Connect

Lifelong Partnerships Near and Far

In the decade ahead, we will invest in connections near and far by:

Engaging in lifelong partnerships with our talented alumni
Partnering with communities to transform the future
Celebrating Phoenix athletics on and off the field

Lifelong Partnerships With Elon’s Talented Alumni

The next chapter of Elon’s story will be told through the accomplishments of more than 35,000 alumni who are making a difference around the world. Building on our commitment to alumni, we will foster lifelong partnerships through professional development, networks, and learning opportunities and lasting connections between alumni and the university.

Objectives and Progress

Last updated: October 2024

Objectives

Design a national model for alumni professional development, including workshops, short courses, certificates and continuing education to support lifelong alumni connections and learning.
Increase staffing focused on alumni professional networking and career advancement, ensuring that through all stages of their lives and careers, Elon graduates remain connected with fellow alumni, parents, faculty and staff.
Establish Elon learning centers in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. and other strategic locations as hubs for alumni (professional development and networking), students (internships and StudyUSA), prospective families (admissions headquarters) and lifelong learning and professional education.

Progress Report

Following work by the Regional Learning Centers planning team, Elon has launched its National Campus program. In fall 2024, Elon Law welcomed its first cohort of 36 students enrolled in the Flex Law program at the Charlotte National Campus. Also in Charlotte, during the summer of 2024, Elon held its first Study USA Charlotte summer program and welcomed the first eight participants in the Queen City Internship program, and effort to place Elon students in summer internships in non-profits in and around Charlotte. In early 2024, Elon in LA welcomed its new director, Brad Lemack to lead ongoing initiatives there. Enrollments in New York, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles remain steady for undergraduate programs and Study USA.
Progress continues on building excellence in alumni professional development initiatives. In early 2024, Elon hired Associate Director of Career Services for Alumni Lasse Palomaki, a new position to support alumni who desire assistance with professional networking, second careers, job changes, etc. Also in the fall 2024, Elon launched “Alumni Q&A,” an interactive platform empowered by artificial intelligence to connect students and alumni in real-time networks for career advice, job search assistance and more. This effort also connects to the University’s wide-reaching Mentoring and Meaningful Relationships efforts.
Jack Rodenfels ’12 was hired as the Director of Professional Advancement and Continuing Education to lead Elon NEXT, which offered more than 30 courses and certificates in data visualization, leadership, digital marketing, project management, cybersecurity, financial planning, and more for Summer 2022.

Metrics

Bar chart showing the number of students studying in regional learning centers

Partner With Communities To Transform the Future

In building a “college for the world,” Elon’s founders envisioned the power of education to lift communities. During this decade we will develop partnerships to advance healthy, prosperous and socially just communities in Alamance and Guilford Counties and around the world. We will advance literacy and degree attainment in our local communities; connect graduate student expertise with needs in entrepreneurship, culture and the arts, education and health sciences; and fulfill our mission to prepare students to be global citizens and informed leaders motivated by concern for the common good.

Objectives and Progress

Last updated: October 2024

Objectives

Prepare every student to participate in community and civic engagement, gaining essential skills and an understanding of their civic responsibilities.
Through deepened partnerships with the Alamance-Burlington School System and led by the School of Education, further support literacy, college preparation, degree attainment, certification programs, and teacher licensure programs that address the need for highly trained teachers from underrepresented groups.
Endow the nationally recognized Elon Academy college access and success program and the It Takes a Village literacy initiatives.
Double the number of graduates in service-year positions in our local communities.
Advance the School of Law’s experiential legal education model through partnerships in Guilford County, North Carolina, across the country, and with international legal communities.
Create a business incubator and solutions hub to spur regional growth and respond to challenges of health, hunger, poverty and climate change through collaborations led by the Love School of Business.
Serve as a partner in regional health, responding to health professional shortages and the needs of the underserved through the provision of outstanding healthcare providers, targeted clinics and community outreach by the School of Health Sciences.

