Elon University 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 ...
in
Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer
bachelor's degrees and several of which offer
master's degrees or
professional doctorate degrees.
Located in North Carolina's Piedmont region, Elon is situated on a suburban campus between the cities of
Greensboro and
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
. Less than twenty percent of Elon's undergraduates are native to the state of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
. Elon's intercollegiate athletic teams compete in
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
athletics as a member of the
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...
.
History
Elon College was founded by the
Christian Connection, which later became a part of the
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...
. The charter for Elon College was issued by the
North Carolina legislature in 1889. William S. Long was the first president, and the original student body consisted of 76 students. In 1923, a fire destroyed most of the campus, including school records, classrooms, the library, and the chapel. The Board of Trustees voted to rebuild immediately. Many of the buildings that were erected in the years following the fire still stand and make up the bedrock of Elon's campus.
An institution that for many years enrolled mostly North Carolina residents, Elon began to enroll significant numbers of students from the mid-Atlantic states in the mid-1970s, and began to improve its academic standards for admission. By the start of the 21st century, about 68 percent of Elon's students came from out-of-state and were only accepted if they met high academic standards. Elon became known as a selective university and, by 2013, 82% of incoming students were from out of state. Elon's transformation was the subject of an academic study by
George Keller of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...
titled ''Transforming a College: The Story of a Little Known College's Strategic Climb to National Distinction''. The study, published by
Johns Hopkins University Press
The Johns Hopkins University Press (also referred to as JHU Press or JHUP) is the publishing division of Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and is the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The press publ ...
, depicted how Elon transformed itself from a regional religious college to a selective, nationally recognized university.
Elon is no longer affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Elon's mission statement states that the university "embraces its founders' vision of an academic community that transforms mind, body, and spirit and encourages freedom of thought and liberty of conscience," and emphasizes its commitment to "nurture a rich intellectual community characterized by student engagement with a faculty dedicated to excellent teaching and scholarly accomplishment."
On October 9, 2017, the Elon Board of Trustees elected Dr. Constance "Connie" Ledoux Book as the ninth president of the university. Book became Elon's first female President on March 1, 2018.
Academics
The university includes Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences; the
Martha and Spencer Love School of Business; the School of Communications; the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education; the School of Law; and the School of Health Sciences. Master's programs are offered in business administration, business analytics, accounting, interactive media, education, physician assistant studies, and doctoral programs include physical therapy and law. Elon operates on a 4-1-4 academic calendar, including a four-week term in January known as Winter Term.
In 2009, the
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
voted to establish a chapter at Elon.
Elon is accredited by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...
.
Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences
Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, offers 51 undergraduate majors within three divisions: the Arts and Humanities, the Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Natural, Mathematical and Computational Sciences. Elon College is the largest of the university's colleges.
Martha and Spencer Love School of Business
The
Martha and Spencer Love School of Business offers undergraduate degrees in accounting, business administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, management, and marketing.
School of Communications
The Elon School of Communications is one of 18 accredited communications programs for private universities in the US by the
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). The program encompasses 20% of students and is divided into six main concentrations: Journalism, Strategic Communications, Cinema & Television Arts, Communication Design, Media Analytics and Sport & Event Management.
School of Law
The Elon University School of Law opened on August 10, 2006. The School is located in downtown
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...
in the former city library. Former
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
Associate Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor (born March 26, 1930) is an American retired attorney and politician who served as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was both the first woman nominated and th ...
delivered the Dedication Address on September 19, 2006. The School of Law houses a working court—the
North Carolina Business Court.
School of Health Sciences
Established in April 2011, Elon's School of Health Sciences offers a
doctor of physical therapy A Doctor of Physical Therapy or Doctor of Physiotherapy (DPT) degree is a qualifying degree in physical therapy. In the United States, it is considered a graduate-level first professional degree or doctorate degree for professional practice. In the ...
(DPT) program and a
physician assistant
A physician assistant or physician associate (PA) is a type of mid-level health care provider. In North America PAs may diagnose illnesses, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and may serve as a principal healthcare prov ...
(PA) studies master's program. The University also offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) for students. This program is offered both as a four-year BSN program for undergraduates and an accelerated BSN for those who have already earned a bachelor's degree in another field of study.
Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education
The Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education offers both licensure and non-licensure undergraduate majors, as well as
Master of Education (M.Ed.) and
Master of Arts in Higher Education (MHE) degrees.
