​CELEBRATE! is Elon’s annual, weeklong celebration of student achievements in academics and the arts that includes the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF), an annual Awards Day Ceremony sponsored by Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) and an event honoring faculty scholarship. 

Each year, hundreds of Elon University students are involved in activities during CELEBRATE! The week includes seminars, presentations, art exhibitions, plays, student showcases, dance and music performances, and much, much more. CELEBRATE! 2017 brings together the stimulation of academic inquiry and scholarly pursuit with the exhilaration of creative expression. 

Find a lineup of events for the celebratory week below. 

Monday, April 24

Holocaust Remembrance Readings
12:15 to 1:30 p.m.
McBride Gathering Space

Elon University is proud to participate in the National Jewish Theater Foundation – Holocaust Theater International Initiative – Remembrance Readings 2017 in Honor of Elie Wiesel. 
 
College Writing Showcase
4 to 5:15 p.m.
Belk Library Atrium

The College Writing Showcase features exemplary projects completed by students in ENG 110 during the past year. Students and faculty will be at the event to talk about the projects and about writing. The event is open to the entire community. 
 
6 PM – 8 PM Phi Kappa Phi Induction Ceremony
6 to 8 p.m.
McKinnon Hall, by invitation

Phi Kappa Phi honors students with outstanding academic work in all disciplines across Elon’s campus.  In addition to undergraduates, Elon inducts graduate students, alumni, and faculty/administrators/staff who have let the “love of learning” be an example in their lives. This year’s speaker, Kimberly Pyne, Is not only an Elon alum but associate professor in the English department who will share some of her experiences in animal conservation. 
 

Tuesday, April 25

Faculty presenters for the SURF morning poster session
8:30 to 10:20 a.m.
Great Hall

School of Education

• Jeff Carpenter and Scott Morrison (Education), “The Evolution of #ElonEd: Twitter in Teacher Education”

Schools of Education and Health Sciences

• Elizabeth Bailey (Dept of Health and Human Performance, School of Ed) and Stephen P. Bailey (Physical Therapy Education, School of Health Sciences), “The Impact of High Intensity Internal Training on Body Composition and Fitness in Adolescent Children”

Love School of Business

• Brian Lyons, “Do Peer Reporting Policies Work? A Person-Situation and Formal System Strength Perspective”
• Kacy Kim, “Active Bidders versus Smart Bidders: Do Participation Intensity and Shopping Goals Affect the Winner’s Joy in Online Bidding?”
• Mostafa Mesgari, “Ecological Approach to User-Technology Interaction”

School of Communications

• Jooyun Hwang, ”What They Did or Who They Are? An Examination of Linguistic Intergroup Bias in Media and Public Responses to Corporate Crises”
• Ben Hannam, Amanda Sturgill, and Brian Walsh, “External Resource Use for Undergraduate Learning Coding in Communications”

Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences

• Eric Bauer (Biology), “Can Snails Feel You Coming? Neuroethology of Gastropod Vibrational Senses”
• Scott Spurlock (Computing Sciences), “Gaze Estimation with Learned Discretization”
• Rebecca Pope-Ruark, Li Li, and Michael Strickland (English), “Connecting senior assessment to program development in a Professional Writing and Rhetoric program”
• Amanda Chunco (Environmental Studies), “Species Distribution in a Changing World”
• Caroline Ketcham (Exercise Science), “Elon BrainCARE: Concussion Knowledge and Education for Faculty and Staff in a University”
• Amy Johnson (History), “Indigenous slave holding in colonial Jamaica”
• Carmen Monico (Human Service Studies), “Elon’s Guatemala Practicum: A Practice Model of Global Learning and International Human Service Delivery”
• Todd Lee (Mathematics), “Rankings: Maximum Likelihood, Embedded Tournaments, and Markov Flows”
• Suzanne Shawyer (Performing Arts), “Audience Response to Theatre of Cruelty at the 1968 Democratic National Convention”
• Kyle Altmann (Physics), “Magnetic thin film deposition in a vacuum”
• Bilal Ghandour (Psychology), “Eating Disorders and Perfectionism: The Connection between Anorexia and Obsessive-Compulsive Personalities”
• Ariela Marcus-Sells (Religious Studies), “Sorcery, Science, and Secrets: Technologies of Muslim Devotion in Eighteenth-Century West Africa”
• Rissa Trachman (Sociology and Anthropology), “The Ancient City of Dos Hombres: Material Expressions of Power” 
• Elena Schoonmaker-Gates (World Languages & Cultures), “Dialect awareness and the perception of regional variation by L2 learners of Spanish”

