, their goals, and their worries,鈥� she shared.

Hispanic Heritage Month, she said, 鈥渉onors our contributions, while inviting everyone to immerse themselves into our culture, and traditions that keep our community strong.鈥�

Elon honors Hispanic Heritage Month

As part of Hispanic Heritage Month, 福利亚洲国产精品 is sharing stories that celebrate the contributions, identities and experiences of students, faculty and staff. This month recognizes the rich histories and cultures of Hispanic and Latinx communities, while also honoring the ways these traditions connect with and inspire people of all backgrounds. This month provides a special opportunity to honor Hispanic and Latinx heritage, but it also serves as an invitation for all members of the university to engage, learn and celebrate together.

Julie Thoman remembers CJ Fleming鈥檚 first baby steps years ago, and the large pink letters with Fleming鈥檚 initials mounted over her crib. In July, the two lifelong friends became colleagues.

Thoman is now an associate director of online communications for Elon, based in Charlotte, where for four years she has maintained the website for Queens.

Fleming is an associate professor of psychology, associate director of undergraduate research, chair of the Department of Human Service Studies and the faculty administrative fellow at Elon. As a fellow, Fleming is supporting the merger of Queens and Elon by reviewing graduate policies, processes and procedures to assure the university grows its graduate degree portfolio strategically and intentionally.

Both Thoman and Fleming lived briefly in New Bern, North Carolina, before their parents鈥� careers took them to Okinawa, Japan, and Morehead City, North Carolina, respectively. Thoman鈥檚 father flew C-130 planes for the U.S. Marine Corps and Fleming鈥檚 father served as an administrator for various North Carolina school systems.

When military assignments and careers separated the young friends, Thoman鈥檚 family letters 鈥� notably their popular Christmas cards 鈥� kept everyone together.

Every year the Thomans created a themed holiday message with a photo and handwritten letters.

鈥淛ulie鈥檚 parents were content creators before content creators were a thing,鈥� Fleming said.

Distance was no barrier for the families to stay in touch long before the days of social media and email.

鈥淐J and I both experienced a 鈥榥omadic鈥� childhood,鈥� Thoman said. 鈥淲hile some childhood friendships continue into adulthood from in-person bonding, we never lost that bond despite our distances.鈥�

The Thomans eventually moved back to North Carolina in 1993. They reside today in Jacksonville, while Fleming鈥檚 parents make their home in Durham. Over the years, the families have enjoyed getting together at cultural and sporting events, among other activities that nurture their friendship.

Individually, Thoman and Fleming regularly text and find time to see each other in person, including a recent show at the Durham Performing Arts Center and a Durham Bulls game.

鈥淥ur parents built a great foundation between CJ and I,鈥� Thoman said.

Fleming said she is excited that the merger will create a blended family. 鈥淛ulie and her family are effectively my family,鈥� she said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a whole school full of Julies that are now a part of Elon鈥檚 blended family, and the opportunity for us to all be a team together is the most exciting part,鈥� said Fleming. 鈥淥ne of the things I love about Queens is that we all know each other,鈥� Thoman said. She said that she always knows who to go to for questions. 鈥淚 love the relationships here and I鈥檓 excited to expand this relationship further with colleagues from Elon.鈥�

鈥淐ommuteNC is a wonderful addition to Elon鈥檚 sustainability efforts because it gives our community a practical way to make a difference in their daily lives. By connecting people who share similar commutes, we can help reduce transportation costs, lower emissions and build a stronger sense of community across campus,鈥� said Kelly Harer, associate director of sustainability for education and outreach.

Create your Elon CommuteNC account by September 11 for a chance to win prizes, including a hammock or a $50 local restaurant gift card! Be sure to use your Elon email address when creating your account because Elon鈥檚 CommuteNC program is an Elon-specific network.

Want an extra chance to win? Refer another Elon employee or student! If they create a CommuteNC account by Sept. 11 and complete , you鈥檒l receive an additional raffle entry.

CommuteNC directly supports the Transportation Goal in 福利亚洲国产精品’s Sustainability Master Plan 2025.聽 Learn more about the Sustainability Master Plan 2025.聽 聽

University Chaplain and Dean of Multifaith Engagement Rev. Kirstin Boswell opened the event with the invocation, followed by the tradition of the bell ringing by Student Government Association President聽Michael Swartz 鈥�27. The bell arrived in North Carolina in 1854 on one of the first North Carolina railroad trains. It was later used at Graham College, a predecessor institution to Elon College.