Progress Report

In preparation for the 2024 election, President Book convened an ad hoc committee to develop a comprehensive strategy to enhance Elon’s election engagement and support. The committee developed and implemented seven recommendations that will help our campus to be informed about and engaged in the national, state, and local Election 2024. The recommendations were designed to educate the campus while maintaining our values for inclusivity and liberal arts values including asking questions, creative and critical thinking, and ethical, evidence-based decision making.
Elon created the Alamance Scholars 2+2 teacher pipeline program in partnership with Alamance Community College and Alamance Burlington School System to provide local students (those who have financial need and come from a variety of backgrounds) with a pathway from high school to a college degree and training to become teachers within the local community. The Alamance Scholars program had seven candidates enrolled at Elon in fall 2024 and the first Alamance Scholar, graduating in December 2024, has been employed as a teacher by ABSS.
The Elon donor community has supported the Elon Academy since its founding. Thanks to a generous estate gift of $1.5 million from the late Nancy Watson ’66, received in the summer of 2024, the endowment to support the Elon Academy now stands at approximately $8.5 million. The annual payout from this endowment support 90-95% of the annual budget of the Elon Academy. Annual gifts fund the remainder of the budget. The Village Project is funded through grant money and endowment support continues to be sought to fund this important community initiative. Funding from the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education Community Endowment, which will be fully endowed by the completion of Boldly Elon, will provide future support to both of these initiatives.
The Year of Service Fellows Program added its eighth cohort with six 2022 graduates spending the year working full-time at Alamance Achieves, the City of Burlington Economic Development Department, Alamance Regional Medical Center, Alamance County Health Department, Healthy Alamance, and Impact Alamance.
The Student Professional Development Center and Kernodle Center for Civic Life developed the Campus Alamance summer internship program (funded by the university) that included 14 students serving as paid interns in Alamance County non-profits, government agencies, and businesses and participating in professional development and networking in Summer 2021. For Summer 2022, the program was expanded to 40 student interns and 28 employers.

Metrics

Bar chart showing the annual number of students in Elon's Village Project

Bar chart showing Elon Academy's cumulative number of college graduates

Bar chart showing the cumulative number of service-year fellows

Bar chart showing the number of health sciences graduates

Outreach by the School of Health Sciences

Celebrate Phoenix Athletics on and off the Field

Phoenix athletics rallies our communities far and wide and raises our spirit as we celebrate human performance. BOLDLY ELON will advance our position of leadership on and off the field in the highly competitive arena of NCAA Division I athletics and provide a premier student-athlete experience.

Objectives and Progress

Last updated: October 2024

Objectives

Consistently win conference championships, make tournament appearances in all sports and lead the conference in academics and gender equity.
Continue to lead the conference in Academic Progress and Graduation Success metrics.
Enhance student-athletes’ personal, academic and professional growth, their mental and physical health and well-being, and their access to preventative services and faculty and staff mentors who further engagement in the Elon Experiences.
Provide new academic, practice and competition spaces for year-round success.

Progress Report

Over the first five years of the Boldly Elon plan, Elon has won 11 CAA championships (including both regular season and tournament championships): Women’s Cross Country – 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019; Women’s Indoor Track and Field – 2023; Women’s Outdoor Track and Field – 2023, 2022, 2021; Men’s Soccer – Regular Season – 2022; Women’s Soccer – 2020 (played in Spring 2021)

Over the course of the first five years of Boldly Elon, Phoenix teams have made three NCAA tournament appearances: Women’s Soccer – 2020 (played in spring 2021); Men’s Soccer – 2022; Football – 2022

