Five members of faculty and staff in Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, were honored during Planning Week on Aug. 18, 2025, for their excellence in teaching, scholarship, service-leadership and mentorship.

Recipients of the annual awards are nominated by their colleagues and selected by the College’s dean and associate deans.

“It is an honor to recognize these exceptional faculty and staff,” said Hilton Kelly, dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. “In their own unique ways, each has demonstrated remarkable dedication to their students, their colleagues and the mission of the College. Their brilliance, creativity and care strengthen our community and create a place where every student feels supported, challenged and inspired to thrive.”

The 2025 College Excellence Award recipients:

Excellence in Teaching Award

Kim Shively

Associate Professor of Performing Arts

Associate Professor Kim Shively has led nationally recognized workshops on consent-based pedagogy across North America and Europe, and she is the co-author of “Applied Meisner for the 21st Century Actor” as well as the forthcoming “The Theatre Artist’s Guide to Consent-Based Pedagogy”. This past year, she mentored Honors Fellows, led a service-learning course in arts education and played a key role in shaping Elon’s theatre curriculum. Her classes are known for their rigor, care and representation where students can feel seen, respected and empowered. Beyond her work in the classroom, she is the cofounder of the Piedmont Shakespeare Company, which launched its inaugural season this summer with “Hamlet”, where Shively played Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother.

Excellence in Scholarship Award

Samuele Pardini

Professor of Italian

Professor Samuele Pardini’s work explores the intersections of Italian American identity, African American history and American literary modernism — making meaningful contributions to national conversations in the humanities. In 2024, he published “Writing Home: Selected WWII Letters of Leslie A. Fiedler”, a work critics called “literary, biographical, cultural and historical gold.” He submitted new scholarship on Sacco and Vanzetti, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the African American press to American Quarterly and presented it at the National MELUS conference. His work also included multiple essays in The Brooklyn Rail and a keynote address at Morgan State University honoring the centennial of James Baldwin. Beyond publishing, he mentors students, serves on research and curriculum advisory boards and continues to shape emerging fields like Black Mediterranean and comparative diaspora studies.

Excellence in Service-Leadership Award

CJ Fleming

Chair of the Department of Human Service Studies and Associate Professor of Psychology

The scholarly contributions of Associate Professor CJ Fleming, chair of the Department of Human Service Students, span departments and shape programs that benefit faculty and students throughout the university. She has strengthened Elon’s internship and research infrastructure as Faculty Fellow for Internships and associate director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, preparing 37 students to present at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and co-authoring the Elon Statement on Work-Integrated Learning. A champion for equity in experiential learning, she has mentored nationally recognized student researchers, supported faculty in expanding career readiness, and helped shape Elon’s National Campus. Drawing on her training as a clinical psychologist, she has provided thoughtful guidance on key student well-being committees.

Excellence in Mentoring Award

Elisha Savchak-Trogdon

Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy

For more than a decade, Associate Professor Elisha Savchak-Trogdon has mentored students pursuing careers in pre-law. As the university’s pre-law advisor, she offers strategic, personalized guidance—from first conversations about legal careers to law school acceptances and scholarships—mentoring students across majors, class years, and even after graduation. She leads the Legal Professions Scholars program, designed a course on global legal rights, and now advises the 3+2.5 Accelerated Law Program with Elon Law, guiding fast-tracked future lawyers with care and structure. Through panels, programming, and one-on-one advising, she creates a supportive community where students feel prepared, confident, and seen.

Staff Excellence Award

Morgan Troxler

Program Assistant for Political Science & Public Policy, Philosophy & Religious Studies

Since joining the 51±ŹÁÏÍű community in December, Morgan Troxler has balanced the needs of and contributed additional organization and efficiency to all three departments. Known for completing tasks ahead of schedule and with care and precision, she demonstrates responsiveness and a commitment to faculty and student success. As one department chair noted, their program would be lost without her.

The Kernodle Center inspires and equips students to work with diverse communities, addressing local and global challenges while fostering a deeper sense of civic responsibility. It connects students with community-based, experiential learning opportunities in partnership with faculty, staff, and local organizations for the common good. This is shown through their committed team of professional staff members, like Frigo.

“We not only teach students to become engaged in local communities, but we also model the way in our own lives,” said Frigo. “Some of us coach youth soccer or a Special Olympics basketball team, some teach at Sunday school and others are involved in programs like the Boy Scouts. How we spend our time beyond Elon is an example to students that playing a role in building strong communities is a lifelong habit.”