During the event, three individuals with strong ties to the university were awarded the Elon Medallion, the university’s most prestigious service honor: Jim Donathan, longtime associate director of academic advising and academic support; Mary Thornton, founder and president of Harvest Table Culinary Group; and Don Grady, associate professor emeritus of cinema and television arts.

Katy Rouse, professor of economics in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, was named the Trustee Chair for Excellence.聽For seventeen years, Rouse has taught Elon’s Principles of Economics and Intermediate Microeconomics courses, along with a capstone she built herself on educational disparities in the United States, earning student evaluations among the highest in her department for more than a decade.

She has personally mentored more than 30 senior and honors theses, co-authored research with undergraduates, chaired the Love School’s curriculum committee and published her teaching scholarship in the Journal of Economic Education.

“I truly believe that being a teacher scholar mentor at Elon is one of the best careers I’m going to have,” Rouse said. “Every day we come to work, we have the opportunity to make a lasting impact on students during one of the most pivotal points in their lives.”

Mapping the course

During her annual Opening Day address, Book reflected on Elon鈥檚 progress while looking toward a year that will include the launch of new academic initiatives, continued work surrounding artificial intelligence, the opening of the Roberts Academy and the planned merger with Queens University of Charlotte.

Book centered her remarks around the idea of a map 鈥� the markers that show where Elon has been and the guideposts that will help the university navigate what comes next. The theme was inspired by a visit this summer to Elon students participating in the Summer Opera Workshop at the Accademia Europea di Firenze. The students came together for a historic production of 鈥淭he Light in the Piazza鈥� in Florence, Italy, where the musical is set.

As part of their work, students were also tasked with creating a map of the city, something that inspired Book.

鈥淭here is something powerful in this mapmaking assignment, and it left me wondering about our collective 福利亚洲国产精品 map,鈥� Book said. 鈥淗ow would we each draw it?鈥�

At the center of that map, Book said, is Elon鈥檚 mission. She highlighted several markers of progress during the past year, including the Odyssey Program surpassing 300 scholarships, record participation in undergraduate research, strong Fulbright success and new academic programs, including cybersecurity, Clinical Mental Health Counseling and the Charlotte PA program. She also celebrated the upcoming launch of the School of Engineering and Computing under inaugural Dean John Walz and the growth of the university鈥檚 nursing program.

Mapping new territory (together)

On Tuesday, Aug. 18, the first students of the聽Roberts Academy at 福利亚洲国产精品聽will arrive at the school’s temporary home in Trollinger House. The school will be the聽state’s only university-based private school for children with dyslexia. Book described the academy and the Center for Dyslexia and Engaged Learning as an opportunity that 鈥渨ill change lives from day one.鈥�

Among the most significant new territory is Elon鈥檚 planned merger with Queens University of Charlotte. Book noted that the institutions received accreditation approval this summer to proceed with their merger, with a single Board of Trustees now overseeing both universities. Sixteen administrative units are also becoming shared teams supporting the two campuses, while a federal review of the merger is expected to take 18 to 24 months.

Megan Isaac, professor of English, and Senior Vice President for Advancement and External Affairs Jim Piatt gave brief updates on the merger as part of the SOAR Strategic Planning Committee.

鈥淥ur two institutions will be stronger together, will better serve students together, and will have a brighter future together,鈥� Book said. 鈥淎nd now, we are working to build that vision together, to grow opportunity to advance learning 鈥� together.鈥�

Mapping a new look

Athletics Director Jennifer Strawley was also invited to the stage to announce a for the university鈥檚 athletics program, which had what Book called a 鈥渇ormidable year,鈥� with seven Elon teams, the most in the university鈥檚 history, winning conference titles. A new physical mascot will be unveiled at the first College Coffee of the academic year on Aug. 25.

“The new Phoenix wears a gold sweater with a monogram ‘E,’ paying tribute to our first mascot, the Fighting Christian,” Strawley said. “The focused expression conveys the determination, confidence and purpose that defines our university community. The Phoenix continues to be fueled by the flames, symbolizing our rebuild from the ashes, and capturing the spirit and resilience of the Elon community.”

Book acknowledged that the changing higher education landscape brings challenges, from enrollment pressures and federal regulations to declining public confidence. But she reminded faculty and staff that adapting to change has long been part of Elon鈥檚 history.