Elon has finished first or second in the CAA in the Graduation Success Rate each year of Boldly Elon, posting rates ranging from 96% to 98%. Elon has finished third in the CAA the most recent three years for the Academic Progress Rate metric.
During Summer 2021, Elon Athletics transitioned to Duke Medicine as the provider for sports medical assistance for student-athletes, including the athletics general doctor, orthopedic physician, and physical therapy assistance. Many teams now engage with sports psychologists and nutritionists.
All athletic trainers, coaches and staff have engaged in Kognito training and are CPR-certified in an ongoing attempt to maintain excellence as potential first responders.
Elon established funding for nutritional needs to increase support provided for student-athletes in nutrition including enhanced fueling stations, a part-time sports nutritionist and access to a registered dietitian through Harvest Table, and enhanced nutrition options and training table through partnerships with Harvest Table.
Upgrades to the Worsley Golf Practice Facility were completed in 2022, including golf simulators, Trackman devices, insulated garage doors, carpet, and surfacing for the outside hitting areas. Upgrades to the golf facility include enhancements and fencing to the practice space, a new 17,000 square foot tee box and additional fairway bunker complete with the addition of Trackman Range that allows tracking of shots with technology to enhance performance. The Holland House will be renovated in spring 2025 to provide a clubhouse with locker rooms, meeting rooms and coaches offices. The Worsley Golf Training Center will be updated to provide a dedicated indoor facility.
Upgrades to Hunt Softball Park included new netting, new foul poles, new signage, new turf, new sound system, new dugout padding and new outfield padding. Upgrades to Latham Park included a new videoboard, pitch clocks, backstop padding and new dugout padding. Upgrades to Alumni Field House included enhancements in the training room and shower partitions for football locker room. Robertson Track has been resurfaced and drainage on White Field has been upgraded. Courts at Jimmy Powell Tennis Center have been resurfaced.
91% of student-athletes participated in internships over the last 4-years, 74% of student-athletes participated in service, 42% of student-athletes participated in Phoenix Leadership Academy and 11% of student-athletes completed research.

Metrics

The Academic Progress Rate (A.P.R.) is calculated as follows:
• Each student-athlete receiving athletics related financial aid earns one point for staying in school and one point for being academically eligible.
• A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by 1,000 to equal the team’s Academic Progress Rate.

The Graduation Success Rate (G.S.R.) is the 6-year graduation rate for division I that accounts for transfers in/out.

A Vibrant College Town

In partnership with the Town of Elon, City of Burlington and surrounding communities, we will increase community engagement with the campus and explore public/private partnerships to develop a thriving college town environment. Investing in new and redeveloped housing and businesses will benefit local residents and Elon students, faculty and staff who want to live, shop and enjoy life in a safe and vibrant community.

Objectives and Progress

Last updated: October 2024

Objectives

Invest in new and redeveloped student housing and successful local businesses.
Raise $10 million in scholarships through profits from The Inn at Elon, which will attract visiting alumni, parents, prospective families, and host academic meetings.
Advance understanding of town and university history through the acknowledgment of untold stories, toward a deeper understanding of who we were, who we are and who we aspire to be.

Progress Report

During the 2020-2021 academic year, the Town of Elon and Elon University held meetings to enhance communications and partnerships. Six working groups were developed and began meeting: Senior Partner Leadership Group, Weekly Communications, Neighborhood Coalition (prior group had stopped meeting during pandemic), Safety and Security, Planning and Economic Development, Town Manager and CFO , and the existing Downtown Advisory Board meeting. The Town and University worked on enhancing seating on Lebanon Avenue and are now collaborating on the West College Plaza project and Williamson Avenue streetscape.
In the past three years, profits from The Inn at Elon have provided more than $3.8 million for student scholarships. the funding is focused on North Carolina Odyssey Scholars and 154 students have benefited.
The Committee on Elon History & Memory created a dashboard for monitoring and updating progress on the recommendations from the Fall 2020 report. One Fall 2022 initiative is to re-establish a 2020 group focused on forging a stronger relationship with the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation tribe. In partnership with the tribal council, the group will explore creation of a land acknowledgment statement by the university.
An Elon faculty member participated in the Council on Independent Colleges’ Legacies of American Slavery Seminar in June 2022, engaging in scholarly discussions on the impacts of slavery in communities, particularly those where higher education institutions exist. The convening aimed to identify appropriate strategies for building partnerships with community organizations in understanding and reporting a complete history of slavery while promoting ideas for addressing these legacies through civic action.