Admissions
For the class of 2024, the university received approximately 15,306 applications from
early decision
Early decision (ED) or early acceptance is a type of early admission used in college admissions in the United States for admitting freshmen to undergraduate programs. It is used to indicate to the university or college that the candidate conside ...
,
early action, regular decision, and transfer applicants. From the application pool, around 1,587 students enrolled with an acceptance rate of 71%.
The average student coming to Elon in the class of 2024 had a grade point average of 4.04, an average
SAT score of 1233, and an
ACT average of 27.
[
]
Rankings and reputation
'' U.S. News & World Report'' ranks Elon tied for #83 overall among national universities and as #1 in the country for "Best Undergraduate Teaching." Elon is ranked as the #9 most innovative national university. In 2020 Elon was the only university with top-10 rankings in all of ''U.S. News''s "Academic Programs to Look For" categories.
Student body
Elon has a student body of 6,291 undergraduate students and 826 graduate students. Approximately 60% of students are female. Elon students come from 46 states and 49 countries; the leading suppliers of undergraduates are North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...
, New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
and Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
.
Athletics
Elon's 17 varsity sports teams, known as the Phoenix, joined 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 Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...
on July 1, 2014, after a decade in the Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...
. Intercollegiate sports include baseball, basketball, cross-country, football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
, golf, soccer, and tennis for men, and basketball, cross-country, golf, indoor track, outdoor track, soccer, softball, tennis, 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 ...
, and volleyball for women. The football team competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA).
Campus Recreation offers intramural and club sports programs, such as baseball, cycling, 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 ...
, flag football, equestrian
The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse".
Horseback riding (or Riding in British English)
Examples of this are:
*Equestrian sports
*Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...
, swimming, rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
, 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 ...
, water skiing
Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...
, ice hockey and Ultimate Frisbee
Ultimate, originally known as ultimate Frisbee, is a non-contact team sport played with a frisbee Flying disc sports, flung by hand. Ultimate was developed in 1968 by AJ Gator in Maplewood, New Jersey. Although ultimate resembles many traditiona ...
. During Winter Term the intramurals include bowling, arena football, dodgeball, ultimate frisbee, and a monster golf tournament.
Up until 2000, the mascot of Elon was the Fighting Christian. Early Elon athletic teams were known as the "Christians" with the name "Fighting Christians" gaining popularity by 1923. The nickname was chosen due to Elon's proximity to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Guilford
Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Parliamentary constituency of Guildford.
Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refer to:
Places
Australia
* Guild ...
Quakers, and the Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
Blue Devils. As Elon committed itself to diversity, and the number of non-Christian students increased, the decision was made to change Elon's mascot. In 2000, a new mascot was adopted, the Phoenix. The choice came from the 1923 fire that destroyed almost the entire campus and the college's subsequent recovery.
Facilities
Elon's sports facilities include two gymnasiums, Schar Center, Walter C. Latham Baseball Park, Rhodes Stadium, Rudd Field, Hunt Softball Park, Alumni Field House, Koury Field House, Jerry and Jeanne Robertson Track and Field Complex, six club athletic fields, Worseley Golf Center, and Koury Center, which features the 2,400 seat Alumni Gym, an aerobic fitness center, a weight room, racquetball courts, an indoor pool, and a dance studio. The Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, a twelve-court complex, won an "Outstanding Facility Award" from the United States Tennis Association. The facility at the north end of Rhodes Stadium in the North Athletics Complex is the new headquarters for Phoenix athletics. Construction was completed on the 5,100-seat Schar Center in 2018. The Schar Center is the home to Elon's basketball and volleyball programs, as well as a venue for other major Elon events, such as convocation.
Campus
Elon's historic campus is located in the Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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region of North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
, adjacent to Burlington, a city of 50,000. Elon is 20 minutes from Greensboro and within a one-hour drive of many other universities including Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
, NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Greensboro, North Carolina A&T State University, Guilford College
Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society o ...
, and Wake Forest.
Elon's campus is divided into seven major neighborhoods: Historic Campus, Central Campus, Global Neighborhood, The Oaks, The Station at Mill Point, Danieley Center, East Neighborhood, The Colonnades, and South Campus. There are 77 residence buildings on campus and 34 academic buildings. Elon also has numerous lakes and fountains throughout its campus. The Elon College Historic District
Elon College Historic District is a national historic district located on the campus of Elon University at Elon, Alamance County, North Carolina. It encompasses 6 contributing buildings and 1 contributing object that form the historic core of t ...
and Johnston Hall are listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
.