鈥淚 understand change can be daunting. Shifting national headwinds are challenging higher education,鈥� Book said. 鈥淔ortunately for us, Elon has never succeeded by standing still. We鈥檝e joined together, developed new strategies and guided by our mission 鈥� built the number one institution for engaged learning and student success.鈥�

She closed by returning to the journey ahead, and the role faculty and staff play in shaping the lives of Elon students.

鈥淚t is not simply education; it is a journey of human transformation,鈥� Book said. 鈥淭hank you for the everyday commitment, kindness and integrity that are our enduring guideposts.鈥�

Below is a selection of events open to the entire Elon community; more can be found on the official Planning Week website below.

Monday, Aug. 17

Opening Day
Alumni Gym, Koury Athletic Center; Events start at 8:30 a.m.

Planning Week 2026 kicks off with Opening Day on Aug. 17, first with a community-wide reception in Alumni Gym followed by the presentation of Elon Medallions to Jim Donathan, Don Grady and Mary Thornton. Katy Rouse, professor of economics, will also be named the Trustee Chair for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Following these recognitions, President Connie Ledoux Book will delivery her annual Opening Day address.

Since 2011, the Elon community has collected school supply items for the children in Alamance County. Donations can be made at the Opening Day breakfast or at campus drop-off locations through Thursday, Aug. 20. Details on donation sites and needed items will be emailed to faculty and staff. This initiative is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Students, Staff Advisory Council, and Kernodle Center for Civic Life.

Breakout Sessions

Following the president鈥檚 address from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. a variety of breakout sessions will be available for all members of the Elon community, including:

• Recommendations from the SOAR Strategic Planning Committee
• Building the Innovation Hub: Elon as a Regional Center for Creativity
• Preparing Together for Student Success
• Thriving Together: The Sport Collaborative and the Opportunity in Club Sports
• Summer at Elon
• Changing the Trajectory 鈥� Roberts Academy and the Roberts Center for Dyslexia and Engaged Learning
• HealthEU, the Slattery Center, and Our Research Coalitions
• Mentoring in Meaningful Relationships Implementation Gallary Walk and Next Steps
• Wise Moves During Higher Education Pressures
• School of Engineering and Computing

All members of the Elon community are then invited to a picnic on the Lakeside Patio at noon. Members of Elon鈥檚 schools and colleges will meet from 12:45 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 18

Student Employment Essentials
Moseley 215; 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

The goal of the workshop is to provide staff and faculty with an understanding of student employment policies and processes, to include recruiting, job posting, screening candidates, work agreements, payroll, orientation, onboarding, evaluations and termination. Please contact Kameryn Taylor at聽ktaylor54@elon.edu聽for any questions about this workshop.

Championing First-Generation Student Success
Koenigsberger Learning Center Room 127; 2 to 3 p.m.

This session will provide participants with an understanding of the first-generation community on campus and how Elon approached first-generation student success. Participants will identify ways they can incorporate ways to support first-generation college students in their classes and extracurricular opportunities.

Merger and Integration Q&A
LaRose Student Commons 200; 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 19

Merger and Integration Q&A
Turner Theatre 101; 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.

Embedding Inclusive Excellence in Our Work
Belk Pavilion 208; 10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

Inclusive excellence remains a strategy for creating an academic community reflective of well-being and a sense of belonging. In striving for greater levels of student success and employee vitality, initiatives across the university demonstrate partnerships and efforts to infuse inclusive excellence principles in daily work. This session is an opportunity to gain an update on what is happening to foster respect for human differences and to share ideas for ideas for how faculty and staff might make inclusive excellence embedded rather than additive in teaching, mentoring, and service.

Vivvi Childcare and Early Learning Information Session
Sankey Hall 206; 2 to 3 p.m.

Learn more about the Acorn Academy, Elon鈥檚 partnership with Vivvi to provide employer-sponsored child care on campus.

Elon Campus and Community Resource Fair
Sato Commons Great Hall in the Global Neighborhood,聽3 to 4:30 p.m.

Open to all faculty, staff, and student leaders who may already be back on campus, this event is meant to be an interactive tabling fair to highlight what everyone needs to know to provide resources to students. Explore more than 50 departments/tables – whether you have been here for more than a decade or are brand new to Elon, come learn about resources for students and faculty/staff, take a moment to reconnect with offices on campus, or learn about opportunities for collaboration and partnerships! Refreshments and Raffle.

