Faculty & Staff

Russell’s efforts to make a meaningful connection with students go far beyond the classroom. Creating engaging and judgment-free spaces, giving time to the most outspoken of students to the most reserved, is a reputation that Russell has built during his nearly 30 years at Elon. His inspiration and encouragement are not limited to the students he’s taught but the entire Elon community – which is exemplified by his essay, “To Soar Again,” written during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage students and alumni during such difficult times.

Planning to begin his phased retirement next year, Russell has amassed a plethora of recognitions in his three decades of teaching, including but not limited to the 2018 Kathleen Connolly-Weinert Leader of the Year Award by the National Board of Theta Alpha Kappa, the 2016 Gerald Francis Faculty Member of the Year Award by the Elon Student Government Association and the 2008 Most Influential Professor Award by Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Currently, Russell is working on a book, tentatively titled “Into the Mystic,” which explores the various cultural manifestations of religion in the history of rock-and-roll.

Idris began his Elon career in 2012, after spending eight years at the University of Florida as a teaching associate in anthropology and the institution’s Center for American Studies. Idris became a full-time faculty member in 2014, teaching undergraduate classes in anthropology, sociology and African studies.

During that time, he has also worked with a variety of local organizations including the Center for New North Carolinians and the North Carolina African Services Coalition, both in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Idris has mentored two Lumen Prize winners, two Leadership Prize winners and won the Faculty Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2019 from Elon College, the College of the Arts and Sciences, along with a plethora of other distinctions. He is currently doing ethnographic research with newly resettled refugees from Sub-Saharan African countries in Greensboro, with a focus on resettlement experiences and micro-enterprise initiatives.

Since joining Elon in 2018 as an assistant professor, Monteith has excelled as a teacher and scholar. He has designed and taught innovative courses, such as Religion and Power, Irreligious and Secular Traditions, and Religion and Popular Culture, while distinguishing himself as a thoughtful, dynamic and effective teacher.

Monteith’s research examines both past and present secularism in American life, as well as how America itself can serve as its own kind of religion. He is currently writing a book explaining the significance of religion in the early Drug War from 1875 to 1940, tentatively titled “Christian Kingdoms and Demon Flowers: How American Protestants Cultivated the Drug War.” Monteith began his exploration of the topic in his dissertation, “Threatening the Very Foundations of Civilization: Religion and the American Drug War, 1875-1937.”

Monteith is a member of the American Studies Advisory Committee, the Athletics Committee, the ROTC Advisory Committee and serves as a faculty adviser to the Undergraduate Student Research Association.