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...
used Elon as one of the university locations for the movie ''He Got Game
''He Got Game'' is a 1998 American sports drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. The film revolves around Jake Shuttlesworth (Denzel Washington), father of the top-ranked basketball pr ...
''. The Alamance Building, Fonville Fountain, and the Moseley Center's outside patio were the setting for the movie's "Tech University".
Campus life
The university has more than 250 campus organizations and programs, including 12 national fraternities and 13 national sororities.
Student media
''The Pendulum
''The Pendulum'' is a 12-issue miniseries of comic books based upon the Dark Carnival universe, a mythology detailed in the music of the Insane Clown Posse. Distributed by Chaos! Comics, the series was published from January 2000 until Decemb ...
'', Elon's undergraduate weekly newspaper is published every Wednesday. WSOE, the university's student-run non-commercial
A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...
campus radio
Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
station, has been airing since 1977. ESTV (Elon Student Television) is the Student television station
A student television station is a television station run by university, high or middle school students that primarily airs school/university news and in many cases, student-produced soap operas, entertainment shows, and other programming.
At the ...
featuring numerous student-created and -run programs.
In 2016, with advice of their faculty advisers, the two largest student media organizations on campus; Elon Local News (ELN) and ''The Pendulum'' newspaper, merged to form the new Elon News Network (ENN). ENN now operates out of the newly constructed newsroom in the McEwen Building of the School of Communications. Following a 2016 expansion of facilities, The School of Communications consists of Iris Holt McEwen Hall, the Snow Family Grand Atrium, Turner Theatre, Dwight C. Schar Hall, Steers Pavilion, and Long Hall, which houses the MA in Interactive Media graduate program and the sport management major.
Extra-curricular organizations
Numerous student government, special interest, and service organizations are represented on campus, including Elon Volunteers, Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a US non-governmental, and nonprofit organization which was founded in 1976 by couple Millard and Linda Fuller. Habitat for Humanity is a C ...
, Model UN
Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a cou ...
, Epsilon Sigma Alpha
Epsilon Sigma Alpha International () is a community and collegiate service organization for anyone ages 18 and older. The organization states that its purpose "is to inspire leadership and service by bringing good people together to pursue progr ...
, Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty a ...
, Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega (), commonly known as APO, but also A-Phi-O and A-Phi-Q, is a coeducational service fraternity. It is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of over 25, ...
, the Inter-Residence Council, the Elon University Student Government Association, and the Student Union Board. Cultural groups on campus include the Asian-Pacific Islander Student Association, Black Student Union, the Caribbean Student Association, Hillel, Intercultural Club, and Spectrum (Gay-Straight Alliance).
Elon is home to the Fire of the Carolinas Marching Band (FOTC), which delivers pre-game, halftime, and occasionally post-game performances at home football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
games. The band also includes color guard (flag spinning)
Color guards or flag corps are teams of performers who perform choreographed dances and routines with various equipment to enhance and interpret the music of a marching band or drum and bugle corps show. Color guard teams can be found in America ...
and dance auxiliary squads.
Religious life
Religious groups on campus include Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
Campus Ministry, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian campus ministry founded in 1941, working with students and faculty on U.S. college and university campuses. InterVarsity is a charter member of the Internat ...
, the Iron Tree Blooming Meditation Society, the Muslim Student Association, Baptist Student Union
The Baptist Collegiate Network (BCN) is a college-level organization that can be found on many college campuses in the United States and Canada.
Organizations
These ministries are groups of students, faculty members and staff who are seeking to ...
, and Campus Outreach.
The Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
population at Elon has grown especially rapidly in recent years, with twelve percent of recent classes self-identifying as Jewish. Elon was profiled in ''Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...
'' magazine in 2011 as a school which has "gone the extra mile" to make itself more attractive to Jewish students, and since 2013 it has been listed as one of the "top schools Jews choose." The Muslim student population is small but has increased dramatically in size in recent years, and a Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
Student Association formed at Elon in 2011. The Hindu population has also increased in size, Hindu festivals have become an important part of the university calendar, and Hindu students report feeling accepted at Elon.