Thursday, Aug. 20

Working with Accommodations & Accessibility: A Partnership for Access
Sankey 106; 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

This session will highlight how the Office of Academic Accommodations & Accessibility, the Office of Compliance, the Disabilities Advisory Committee, and faculty partners collaborate to support access at 福利亚洲国产精品. Presenters will share updates from the past year, including themes from campus listening sessions, revised faculty/staff resources, accessibility and accommodations data, and practical guidance for supporting students and colleagues.

College Coffee 鈥� Employee Resources Groups
Phi Beta Kappa Commons (Rain Location: Koury Concourse); 10:15 to 10:45 a.m.

Elon鈥檚 weekly tradition of community gathering begins with this year鈥檚 first College Coffee. Come (re)learn about the ERGs on campus and pick up some Phoenix swag to show your school spirit! College Coffee continues throughout the year on Tuesday mornings from 9:40 a.m to 10:20 a.m.

• Advocates for Diversity and Accessibility
• Amazing Admins
• API (Asian and Pacific Islander)
• Black
• Carpool Connections
• Catholic
• Christian
• Elon Alumni
• Employees with Children
• Jewish
• Latinx/Hispanic
• LGBTQIA+
• Social Media
• Staff Advisory Council
• Supervisors of Student Employees
• Sustainability
• Veterans
• Women鈥檚 Forum
• Young Professionals

Friday, Aug. 21

Move-In Day

Students officially return to campus on Friday, Aug. 21. More information about Move-In Day and New Student Orientation can be found online.

Saturday, Aug. 23

New Student Convocation
Under the Oaks (Rain Location: Schar Center); 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

New Student Convocation marks the official opening of the academic year and welcomes the Class of 2029 and transfer students.

University Directory Photos

All Elon faculty and staff members are encouraged to have their photo included in the university鈥檚 online directory. Please make plans to have a new or updated photograph taken. If you are new to Elon, if your photo is missing from the campus directory, or if your photo is more than three years old, please have a new photo taken by the Office of University Communications. No appointment is necessary, simply just drop in during a session that suits you. The portraits are taken from chest up on a gray backdrop in a photo studio.

The photo studio is now located in the southwest corner of Alumni Gym, close to West Haggard Avenue. Please enter through the external doors in the southwest corner of Alumni Gym, noted by a red star on this map.

Tuesday, August 18: 2 to 4 p.m.

Thursday, August 20: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Across three Digital Learning Days (DLD) offerings in June and July, 74 faculty members from disciplines across Elon worked in their migrated courses, explored the university’s new learning management system and began adapting their content and course design for the academic year ahead.

“Our goal for Digital Learning Days was to empower faculty with guidance and space to work through this transition with confidence,” said Dhvani Toprani, assistant director of Learning Design and Support within Teaching and Learning Technologies. “We wanted them to leave with a deeper understanding of Canvas and ideas for using it to create meaningful, student-centered learning experiences.”

Throughout the day, faculty applied what they were learning directly to their own courses, making progress on the work they could continue building on after the session and becoming more familiar with the platform along the way.

In anonymous feedback collected after DLD, one participant described that shift:
“I walked in feeling only marginally familiar with Canvas and definitely unprepared to build my courses. I am leaving today feeling much more comfortable, confident, and (dare I say) even excited to finish building and customizing my courses.”

Designing with students in mind

Throughout DLD, faculty considered how course organization, visual design, assessment and instructional choices shape the student experience.
Instructional Technologists Becky Kloepfer, Kendra Nanton and Tristan Daniels guided faculty through strategies for creating consistent, accessible and approachable courses. Sessions gave participants opportunities to apply those ideas in different ways, from using Adobe Express to develop course visuals to exploring Canvas Course Analytics to better understand student activity and engagement.

Faculty also spent time working through assessment in the new learning management system, including Canvas Quizzes, migrating question banks from Moodle and addressing common migration challenges.

Student perspectives were part of that work as well. TLT student employees Alana Driver and Jose Besednjak Izquierdo supported DLD, contributing their perspectives as faculty considered how students will navigate and experience their courses in Canvas.