Along with his position at Elon, Frigo is the father to two boys.

“Growing up, I watched my dad be a leader for my Boy Scout troop and coach my sister’s basketball team,” Frigo said. “It left a mark on me. Each of us needs to find our calling to serve as volunteers and leaders in our communities.”

Frigo’s engagement is not only seen in the Elon and Alamance community, but also in the community where he lives. He is currently an assistant scoutmaster with Boy Scout Troop 316 in Apex, North Carolina where he creates experiential learning opportunities for the troop. Frigo’s involvement with the Boy Scouts is something he holds close to this heart.

“During the last few years, we have gone caving, whitewater rafting, skiing, and have worked with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Liberty and the U.S. Coast Guard in the Outer Banks. My involvement with the Boy Scouts has been a way to spend time with my two boys and use my skill set in the community to advance the common good.”

The initiative arose from Elon’s Multifaith Strategic Plan, which called on the university to develop “opportunities for employees, alumni, adult, and professional learners to develop religious literacy competencies.” When CSRCS Director Brian Pennington went to look at how other DEI and bias training programs might have developed effective ways of offering those opportunities, he discovered that “few, it seems, had thought of religious diversity in the workplace as a professional or human resources issue worthy of attention in its own right.”

When he took that discovery to Jack Rodenfels, director of professional and continuing studies at Elon, they agreed that Elon was well-positioned to fill that gap. This fall, ElonNext released , an online training course addressing the need and importance of understanding and respecting diverse faith perspectives in today’s workplace.

According to Pennington, the real talent behind the course, however, was Helen Orr, assistant professor of religious studies, who wrote the scripts for the course and developed the supporting materials and activities. Orr is the online course instructor, leading the trainee through modules on dress and diet in the workplace, the workplace calendar, conflict in the workplace and stereotypes. Video Producer Andrew Bacon and Instructional Technologist Becky Kloepfer provided technical support and guidance.

Thanks to their work, professionals around the country will now have an opportunity to gain valuable insights and skills that enhance their understanding of cultural and spiritual diversity, preparing them to engage confidently with religious diversity in their work environments.

Professor of Physical Therapy Education Srikant VallabhajosulaÌęand Assistant Professor Alys Giordano examined how performing a concurrent cognitive task affects gait in individuals who use prostheses for walking especially while walking backwards. Vallabhajosula presented their findings in the recently held Annual Meeting of the American Society of Biomechanics in Madison, Wisconsin.

Professor Vallabhajosula also concluded his three-year term as the communications chair for the Society. Elon was represented by Professor Vallabhajosula and Associate Professor of Exercise Science Matt Wittstein at the conference. Wittstein co-led a hands-on workshop onÌęAI in the Classroom at the Annual Meeting.

“I remember when the sign-up sheet came out to volunteer for move-in, I called my mom and told her we need to sign up right now,” shared Southern, who is an assistant registrar at Elon.

It was a good thing that they moved quickly because the sign-up sheets fill up quickly each year. So many faculty and staff members at Elon share their enthusiasm for this annual tradition, with many Elon alumni who now work at the university participating as a way to share their knowledge as former students with a new class of students who are just beginning their time at Elon. Those with their own Move-In Day stories are among the 170 Elon employees who help out on Move-In Day.

Kenneth Brown, Jr. ’19, assistant director for First Generation Student Support Services, distinctly remembers his first Move-In Day. He shared that being an Odyssey Program scholar helped orient him to campus and familiarize him with parts of Elon.

“I’m an oldest child and I’m one of eight siblings and the excitement was like ‘this is something I’ve been building up to and working towards and now it’s finally happening,’” shared Brown.

TheÌęOdyssey Program, which is part of theÌęCenter for Access and Success, is a highly selective, merit-basedÌęprogram consisting of talented individuals who are academically strong, civically engaged, action-oriented leaders in their communities, who will benefit from an Elon education and demonstrate high financial need.

As a student, Brown took full advantage of his time at Elon. He worked for Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education (CREDE) for two years as a student coordinator, lived in a Living-Learning Community, was part of the where he focused on athletics, and perhaps most notably, served as the class president for the university for three of his four years and as student body president his senior year through the Student Government Association.

Southern was a first-year student when Brown served as SGA president and she remembers his energy and enthusiasm, especially at football games. She served as an orientation leader on campus. She remembers the joy she felt on her own Move-In Day and having someone else help carry her belongings up to her new dorm.