Elon worked closely with the Interfaith Youth Core Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) is a Chicago-based non-profit founded in 2002 by Eboo Patel.Goodstein, Laurie. "An Effort to Foster Tolerance in Religion." ''The New York Times''. June 13, 2011. Accessed September 21, 2011. https://www.nytimes.com/20 ...
in developing religious diversity and interreligious dialogue. The Truitt Center for Spiritual and Religious Life, located within the Numen Lumen Pavilion of the Academic Village, serves a wide variety of purposes and all religious traditions.
Fraternity and sorority life
Elon University recognizes 27 social Greek organizations. Forty-four percent of undergraduate students belong to one of the following campus-chartered organizations.
Student traditions
At the start of each school year, Elon University holds a New Student Convocation ceremony for first year and transfer students. It is held "Under the Oaks" behind the West Dormitory. Each new student receives their own acorn at the close of the ceremony to symbolize their beginning at Elon. Upon graduation, each student receives an oak sapling, which is supposed to symbolize their growth at the university as well as the growth in their own lives. The use of the acorn and oak sapling is significant because Elon was named after the Hebrew word for "oak" because of the grove of oak trees it was founded on. The Oak Sapling tradition began in 1991, and the Acorn tradition began in 1999 after Leo Lambert became president of the university.
Notable faculty
*Crista Arangala
Crista Arangala (née Crista Lynn Coles) is an American mathematician and textbook author, specializing in numerical analysis. She is a professor of mathematics and chair of the department of mathematics and statistics at Elon University, and a Ful ...
- mathematician
* Shane Atkinson – imam and chaplain
* Connie Ledoux Book – ninth president of Elon
*Jan Boxill
Jeanette Marie Boxill (née Bozanic)http://philosophy.unc.edu/files/2013/10/curvitae-jan-boxill.pdf is an American academic who was Senior Lecturer in Philosophy (ethics) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She was also Chair o ...
– ethicist
* Peter S. Brunstetter – Professor of Law, and member of the North Carolina General Assembly
*Cardon V. Burnham
Cardon Vern Burnham Jr. (25 February 1927 – 19 February 2005) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, and performer of musical genre. His work included classical, choral, jazz, orchestral, operatic, and chamber music, most notably the o ...
– composer, arranger, conductor, and performer
*Ann J. Cahill
Ann J. Cahill is an American philosopher and professor of philosophy at Elon University. Her research focuses on feminist philosophy, phenomenology and philosophy of the body. Her work has developed the concept of “unjust sex," referring not onl ...
– feminist philosopher
*Eileen Claussen
Eileen B. Claussen (born 1945) is an American climate and energy policy administrator, diplomat, and lobbyist. She held senior posts at the U.S. Department of State, National Security Council, and Environmental Protection Agency before founding t ...
– American climate and energy policy administrator, diplomat, and executive-in-residence at Elon
*Geoffrey Claussen
Geoffrey Claussen is an American rabbi and scholar who serves as a professor of Religious Studies at Elon University. His scholarship focuses on Jewish ethics, theology, and the Musar movement.
Education
Claussen received his BA in Classical Lan ...
– rabbi, Jewish ethicist and theologian
* David M. Crowe – historian
* James Danieley – sixth president of Elon
* James G. Exum – Distinguished Professor of the Judicial Process at the Elon Law School
*David Gergen
David Richmond Gergen (born May 9, 1942) is an American political commentator and former presidential adviser who served during the administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. He is currently a senior politica ...
– inaugural Isabella Cannon Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at Elon
* Thomas S. Henricks – professor of sociology
*David C. Joyce
David C. Joyce is an American academic administrator currently serving as the president of Brevard College in Brevard, North Carolina. He took office as the 13th president on January 1, 2012.
Education
Joyce holds a bachelor's degree in psychol ...
– now president of Brevard College
Brevard College is a private college in Brevard, North Carolina. The college grants the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree.
History
Brevard College was named for Ephraim Brevard, a teacher and one of the local leaders that produ ...