By the end of the sessions, faculty had made progress on the courses they will teach this fall while developing greater familiarity with the new learning management system. That work will continue as faculty gain experience with Canvas and further develop their courses throughout the semester. Overall, feedback from participants appreciated the blended focus on structured instruction, work time, and having the space to ask individual questions.

As Elon begins its first semester in Canvas, DLD reflects TLT’s broader approach to the transition: creating opportunities for faculty to learn, experiment and seek support while keeping teaching and the student experience at the center.

The course asked scholars three of the biggest questions they’ll face heading into college and beyond.

• Who are you?
• How does the world around you work?
• Where do you belong in it?

Answering those questions meant building a team that could bring three different lenses to the room, not one guest lecturer parachuted in for an afternoon, but three weeks, three educators and one shared arc.

The design work started long before anyone boarded a flight. Jess Savage and Yanyan Li, both from Warwick, along with Aoife Prendergast from TUS Ireland, worked with Ritchie from early on to shape the course’s structure and pedagogy. Amanda Lang and Jo Kukuczka from Warwick also helped shape the wider exchange from the start, thinking through how a course like this could work across institutions with genuinely different academic cultures. Elon Assistant Teaching Professor of Wellness Evan Small, Elon Academy Director Emily Wiersma, and the Elon Academy team helped the team turn their planning into a course that actually happened, on the ground, with real scholars.

In June 2026, that design became three weeks of teaching. Savage led the first week, taking scholars outside to investigate the natural world of Elon’s campus, observing and mapping the environment and asking who shapes it and how they could begin to understand sustainability differently. Li led the second week, turning to the digital world, unpacking what AI is, whose values it carries, and how to use it with honesty and critical thought. Prendergast led the third week, joining the class from Ireland as the s first Transatlantic Teaching Fellow. She turned the lens on the scholars themselves: their story, their strengths, their future, and what belonging looked and felt like for them.

Belonging wasn’t confined to Prendergast鈥檚 week; it ran through all three, as the thread underneath the environment, the AI and the identity work alike. Scholars kept a reflective journal throughout, used photography in the first week to document their experience, and carried a logo and motto project across all three weeks: hand-drawn in Week 1, recreated with AI in Week 2 under a co-created and scholar-drafted honor code, then made personal in Week 3 as their final project, representing their own identity, values and vision for the future.

鈥淭hat arc worked because an international team built it together, then taught it together, each trusting the ones before and after them to carry it forward,鈥� said Ritchie. 鈥淪o much of Fulbright’s work is about building bridges between UK and US institutions. But a bridge only matters once people walk across it, and once the people crossing it have had a hand in building it too. That’s what this collaboration set out to do: curriculum design, planning, and teaching, shared genuinely across three institutions, not handed from one to another.鈥�

Related Articles

• The Month in Photos: May 2026
• The Month in Photos: April 2026
• The Month in Photos: March 2026

While campus is quieter during the summer months, June still brought plenty of activity to 福利亚洲国产精品. From the sounds of the annual community concert and picnic to the energy of summer camps and campus events, there was no shortage of memorable moments.

Take a look back at some of the month鈥檚 highlights through the eyes of the staff in University Communications.

Engineering success

A former president of the聽Milwaukee School of Engineering聽and聽longtime leader in engineering and technology education has been named the inaugural dean of 福利亚洲国产精品鈥檚聽new聽School of Engineering and Computing.

Dr.聽John聽Walz joins Elon after nearly a decade聽helming聽a private university recognized for its emphasis on experiential learning, strong industry partnerships and workforce preparation.

AI Play

福利亚洲国产精品 hosted its inaugural AI Play summer camp in June for rising middle school students with an interest in the world of artificial intelligence. Thirteen students participated, learning about artificial intelligence while improving their AI literacy.

Summer Concert & Picnic

Elon faculty, staff, students and friends came together at the Martin Alumni Center for the annual Summer Concert & Picnic on June 25.

Emancipation Celebration

This summer, Elon faculty and staff were invited to engage in meaningful dialogue, reflection and community-building through the Inclusive Excellence Summer Development Series 鈥淎merican Anniversaries: 250 Years, Over 160 Reasons to Heal.鈥�

The series connected two significant milestones in American history 鈥� the nation鈥檚 250th anniversary and the 161st anniversary of Juneteenth 鈥� through opportunities to explore the ongoing pursuit of freedom, equality and justice.

