Events & Activities

‘Rites of Seasons’ breaks ground for performing arts, music departments

The dance program presented its first evening-length, original production this spring with “Rites of Seasons.” Conceived and directed by Performing Arts Chair Lauren Kearns, the four-part performance was broadly collaborative, with different faculty choreographing each of the four seasons around themes of nature and climate change. Senior Lecturer in Music Clay Stevenson wrote the score, which was performed live by four music majors. Theatrical design and technology faculty and students built sets from recycled materials and designed eco-friendly costumes that were sometimes part of the stage itself. The production and performances led to new student experiences around creativity and artistic collaboration. The production was funded in part by an Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences Fund for Excellence grant.

Art faculty present biennial gallery exhibition

An exhibition by art department faculty spanned media, inviting curiosity through found-object art, photography and videography, motion- and light-activated pieces, paintings and more as part of a biennial effort to show students the ideas that inspire them as working artists. The exhibition, which was on display from October through December in Arts West, offered an opportunity for students to connect with new media and gather ideas for their own work.

“Having our work displayed on campus offers the Elon community a better understanding of our own practice and scholarship,” said Professor of Art Michael Fels, chair of the art department. “The students also need to see that we have to address execution, studio practice, timelines, professionalism and critique just as we ask of them.”

Megan Squire presents TEDx talk about online hate group research

Professor of Computer Science Megan Squire is routinely cited by national media and security professionals as an expert in studying how extremist groups use online tools to organize and further their agendas. In Spring 2020, she presented “Using Data Science to Understand Online Hate” at TEDxFurmanU, using data from the violent 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. Squire collected data around the event from multiple online platforms to identify movement leaders and track the spread of propaganda, extremist messaging and targeted harassment.

Department of Art hosts first yearlong artist-in-residence

Assistant Professor of Art Grace Tessein became the Department of Art’s first yearlong artist-in-residence. The position was designed to stimulate interest in clay arts and cross-disciplinary approaches to making art. Tessein’s residence led to over-enrollment in ceramics and led to the department recruiting multiple new majors. Tessein’s ceramics instruction inspired a mug sale that raised $875 for Burlington Animal Services shelter and pet adoption programs. Tessein’s solo exhibition was rescheduled for fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

New professional fellowship encourages student writers

Alumnus Stephen Smith ’69 has funded the Weymouth Writing Residency Fellowship, which supports a student’s weeklong stay at the Weymouth Center for the Arts in Southern Pines, N.C. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fellowship will be offered for the first time in 2020-21.

Second Leading Women in Audio Conference spotlights women in music industry

The Department of Music hosted the second annual Leading Women in Audio Conference in February. Led by Lecturer in Music Fred Johnson and organized by a panel of undergraduates, the two-day conference is the only one of its kind in the industry, featuring all-female panels of speakers and workshops led by women music production and industry professionals. This year’s conference drew more than 100 people from across North Carolina, neighboring universities and area high school students for music engineering demonstrations and discussions. The event allowed Elon undergraduates the chance to meet with professionals in their fields of interest and watch them record, mix and master music for a variety of outlets.

Multifaith Scholars program welcomes fourth cohort

Five members of the Class of 2022 have been named members of the fourth cohort of Multifaith Scholars. Students in the interdisciplinary program are awarded $5,000 annually to support global research and study connected with religious diversity and multifaith societies. The two-year Multifaith Scholars program offers a closely mentored, experientially rich and intellectually rigorous educational opportunity for juniors and seniors.

“The selection committee was extremely impressed with each scholar’s research ideas, passion for learning across difference and interest in community engagement,” said Associate Professor of Religious Studies Amy Allocco, who has directed the program since its inception in 2016. “Their proposed undergraduate research projects promise to advance their intellectual development and personal growth and to make significant contributions within and beyond our campus community.”

In March, a symposium celebrating the conclusion of the Arthur Vining Davis grant funding of the Multifaith Scholars program marked the successes of the program’s first three years. A panel of scholars presented about the importance of interreligious research, teaching and mentoring. Elon University has now assumed all funding for the program, which is administered through its Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society.

Engineering, physical therapy programs partner for client-based solutions

Teams of students in EGR 221: Engineering Design for Service worked with seven clients of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program to design and prototype 11 different devices to improve those clients’ mobility and comfort in daily life. Undergraduates met with the clients and their families, listened to their difficulties around quality-of-life issues, and designed and re-designed devices to their specifications.

One group built a motion-activated MP3 player for a toddler’s walker to encourage the child to walk. Another designed a custom stool for a client’s workstation. Another designed a seat cushion to assist a client with Parkinson’s Disease in standing up. “This was a lot more like what I’d like to be doing: more working with real people and dealing with real-world scenarios that you don’t usually get in class,” Parker Verlander ’22 said. “This made me realize engineering is what I want to do.”