The residential neighborhood now under construction on the former East Gym site will include three new buildings housing 309 students once it is complete in August 2018.
The completion of Elon’s newest residential neighborhood in August will bring with it new living and learning community options for students under the theme of civic engagement and social innovation.
Once complete, the new East Neighborhood will include a trio of three-story residential buildings, each one housing 103 students. The neighborhood, built on the former East Gym site on East Haggard Avenue, will offer a range of Living-Learning Community (LLC) options. Students living in the neighborhood can gain a greater awareness of social and political issues while engaging in programming with faculty and staff to learn skills to become an active global citizen and change agents within society.
“With the launch of this new neighborhood the university is excited to have small cohort experiences that will deepen a student’s engagement in a variety of passion areas ranging from service learning, leadership, and science,” said Aliana Harrison, associate director of residence life for residential education and community development. “These experiences will help them explore how civic engagement and social innovation intersect these areas while helping our students become active citizens within the various career paths they will explore after Elon.”
Among the new Living-Learning Communities to be introduced at East Neighborhood are the Paideia LLC, a community named for a term from ancient Greek culture that will focus on civic and political engagement, and the Library LLC, a community that invites students who have a deep passion for the world of information, books and research and scholarship to engage deeply with Belk Library, the academic heart of campus.
East Neighborhood will also be home to the following LLCs:
- Leaders in a Global World LLC
- LICHENS: Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Studies
- Service Learning
- Honors Pavilion
- Elon College Fellows
Additionally, a new cohort experience called the Change Makers will involve students living in the East Neighborhood. These first-year students will work together to gain a better understanding of how to create and promote civic practices that lead to constructive participation in communities.
As with other neighborhoods around campus, there will be a strong academic connection with Elon University’s First Year Foundation Courses, COR 110: The Global Experience and ENG 110: Writing, Argument & Inquiry.
Two faculty members will live in the East Residential Neighborhood. Clay Stevenson, senior lecturer in music, will serve as faculty director and support the intellectual life of the neighborhood. Mark Dalhouse, director of Study USA and assistant professor, will serve as faculty-in-residence, and in that role will co-advise the new Paideia LLC and support the neighborhood’s intellectual theme through programs and events.
Incorporated into East Neighborhood will be the existing residential spaces in Isabella Cannon Pavilion and Kenan Honors Pavilion, with first-year students making up the bulk of the residential population. All of the buildings will be mixed gender, with rooms to include closets and moveable furniture sets. Each floor will have a common lounge space and community kitchen.
More information about East Neighborhood is available here.