Together@Elon鈥檚 Emancipation Celebration invited community members to enjoy a Juneteenth exhibit, music, sweet treats and games while celebrating freedom, resilience and community.

Railroad work by Norfolk Southern for the Carolinian Piedmont Passenger Freight Improvement Project, will affect travel in and around the Town of Elon on Wednesday, July 1.

Based on the information available at this time, the following railroad crossings will be closed temporarily as the work begins as early as 7:00 a.m.

• Church Street
• Williamson Avenue
• Oak Avenue
• York Road
• Gilliam Road

• Cook Road and University Drive to/from Williamson, Haggard, or North O鈥橩elly Avenues, accessing campus from the north, traveling to/from the west and south
• West Webb Avenue to/from University Drive or Haggard Avenues, accessing campus from the north, traveling to/from the east and south
• West Haggard Avenue accessing campus to/from the west
• The pedestrian tunnel underneath the railroad at East Trollinger and East Lebanon Ave. at South O鈥橩elly Ave. Students, faculty, and staff can park in South Campus lots in the summer.

The Roberts Academy will use the multisensory Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction once it opens in August for third- and fourth-grade students in a temporary location on West Trollinger Avenue.

The academy will expand to grades 1-6 when a new building opens for the 2028-29 academic year on East Haggard Avenue near the university鈥檚 Danieley Neighborhood. Each classroom will be capped at 12 students.

鈥淲e are excited to have such well-trained, committed teachers join us at Roberts Academy,鈥� said Ann Bullock, dean of the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education. 鈥淭heir dedication to children and their ability to provide an engaged environment for learning will lead to a remarkable growth in confidence for young students.鈥�

The Roberts Academy is also finalizing the recruitment of part-time teachers to provide enrichment instruction in art, music and physical education. The school is led by Acting Director Alicia S. Tate and Tracy Roof, director of business and school operations.

Established in 2025 through a gift from philanthropists Hal and Marjorie Roberts of Lakeland, Florida, the Roberts Academy at 福利亚洲国产精品 will be the fourth in a series of successful university-based private elementary schools the couple established at Vanderbilt University, Mercer University and Florida Southern College.

2026-27 Full-Time Faculty for Roberts Academy at 福利亚洲国产精品

Carrie Whitley

With a bachelor鈥檚 degree in elementary education and a master鈥檚 degree in reading education from Appalachian State University, Carrie Whitley brings three years of experience working closely with elementary-aged students in both classroom and tutoring settings.

Throughout her career, Whitley has focused on providing individualized instruction, collecting and analyzing student data, and creating targeted interventions to support diverse learning needs. Her experience in special education at a private school in Raleigh strengthened her ability to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams, to develop meaningful student goals, and to communicate progress with families.

Whitley is Orton-Gillingham trained and has implemented the method with fidelity in both small-group and one-on-one settings. She said she has seen firsthand the impact that explicit, systematic literacy instruction can have on students with dyslexia in developing reading skills, building confidence and instilling a love of learning.

Kaitlyn Leazer ’25

After serving for a year with the Alamance-Burlington School System as teacher of exceptional children, Kaitlyn Leazer brings experience in designing and implementing differentiated instruction, prioritizing strong relationships with families as essential collaborators in each child鈥檚 success.

Leazer holds a Bachelor of Arts in elementary and special education and is currently pursuing a Master of Education in innovation from the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education. Leazer said she was drawn to the Roberts Academy for its values and evidence-based practices to meet the individual needs of every learner.

In her year with ABSS, Leazer sought to create classrooms where students felt supported through thoughtful differentiation, intentional data collection and Universal Design for Learning. She developed a system for students to track and chart their own IEP goals, fostering both independence and accountability.

Isabella 鈥淏ella鈥� Martino ’26

Isabella “Bella” Martino is a recent 福利亚洲国产精品 graduate with dual licensure in K-6 general education and special education, allowing her to serve students across all domains of learning.

During her work as a student teacher, Martino created structured, predictable learning environments for students with unique behavioral and academic needs. She integrated technology into students鈥� daily routines, leading to increased engagement and improved behavioral outcomes. Martino works in partnership with families and other service providers to holistically meet the needs of students.

Passionate about providing students equal access to the general education curriculum, Martino points to her efforts to align lesson content with grade-level standards whenever possible. She describes herself as driven by a belief that holding students who learn differently to the same social and emotional expectations as their peers is essential to fostering independence and autonomy.