“The energy of it all was a lot of fun,” said Southern. “My dad was living it up because he’s very handy and he was going around building everyone’s furniture and having the time of his life being a dad.”

Simone Royal ’17, interim associate director for CREDE, lived on campus for all four years and felt fortunate to live in the new facilities of the Global Neighborhood and Park Place. CREDE supports Move-In Day by providing SMART (Student Mentors Advising Rising Talent) mentors who assist with new student move-in across the different campus neighborhoods.

“Elon cares from the very beginning how they welcome students to campus,” said Royal. “Elon prioritizes the student experience, and it is very evident every year during orientation weekend with the ease and simplicity of Move-In Day for all the new students and their families.”

Brown said that Move-In Day is a great reminder of why he is working at a university, noting that the day is about more than moving boxes.

“I want to show students that those at Elon care about them,” said Brown. “Move-In is not just ‘here, take my boxes up to my dorm and say okay good luck.’ It’s also about the effort to have a conversation – and that matters.’”

Brown returned to his first dorm room, Smith 310, and introduced himself to the new residents. He said the place meant a lot to him and he hopes that showing up will show the new residents this place can mean a lot to them.

Jackie Gardner Allred ’94 also visits her former room, West 216, to greet the newest residents and said it is her favorite thing about Move-In Day. She said much has changed since she first moved in and there was far less fanfare than there is now.

Allred and Southern both worked at Schar Center to check in people in their cars. Brown helped move people into the Colonnades Neighborhood.

“There is something special about everyone from all areas of campus working together for the same goal,” said Allred. “It’s a great opportunity to meet and spend time with many people across various areas of campus that you may not interact with on a regular basis.”

Brown reflected on growing up in a small community in Greensboro. “Going to Elon was like going to the Ritz-Carlton for me – how can I not give back or find ways to get involved?” he said.

Elon shaped the person Brown is today, and he feels a sense of responsibility to figure out how he can best support efforts like Move-In.

Southern described herself as Elon’s biggest fan. “I just had such a phenomenal experience because of the people who poured time and effort into me,” she said. “And I felt like everything that I did here, even just working in the office, set me up for some level of future success. And so, for me, it felt really impactful and exciting to be on the other side of Move-In and to provide students that same experience.”

The awards are given annually, and recipients are nominated by their colleagues and selected by the College’s dean and associate deans.

“It gave me great joy to announce these awards as one of my first official duties of the 2024-25 academic year,” said Dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, Hilton Kelly, who joined Elon in June. “Standing in front of the room, I could see that my team and I got it right.ÌęFaculty and staff were overjoyed for each award recipient.ÌęThe recognition was great and well-deserved for each, but the reception from their colleagues signaled to me that Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, will be a wonderfully positive and supportive working environment.”

The 2024 College Excellence Award recipients included:

Excellence in Teaching Award

Pratheep Paranthaman

Assistant Professor of Computer Science

Since joining Elon in 2019, Assistant Professor Pratheep Paranthaman has become recognized as an innovator in the classroom who is dedicated to staying on the cutting edge of his fields of game design and user experiences in virtual and augmented reality technologies. As coordinator of Elon’s game design minor, he shares his knowledge and experience with students as they design and publish their own games in the program. He is highly responsive to students’ needs, and uses a range of teaching methods, software options and aligns with industry standards to prepare students for life after graduation. Paranthaman’s enthusiasm drives students’ curiosity and passion, and many graduates go on to careers and advanced study in the field. He is also a strong academic adviser to computer science majors and game design minors.

Excellence in Scholarship Award

BariƟ Kesgin

Associate Professor of Political Science and Policy Studies

Associate Professor BariƟ Kesgin is a prolific scholar. Since 2021, he has published four articles on topics ranging from Turkish leaders and their foreign policy decision-making style to the operational codes of Pacific Island countries’ leaders in relation to climate change. In the scholarship of teaching, he has published about teaching through games and simulations for international relations courses. Highly regarded in his field, Kesgin has given six invited talks at universities around the world since 2020, 12 conference presentations in the same timeframe, and published several book reviews on subjects of political science and international relations. Kesgin has several works in progress that bridge the lenses of gender and political analysis.

