Colonnades Neighborhood

Resilient and Agile in a Shifting Landscape

The Colonnades neighborhood, named for the Elon literary magazine first published in 1937, is the place where students from all class years, first-year through senior, “create connected communities” in five buildings that surround the geothermal field adjacent to the Koury Business Center.

In Colonnades, we want to develop a community that creates a network of belonging where students intentionally provide appropriate recognition, support, challenge, inspiration and accountability for each other.  Our current lived experiences have drastically changed over the past year. It is difficult to even anticipate the Elon landscape for the fall semester and beyond. Just as we have changed how we currently ‘belong’ to each other, we must learn to make meaning from altered lived experiences in new ways.  Our neighborhood outcomes and plans are centered on helping students to be more resilient and agile in how they approach the shifting landscape of this new academic year, and to find meaning and purpose in belonging in communal living.  We recognize the need to rebuild community in Colonnades, at Elon, in our town and across our country.

The Colonnades Commitment

The foundation of Colonnades stems from our commitment to sustainability and innovation.  We approach our commitment with a three-pronged philosophy in which social, environmental, and economic factors intersect. While sustainability and innovation are at the heart of Colonnades, it is stewardship that elevates Colonnades to a community focused on creating connection. We are the stakeholders. Together, we are the pillars of our community.

The Colonnades Neighborhood Plan

The Colonnades Neighborhood Plan 22-23 is an educational roadmap for integrating Colonnades residents’ academic, social, and residential experiences.

Neighborhood Student Population

• 419 students
• 41% first-year
• 33% sophomore
• 19% junior
• 7% senior

Facilities and Amenities

All buildings are mixed gender. The rooms include closets, sinks, and moveable furniture. Each building has printing stations, lounges, community kitchens, and suite-style baths. The Colonnades quad is perfect for outdoor activities in the warmer months. There is a hammock hangout area as well as a grill and picnic table. The Colonnades Neighborhood is committed to sustainable living. Download the Sustainable Living Guide to find out more. The Clohan Dining Hall is conveniently located in our Neighborhood.

The neighborhood includes five residence hall style buildings: Story, Moffitt, Kivette, Staley, and Colonnades E.

• Spacious double rooms sharing bathrooms for first year students
• Sophomore pod suites with two single rooms, a bathroom and a small living room
• Stand-alone singles for juniors and seniors with stackable washers and dryers and private bathrooms

Get a 360-degree view of a single in Colonnades:

Academic Connections

Live-in Faculty

Dr. Terry Tomasek, the Faculty Director, lives in the neighborhood and supports the intellectual life of the neighborhood.

Dr. Nina Namaste, the Faculty in Residence, lives in the neighborhood and supports the intellectual life of the neighborhood.

Residential Learning Communities in Colonnades

Living Learning Communities in the Neighborhood

• Business
• Examining Disparities in Access to Education
• Innovation
• Gender and Sexuality
• Honors Floor
• STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math)
• Sustainable Living

Signature Programs, Traditions, and Experiences

• Kick off the academic year with First Night ‘Nades to welcome first-years!
• Partnering with Belk Library and the GLC on the Human Library
• Enjoy an outdoor movie on the Quad
• Partnering with the Office of Sustainability in the Party for the Planet
• Partnering with the Danieley neighborhood for a variety of events and activities
• Kick start your creativity in the University’s “Maker Hub” located in Colonnades E
• Connect with the neighborhood weekly in our T-room located in Staley Hall. The T-room is a place to informally interact with the Faculty Director and other faculty or staff guests

The T-Room

Community Partnership

The Colonnades Neighborhood partners with the Village Project to support student engagement in our surrounding community through volunteer service. After being trained, interested residents will serve as reading tutors working with one child and a parent or guardian to develop the child’s reading skills. Tutoring takes place on Elon’s campus.