Student Research Presentations
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Moseley, Lakeside, Inman, and Global Commons (see SURF schedule once available for more details)
 
College Coffee
9:40 to 10:20 a.m.
Commons Area outside of Great Hall

A Post-SURF Celebration of Elon Core Capstone Projects
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
2nd floor of the Global Commons

Third and fourth-year students will present posters or PowerPoint summaries of their Core Capstone Projects to the Elon community. Every Interdisciplinary Core Capstone Course requires a substantial project that allows students to integrate and apply what they have experienced throughout their studies at Elon, from first-year courses to the Core Capstone. These projects also provide opportunities for reflection on the components of the larger mission of the Elon Core Curriculum, thus preparing students to be global citizens and informed leaders motivated by concern for the common good.

elondocs Documentary Showcase
7 p.m.
Turner Theater

This special screening will include a selection of short documentaries created by members of the elondocs production program. A mixture of audio, photo, and video documentary shorts will be presented and a Q&A session with the filmmakers will follow the screening. 
 

Wednesday, April 26

The 2017 Student Kickbox winners’ demonstrations
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Moseley, Room 104
 
The 2017 Class of Issues in African Art presents: The Body in African Art
4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Isabella Cannon Room

A multi-media exhibition reviewing cultural and artistic creativity from throughout the continent of Africa and its Diaspora. 
 

Thursday, April 27

Celebrate! Academic Service-Learning
11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Oaks 212

Students from Service-Learning communities and the Civic-Engagement Scholars program present about their experiences with service-learning and the results of their work in the Burlington community and beyond.

Professional Writing and Rhetoric Showcase
2:30 to 4 p.m.
Alamance Hall, Room 318
 
Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) Annual Awards Ceremony
3:45 PM – 5:45 PM
Whitley Auditorium (Rain location: West Parlor)

Omicron Delta Kappa is honored to sponsor the Annual Awards Day Ceremony. Since 1977, Elon’s Circle of ODK recognizes students who demonstrate outstanding leadership skills while maintaining high academic standards. The Ceremony is a means to recognize students campus-wide who exemplify integrity and excellence in their academic and experiential endeavors. A reception will be held at 3:45 p.m., with the ceremony to follow at 4:15 p.m. Sponsored by ODK and the Center for Leadership.
 
DRIFT: An Aerial Dance Film Viewing and Presentation
6 to 7 p.m.
Center for the Arts, Room 112 (Studio B)

Please join faculty and students from the Performing Arts Department and School of Communications in celebrating the collaboration of DRIFT: An Aerial Dance Film. A short discussion of our creative process of collaboration will precede the viewing of our film. After, we will perform a live demonstration of our outdoor aerial dancing on a twenty-foot-high aerial rig by Lake Mary Nell.  
 
Jubilation!
7:30 PM 
McCrary Theatre

Elon University’s vocal jazz/a cappella ensemble, élan, presents an evening of music highlighting the history and tradition of the gospel jubilee quartet tradition featuring selections and arrangements from such groups as the Jubilee Four and the Golden Gate Quartet. The concert will also include popular pieces from black quartets such as The Mills Brothers, The Del Vikings, the Ink Spots and others. Featuring special guest artist Dr. Kevin Johnson, son of the late Willie T. Johnson (founding member of the Gates). Dr. Johnson’s appearance supported in part by the Elon Fund for Excellence. No admission charge.
 

Saturday, April 29

LEAD Capstone Presentations
10 a.m. – 3 p.m. 
Lindner Pavilion classrooms 

An opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to learn about Leadership Education and Development Program Common Good Projects. Tier III graduates will present during eight educational sessions, highlighting the positive and sustainable changes they have created in their local communities by participating in the LEAD Program
 
Spring Choral Showcase
7:30 p.m.  
McCrary Theatre

The Elon choirs, Chorale and Camerata, each present their own set of works featuring a variety of composers and genres. Special guest appearance by the Spelman Glee Club, under the direction of Spelman Director of Choral Activities Dr. Kevin Johnson, presenting their own selections. The choirs will then combine to finish off with spirituals and gospel selections. Dr. Johnson’s appearance supported in part by the Elon Fund for Excellence. No admission charge.