Excellence in Service-Leadership Award

Richard Blackmon

Associate Professor of Engineering

Associate Professor Richard Blackmon is a dedicated service-leader for the Department of Engineering and Elon’s LGBTQIA community. Blackmon’s involvement guided the engineering degree program to ABET accreditation by assessing courses with an eye toward continuous improvement. He served on the Design Course Sequence Committee to evaluate student outcomes and identify and implement interventions. He is involved with several other department and campus committees at Elon, including the Innovation Challenge Committee, Math and Natural Sciences Curriculum Committee, Engineering Advisory Board and as a leader of Elon’s LGBTQIA Employee Resource Group. He is also a co-advisor of student organization Out in STEM (oSTEM) and advisor for . Blackmon also is director of Elon’s Engineering Dual Degree Program.

Sandra Reid

Senior Lecturer in Human Service Studies

Called “the epitome of a selfless service-leader for the College and the university,” Senior Lecturer Sandra Reid is involved in initiatives and programs that improve the outcomes of Elon students and colleagues at the university. Among many roles, she is campus advisor for the Omicron Iota Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., an advisory board member for the African and African-American Studies and the Criminal Justice Studies minors, as well as the Black student spiritual support group. She is a member of the Black Employees Resource Group. Reid has also served as the internship coordinator for the Poverty and Social Justice minor and co-created the international practicum course in Morocco for the Department of Human Service Studies. In 2023-24, Reid served on Elon’s lecturer track review and implementation committee, providing the essential voice of a senior lecturer in the committee’s processes and recommendations. Her service commitment extends beyond Elon and into the greater community as a board member of the Alamance County Community Services office and the Alamance County Community Remembrance Coalition.

Excellence in Mentoring Award

Emily Evans

T.E. Powell Jr. Professor and Professor of Physics

Professor Emily Evans consistently mentors undergraduate researchers to successful outcomes that include publication of their work and acceptance into advanced degree programs. As a mentor, she has secured external research funding to support students while mentoring their projects. Evans finds ways to mentor students in and beyond the classroom, and in curricular and non-curricular spaces. She served as the director of the Lumen Prize, creating cohorts of intellectual community while mentoring both students and faculty mentors through the Lumen process. Evans is the kind of teacher-scholar-mentor faculty in the College aspire to become, evident in the many ways she collaborates with students and colleagues.

Virginia Novine-Whittaker

Lecturer in Music

A longstanding, respected and admired music instructor, Lecturer Virginia Novine-Whittaker has for years provided strong mentorship for Elon’s student musicians. Many of her students now work in major cities around the country, performing in musicals and saxophone quartets, working in the recording industry, and managing, conducting and performing in jazz ensembles. Her students have a track record of success in earning highly competitive positions in military bands, and several of her saxophone students have won national and international performance competitions. Novine-Whittaker was also instrumental in developing the Elon Music Ambassadors program, and has taken Elon’s undergraduate musicians across the country to showcase their talent and recruit new students for the music program.

Staff Excellence Award

Melissa McBane

Operations and Accounts Specialist for Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences

As operations and accounts specialist for the College, Melissa McBane processes more than 200 contracts a year for contingent faculty and is integrally involved in searches for new permanent faculty and staff in the College. She helped the dean’s office and faculty in the College navigate the new PageUp hiring processes, managing the technological transition with ease. McBane also processes countless check requests and purchase orders within the College each year. She does it all with a positive attitude and eagerness to help colleagues.

Monday, August 19

Opening Day
Location: Alumni Gym, Koury Athletic Center
Events start at 8:15 a.m.

Planning Week 2024 kicks off with Opening Day on Aug. 19, first with a community-wide reception on the Koury Athletic Center concourse followed by the presentation of Elon Medallions and named professorships and remarks from President Connie Book in Alumni Gym.

Since 2011, the Elon community has collected school supply items for the children in Alamance County, sponsored by the Student Government Association, Staff Advisory Council and the Kernodle Center for Civic Life. Faculty and staff can bring supplies to the president’s address or drop them off from Aug. 16-26 at various locations around campus. More information about specific items and drop-off locations is available here.

Following the president’s address at 9:45 a.m., a variety of breakout sessions will be available for all members of the Elon community, including:

• HealthEU
• National Campus
• Election Year Engagement
• Artificial Intelligence
• Mid-Point Review of Boldly Elon
• Mentoring Next Steps
• The Dynamic NCAA Environment and Setting a Strategic Course

All members of the Elon community are then invited to a picnic on the Lakeside Patio at noon. Members of Elon’s schools and colleges will meet from 1:30 to 4 p.m. From 3:30 to 5 p.m., members of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences will welcome the new Dean Hilton Kelly on Medallion Plaza. President Book then invites new faculty and staff to a reception at The Inn at Elon at 5 p.m.Ìę

Tuesday, August 20

Facilitating Conversations about Election 2024 in Class
Location: Oaks 212
1:30 to 3 p.m.

