Elon University

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.

The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business offers undergraduate degrees in accounting, business administration, economics, entrepreneurship, finance, international business, management, and marketing.[14]

The Elon School of Communications is one of 18 accredited communications programs for private universities in the US by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC). 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.[15]

The Elon University School of Law opened on August 10, 2006. The school is located in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina in the former city library. Former United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor delivered the Dedication Address on September 19, 2006. The School of Law houses a working court—the North Carolina Business Court.[16]

Established in April 2011, Elon's School of Health Sciences offers a doctor of physical therapy (DPT) program and a physician assistant (PA) studies master's program.[17] 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.[18]

The Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education offers both licensure and non-licensure undergraduate majors,[19] as well as Master of Education (M.Ed.)[20] and Master of Arts in Higher Education (MHE)[21] degrees.

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 (named in honor of humorist and speaker Jeanne Robertson who had been an Elon trustee, and her husband, "Left Brain"), 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.[33]

The 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m²) facility at the north end of Rhodes Stadium in the North Athletics Complex is the new headquarters for Phoenix athletics.[34] 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.[35]

Some of the student media on campus includes The Pendulum, Elon's undergraduate weekly newspaper published Wednesdays, and WSOE, the university's student-run non-commercial campus radio station, airing since 1977. ESTV (Elon Student Television) is the Student television station featuring numerous student-created and -run programs. One of Elon Student Televisions' shows run in large-part by Joey Gizzi and Steven Lannum, "Elon After Hours," would later become AreYouKiddingTV: an internet challenge and entertainment social media account mainly popular on Tik Tok and YouTube.[37]

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.[38]

Numerous student government, special interest, and service organizations are represented on campus, including Elon Volunteers, Habitat for Humanity, Model UN, Epsilon Sigma Alpha, Omega Psi Phi, Alpha Phi Omega, 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 games. The band also includes color guard (flag spinning) and dance auxiliary squads.[39]

Religious groups on campus include Catholic Campus Ministry, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the Iron Tree Blooming Meditation Society, the Muslim Student Association, Baptist Student Union, and Campus Outreach.[40]

The Jewish population at Elon has grown especially rapidly in recent years, with twelve percent of recent classes self-identifying as Jewish.[41][42] Elon was profiled in Reform Judaism magazine in 2011 as a school which has "gone the extra mile" to make itself more attractive to Jewish students,[43] and since 2013 it has been listed as one of the "top schools Jews choose."[44][45] The Muslim student population is small but has increased dramatically in size in recent years,[46] and a Muslim Student Association formed at Elon in 2011.[40] The Hindu population has also increased in size,[46] Hindu festivals have become an important part of the university calendar,[42] and Hindu students report feeling accepted at Elon.[47]

Elon worked closely with the Interfaith Youth Core in developing religious diversity and interreligious dialogue.[42][48] 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.[49]

Elon University recognizes 27 social Greek organizations. Forty-four percent of undergraduate students belong to one of the following campus-chartered organizations.[50]

At the start of each school year, Elon University holds a New Student Convocation ceremony for first year and transfer students.[51] 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.[52] 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.[53] The Oak Sapling tradition began in 1991, and the Acorn tradition began in 1999 after Leo Lambert became president of the university.[51]

• John Decatur Messick – Former President of East Carolina University (1947–1959)
• H. Shelton Smith – scholar of religion at Duke University
• Drew Van Horn - President of Young Harris College (from 2017); former President of Brevard College (2002-2011)