The first ever Neuroscience Workshop at Elon University was held Oct. 24, 2008, in the Moseley Center, where dozens of students and faculty took part in five presentations on a subject of growing interest in higher education.
Supported by a Fund for Excellence in the Arts and Sciences grant, the daylong program brought to campus guest speakers from Wake Forest University (Anita McCauly and Terry Blumenthal) and the Stark Neurosciences Institute (Gerry Oxford).
Elon faculty members also hosted presentations. They included: Robert Vick, Wally Bixby, Mat Gendle, Eric Hall, Caroline Ketcham, Kathryn Matera, Paul Miller, Amy Overman, Duane McClearn and Stephen Folger.
“The point of this workshop is to raise awareness about neuroscience and to show how neuroscience dovetails with a liberal arts education. It’s a fast growing, interdisciplinary field that Elon wants to be a part of,” Overman said. “The brain is the basis of all different functions – writing, thinking, memory. Any time you can think about the biological basis of behavior, you can connect it to different departments on campus.”
Elon University President Leo M. Lambert and Steven House, dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, attended a morning session.