The session, led by new Faculty Fellow for Civic Engagement Dillan Bono-Lunn, will familiarize faculty with campus resources for civic engagement and offer tips for teaching during politically divisive times.Ìę The session will help faculty think through approaches to incorporating discussion of theÌęelection, as well as strategies for responding in the moment when these issues arise.

Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education
Location: Linder 102
2 to 3 p.m.

This session will provide an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) work at Elon. Presenters will introduce recent advancements in AI and discuss AI’s implications for higher education. The results of the second-year AI readiness survey will be shared. The roadmap for AI, the resources available across campus, and pilot AI programs available for use in teaching and daily work will be introduced. Participants will have time to discuss AI perceptions in small groups and will be invited to share their suggestions about how best to prepare the Elon community as we adjust to generative AI in education.

Wednesday, August 21

Campus Safety Discussions
Location: KOBC 101
1:30 to 3 p.m.

New to Planning Week this year will be a discussion on campus safety, open to Elon faculty and staff.

Elon’s Imagining the Digital Future Center: How it can work with you and for you
Location: Sankey 308
2 to 3 p.m.

The Imagining the Digital Future Center is still new on campus and this session will explain its mission to do research and publish findings that are meant to be distributed widely and have notable public impact. The center hopes to work with faculty to create and publish research and have significant student involvement in the research process. Center Director Lee Rainie will use this session to solicit ideas about how the center can integrate well into campus activities.

Loy Farm Open House
Location: 2635 W. Front Street Burlington, N.C. 27215
4 to 5:30 p.m.

Come explore the new EcoVIllage Living Learning Center, a new residential neighborhood that combines sustainable architecture with small house living. ÌęThe first phase of this neighborhood consists of six houses that provide unique sustainable design solutions for the twelve students that will be living in this neighborhood during the 2024-25 academic year.

An aerial view of EcoVillage at Loy Farm, a new living learning community that includes six two-bedroom houses that utilize sustainable design principles and sustainable materials.

An aerial view of EcoVillage at Loy Farm, a new living learning community that includes six two-bedroom houses that utilize sustainable design principles and sustainable materials.

An aerial view of EcoVillage at Loy Farm, a new living learning community that includes six two-bedroom houses that utilize sustainable design principles and sustainable materials.

Thursday, August 22

College Coffee – Employee Resource Groups
Location: Phi Beta Kappa Commons (Rain location: Koury Athletic Center concourse)
10:15 to 10:45 a.m.

Learn about the various Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) on campus with the academic year’s first College Coffee, a weekly tradition at Elon. College Coffee continues throughout the year on Tuesday mornings from 9:40 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.

ERGs at College Coffee include:

• Advocates for Diversity and Accessibility
• Amazing Admins
• API (Asian and Pacific Islander)
• Black
• Cultivating Emerging Professionals
• Employees with Children
• Global Connections
• Hispanic/Latinx
• Jewish
• LGBTQIA
• Remote Employees (meeting virtually @ 8:30 a.m. PST / 11:30 a.m.EST)
• Supervisors of Student Employees
• Sustainability
• Thrive after 55
• Veterans

Friday, August 23

Move-In Day

Students officially return to campus on Friday, August 23. More information about Move-In Day and New Student Orientation can be found here.

Saturday, August 24

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

New Student Convocation marks the official opening of the academic year and welcomes the Class of 2028 and transfer students. Volunteers are needed to greet guests, assist with seating and answer general questions. You can sign up to volunteer by filling out this . The survey will close on August 16.

More Information

Name Tags

As the university starts a new academic year with some new faces, wearing name tags is important and encouraged.

Name tags forÌęnew employees (hired since June 1) will be delivered to each office by Aug. 14. Please pick yours up from your department assistant. Employees who are unable to get to their offices prior to planning week may stop by the name tag table on Monday, Aug. 19, at the reception beginning at 8:15 a.m. in Alumni Gym. After Monday, the assistant in an employee’s area can help with name tags.

Current employees should wear the name tag they were most recently issued.