* Leo Lambert – eighth president of Elon
* Sandra Lawson – sociologist, rabbi and chaplain
* Elliot Mazer – audio engineer and music professor
* Jon Metzger – Professor of Music and artist-in-residence
* Paul Neebe – classical trumpeter and former professor of music at Elon
* Guy Owen – novelist
* Brian K. Pennington - scholar of Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
* Rebecca Todd Peters – feminist Christian ethicist
*Jeffrey Pugh
Jeffrey C. Pugh was Distinguished University Professor and the Maude Sharpe Powell Professor of Religious Studies at Elon University. He earned his master of divinity degree from Wesley Theological Seminary and another master’s and doctorate fro ...
– theologian
* Michael Skube – journalist on the faculty of the Elon University School of Communications
*Megan Squire
Megan Squire is a professor of computer science at Elon University. A researcher and Anti-Defamation League fellow with a focus on right-wing political extremism online, her work has been described as operating as an intermediary between non-prof ...
- computer scientist
*Justin Tornow
Justin Tornow is an American dancer, choreographer, dance scholar, and dance teacher. She is the founder and artistic director of COMPANY, a co-founder and co-organizer of Durham Independent Dance Artists, former Board President of the North Caro ...
– dancer and choreographer
* A. R. Van Cleave – professor of philosophy and football coach
* Anthony Weston – philosopher and environmental ethicist
*Tripp York
''Anesthesia: A Brief Reflection on Contemporary Aesthetics'' is a novella written by Mennonite theologian Tripp York. Anesthesia explores the interconnections of love, death and philosophy. The novella is heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, co ...
– religious studies scholar
* James Fred Young – seventh president of Elon
Notable alumni
Academia
* John Decatur Messick – Former President of East Carolina University
East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina.
Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...
(1947–1959)
* H. Shelton Smith
H. Shelton Smith (1893–1987) was a scholar of Christianity and professor at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina.
Education and Career
H. Shelton Smith received his B.A. from Elon College (now Elon University), was ordained as a min ...
– scholar of religion at Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...
Arts, literature, and entertainment
* Rich Blomquist
Rich Blomquist (born July 27, 1977) is an American writer, producer and occasional actor. He was a former staff writer for ''The Daily Show''. The show won six Emmy awards during his employment; in 2003–2006, 2009 and 2011.
Career
He has also ...
– Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning writer on ''The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form fr ...
''
* Reno Collier
Reno Collier is a stand up comedianKlister, Eric (17 August 2006 ''The Post-Crescent'', Retrieved October 28, 2010 who gained celebrity as the opening act for Larry the Cable Guy and with his own Comedy Central Presents special. He was also fea ...
– standup comic, host of NBC's ''The Great American Road Trip
''Great American Road Trip'' is a reality television competition series that aired on NBC. It follows seven families as they go on a road trip and compete against each other at different landmarks in and around U.S. Route 66 in the United States. ...
''
* Mark St. Cyr – actor, plays Mr. Mazzara on the Disney+
Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...
series '' High School Musical: The Musical: The Series''
* Lisa Goldstein – actress, plays Millicent Huxtable on the CW series '' One Tree Hill''
* Grant Gustin – actor '' Glee'', ''The Flash
The Flash (or simply Flash) is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date ...
''
* Tal Henry – orchestra director
* Maity Interiano – journalist and television producer
* Christopher Knight – filmmaker, blogger, and Internet personality
* Tyler Marenyi – American DJ and producer
* H. Reid – American writer, photographer, and historian
* Martin Ritt – director, actor, and playwright ('' Hud'', '' Norma Rae'', '' Stanley & Iris'')
* Brent Sexton
Brent Sexton (born August 12, 1967) is an American actor best known for his roles in the television series '' Bosch'', '' The Killing'', ''Life'', and '' Deadwood''. He has guest starred in several other television series, such as '' The Expanse ...
- actor ('' Bosch'', '' Deadwood'')
* Mike Trainor – standup comic, panelist on TruTV's '' The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest...''
* Taylor Trensch
Taylor Hunt Trensch (born May 3, 1989) is an American stage and film actor.
Early life and education
Trensch was born in Tampa, Florida.
He began his education at Howard W. Blake High School in Tampa, Florida. He was an acting major and stu ...
– Broadway actor (''Dear Evan Hansen'', ''Hello Dolly'', ''Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time'')
* Kenneth Utt – actor and producer ('' The Silence of the Lambs'', ''Midnight Cowboy
''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...
'', ''Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
)''
* Barrett Wilbert Weed – Broadway actress ('' Heathers: The Musical, Mean Girls (musical))''
* Chris Wood – actor (''The Vampire Diaries
''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, ...
'', ''Containment
Containment was a geopolitical strategic foreign policy pursued by the United States during the Cold War to prevent the spread of communism after the end of World War II. The name was loosely related to the term '' cordon sanitaire'', which ...
'', '' Supergirl'')
Politics and military
* Cary D. Allred – North Carolina politician
* Harris Blake
Harris Durham Blake (November 3, 1929 – June 9, 2014) was a Republican member of the North Carolina General Assembly representing the state's twenty-second Senate district, which included constituents in Harnett, Lee and Moore counties. H ...
– North Carolina
North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...
politician
* Cameron DeJong – New Hampshire politician
* Anthony Foriest – North Carolina politician
* Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...
William E. Gortney – Commander, NORAD and US Northern Command
* Hugh Holliman – North Carolina House of Representatives
The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, ...
Majority Leader
In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.
* Phillip Kellam
Phillip Kellam (born 1956) is a politician from a well known political family in Virginia Beach. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the Commissioner of the Revenue for Virginia Beach since 1998. He ran for Congress in in 2006.
F ...
– Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...
politician
* Nat Robertson – Fayetteville, North Carolina
Fayetteville () is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States. It is best known as the home of Fort Bragg, a major U.S. Army installation northwest of the city.
Fayetteville has received the All-America ...
mayor
Sports
* Tal Abernathy – Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
pitcher
* Jesse Branson – National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball sports league, league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues i ...
and American Basketball Association
The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, leading to four A ...
player
* John Brebbia
John Fulboam Brebbia (born May 30, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for Elon University. The New York Yankees selected Brebbia in the 3 ...
– Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
pitcher for the San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...
* Elijah Bryant (born 1995) - basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball c ...
* Ward Burton – NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
auto racer
* Cap Clark – Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
catcher
* Billy Devaney – general manager of the St. Louis Rams
* Bill Dougherty – running back for the New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...
* Wes Durham – radio play-by-play
In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...
announcer for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wre ...
and the Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcon ...
* Joey Hackett – tight end for the Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
and Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
* Frank Haith
Frank James Haith Jr. (born November 3, 1965) is an American men's basketball coach, currently serving as an assistant coach for the University of Memphis. He previously served as head coach of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2014 to 2022, and pr ...
– head basketball coach at the University of Tulsa
The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...
* Greg W. Harris – Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
pitcher
* Bunn Hearn – Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
pitcher
* Clint Irwin – Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...
goalkeeper
* Don Kernodle – professional wrestler
* Steven Kinney – defender for the Chicago Fire
* Daniel Lovitz
Daniel Harry Lovitz (born August 27, 1991) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Nashville SC in Major League Soccer.
Club career Early career
Lovitz grew up playing youth soccer in Eastern Pennsylvania for Lowe ...
– defender for the Nashville SC
* Rich McGeorge – tight end for the Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...
* Jack McKeon – Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
Manager
* Aaron Mellette – Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...
wide receiver
* Jim Morris – head baseball coach at the University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
* Chad Nkang – former linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team pla ...
* Blake Russell
Blake Russell (née Phillips; born July 24, 1975) is an American long-distance runner who represented her country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After finishing third in the marathon at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, she went on to finish 27t ...
– Olympic runner
* Tony Settles – linebacker for the Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...
* Ed Sauer – Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
outfielder
* Jim Schlossnagle
Jim Schlossnagle (born August 12, 1970) is an American baseball coach and former pitcher, who is the current head baseball coach of the Texas A&M Aggies. He played college baseball at Elon from 1986 to 1989 for head coach Rick Jones. He then ser ...
– head baseball coach at Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Discipl ...
* Jimmy Smith (running back) – former American football running back in the National Football League
* Dick Such – Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
pitcher and coach
* Oli Udoh - offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
* Joe West – Major League Baseball umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...
* Joe Winkelsas – Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
pitcher
* Deborah A. Yow – North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The univers ...
Athletics Director, formerly University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...
's Director of Athletics
References
External links
*
Elon Athletics website
{{authority control
Educational institutions established in 1889
United Church of Christ in North Carolina
Universities and colleges accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Private universities and colleges in North Carolina
Education in Alamance County, North Carolina
Buildings and structures in Alamance County, North Carolina
Tourist attractions in Alamance County, North Carolina
1889 establishments in North Carolina