University Directory Photographs

All Elon faculty and staff members are encouraged to have their photo included in the university’s 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 located in the southwest corner of Alumni Gym, close to West Haggard Avenue.ÌęPlease enter through the external doors in the southwest corner of Alumni Gym,Ìę

• Tuesday, Aug. 20: 2 to 4 p.m.
• Thursday, Aug. 22: 10 a.m. to noon

Once your photo is in the directory, you may download a high-resolution version for your own professional use. To do so, visitÌęwww.elon.edu/directories. Log in at the bottom left, and the editing page will open. Beneath your photo, click the download link to download a high-resolution copy of your portrait to your computer.

Trainings for Active Violence

The 51±ŹÁÏÍű Campus Safety and Police Department is offering ongoing training to our campus community on Strategies for Active Violence Situations.

Officers of the department are trained to the model of Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE). The CRASE course is designed and built on the Avoid, Deny, Defend strategy and was developed by ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) in 2004. The course provides strategies, guidance, and a proven plan for surviving an active shooter event. Although Elon’s officers train to this strategy, they also take the training one step further to teach concepts about prevention within our campus community.

Upon request, an officer will visit your specific office/location to perform an assessment and take photos of your workspace. Information and photos gathered from that assessment are then built into the presentation, so the training is personal and specific to your area.

To request an assessment and training, please reach out to Community Policing Sergeant Joel Thomas at 336-278-5555 orÌęjthomas39@elon.edu.

The Elon community pulled together to support his efforts but also recognized the university’s leadership responsibility to “act locally” and helped alleviate some of the needs in Alamance County.Ìę That original drive benefitted both the children abroad and here at home.

The university is excited to continue its commitment to the local community and asks that students, faculty and staff consider donating needed supplies for Alamance Burlington School System (ABSS) students. Every year, the ABSS Student Support Services team (connected to the ) supports over 500 children and families experiencing homelessness, and the need continues to grow in our county.

How to Participate

Students, faculty and staff can participate in one of the following ways:

1. Bring your supplies to the President’s Address on Monday, Aug. 19, in Alumni Gym, the traditional “kick-off” to this drive.
2. Purchase and drop off supplies Aug.16-26 in one of the collection boxes on campus:
   • Moseley Campus Center (near Young Commons entrance)
   • Koury Center (concourse near Young Commons entrance)
   • Belk Library (front entrance near Young Commons)
   • Alamance building (in the rotunda near room 109)
   • Powell building (at front entrance)
   • Mooney building (student lounge area)
   • Lindner Hall (near room 104)
   • Koury Business Center (lobby)
   • Founders Hall (lobby near large stairs)
   • Schar Hall (in Snow Family Atrium)
   • Francis Center (main lobby)
   • Janice Ratliff building (in lobby)
   • Ellington Center (Faculty/Staff Health and Wellness)
   • Johnston Hall (near entrance)
   • Campus Shop (Elon Town Center)
   • Campus Safety and Police (Oaks)
   • Campus Technology Services building (near the entrance)
   • Business Services building (front entrance)
   • Facilities Management building (front office)
3. Purchase school supplies online and have them shipped to the Student Government Association (SGA) at 2979 Campus Box, 100 Campus Drive, Elon, NC 27244. Supplies must be delivered by Aug. 26.
4. Call the SGA office at (336) 278-7109, if you have donations and cannot locate a drop-off box, and an SGA leader will come to pick up the donation.
5. Law School faculty and staff members may contact Stacie Dooley, assistant dean of career and student development. A separate drive is being coordinated for the Greensboro area.

Items to Donate

While all school supplies are welcomed and appreciated, ABSS has shared that new backpacks/book bags and the list of supplies below are their greatest needs:

School Supplies

• New backpacks or book bags (best if they can span ages and levels)
• 3-ring binders (1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3-inch)
• Notebook paper (wide-ruled and college-ruled)
• Composition notebooks
• Pocket folders (with or without prongs)
• Colored pencils
• Crayons
• Washable markers
• Flash drives (4GB or greater)

Personal Care Items

• Shampoo
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Combs
• Brushes
• Body wash
• Deodorant
• Feminine hygiene products
• Hand sanitizer
• Gas cards
• Food cards
• Ziploc bags
• Tissues
• Student-sized masks

For additional questions, contact Jodean Schmiederer, advisor to the Student Government Association, at jschmiederer@elon.edu, or Kelly Harer, involvement chair for the Staff Advisory Council, at kharer@elon.edu.

Elon’s Staff Advisory Council has introduced the Staff Recognition Form, an online portal that allows members of the campus community to give words of praise, enter a shout-out, or send thanks and appreciation to a specific staff member at Elon. The council recognized the tremendous work staff had been doing, especially in the midst of a global pandemic, and wanted to draw positive attention to those going above and beyond.

“Staff Advisory Council wanted to create a simple and effective way for folks to recognize the amazing work staff contribute; the opportunity to lift each other up right now on a personal level is critical,”Ìęsaid T.J. Bowie, past Staff Advisory Council chair and associate director of auxiliary services. “A simple submission saying, ‘I see your hard work and the value you provide to our community’ can have a massive lasting impact on someone, and in turn will have a positive impact on staff engagement with students, productivity and retention.”

Once submitted to the Staff Advisory Council, the form will be forwarded to the recognized staff member via email. The form can be submitted anonymously or include the name of the person submitting the recognition. There is no limit to the number of recognition forms that a person can submit.

Staff Advisory Council would like to recognizeÌęERP Application Developer/Trainer Julie White for spearheading the effort to establish the Staff Recognition Form, andÌęAssistant Director for Online CommunicationsÌęChris Spires for developing the form.

The Staff Advisory Council’s mission is to facilitate active and direct communication between staff employees and the President’s Office and to provide a forum for input and discussion of issues important to staff and the university. The council seeks to accomplish its mission by contributing to the university’s culture of community and recognition, participating in the shared governance of the university, reviewing and making recommendations on appropriate issues, and more.

Learn more about the council’s mission, as well as opportunities for staff to get involved on campus and in the community, on the Elon Staff Advisory Council website.

Two presentations represented findings from a two-year multi-institutional study funded by the Colonial Academic Alliance IN/CO grant program, with additional support from Elon’s Center for Research on Global Engagement. The co-investigators from Elon include Matthew Buckmaster, assistant dean of global education and associate professor of music; Olivia Choplin, associate professor of French;ÌęKirstie Doehler, associate professor of statistics; Nina Namaste, associate professor of Spanish; Amanda Sturgill, associate professor of journalism; and Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, interim associate provost of academic excellence, director of the Center for Research on Global Engagement and professor of psychology.

There were two additional presentations made by Elon faculty. Amy Allocco, associate profess of religious studies, and Vandermaas-PeelerÌęcollaborated with colleagues from Grinnell College and CEA Study Abroad to present mentoring strategies for undergraduate research in global contexts. Phillip Motley Jr., associate professor of communication design; Derek Lackaff, associate professor of communication design and director of the iMedia Graduate Program; and SturgillÌępresented adaptions on global learning during COVID-19. The titles and authors of each presentation are listed below.

“Coming back, I just felt like a more authentic version of myself”: Identity and Global Experiences, by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Director of Center for Research on Global Engagement and Professor of Psychology; Matt Buckmaster, Assistant Dean of Global Education and Associate Professor of Music; Olivia Choplin, Associate Professor of French in the Department of World Languages and Cultures; Amanda Sturgill, Associate Professor of Journalism; Kirsten Doehler, Associate Professor of Statistics; and Nina Namaste, Assistant Professor of Spanish—all of 51±ŹÁÏÍű

Research-Informed Global Learning Experience Design: Insights from a Multi-Institutional Project, by Jennifer L. Wiley, Research Fellow—James Madison University, and Managing Partner— CoreCollaborative International; Maureen Vandermaas Peeler, Interim Associate Provost for Academic Excellence and Director of the Center for Research on Global Engagement—51±ŹÁÏÍű; and Vesna Hart, Director, International Cooperation, Center for Global Engagement—James Madison University

Undergraduate Research in Global Contexts: Mentoring Strategies for Embedded Learning, by Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, Director of the Center for Research on Global Engagement, Interim Associate Provost, and Professor of Psychology, and Amy Allocco, Director of the Multifaith Studies Program and Associate Professor of Religious Studies—both of 51±ŹÁÏÍű; Kate Patch, Senior Director of Global Initiatives—Grinnell College; and Louis M. Berends, Vice President of Academic Affairs—CEA Study Abroad

Global Learning Close to Home: Adaptations During COVID-19 and Implications Beyond, by Phillip M. Motley, Associate Professor, Communication Design; Amanda Sturgill, Associate Professor, Journalism; and Derek Lackaff, Associate Professor, Communication Design—all of 51±ŹÁÏÍű