Mille Guldbeck, artist talk and opening reception

Monday, September 5

Gallery 406, Arts West, 5:30 p.m.

Mille Guldbeck works with the intersection of craft and perception. Her paintings and drawings depict varying levels of reality through the representation of multiple physical planes. These paintings employ elements of illusionistic space, which result in multiple points of reference for viewers. Her work is in public collections in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. She is currently a professor of painting at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Exhibition continues through October 14.

Jukebox Saturday Night

Thursday, September 8

McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m.

Celebrate America’s Swing Era, the great Big Bands of the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s, and timeless hits recorded by Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Artie Shaw, Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and more. Jukebox Saturday Night’s energetic group of instrumentalists and vocalists keep audiences tapping their toes and clapping their hands. Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available beginning Tuesday, August 23 at elon.universitytickets.com. For information, call (336) 278-5610.

Robert Sallis, “Merging Fitness with Medicine to Improve Health”

Monday, September 12

McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts, 7 p.m.

Elon University Speaker Series • Voices of Discovery Science Speaker Series

Robert Sallis is a practicing family medicine physician who also holds a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Sports Medicine. He is a past president of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and currently serves as chairman of the Exercise is Medicine Advisory Board. Sallis has dual backgrounds in traditional and sports medicine that enable him to be a strong spokesperson for integrating physical activity into the practice of medicine. He is an active scholar in sports medicine and has chaired the Healthcare Sector for the U.S. Physical Activity Plan. Sallis served as the founding editor-in-chief of the ACSM’s clinical journal, Current Sports Medicine Reports, and currently serves as the head team physician for the Los Angeles Football Club.

Tectonic Plates: Alamance County’s Science Café with Mary McManamy: “Food Science 101”

Tuesday, September 13

Fat Frogg Bar and Grill, 2009 Timberline Station Drive, Elon, NC, 6 p.m.

Each month on second Tuesdays, a different scientist will present an hour-long talk on an engaging topic. In September, Mary McManamy of Elon University’s Chemistry department will lead the discussion. Expect a lively event in a relaxed atmosphere without all the technical jargon. For more information, visit facebook.com/TectonicPlatesScienceCafe

Green Tara Sand Mandala

Wednesday-Friday, September 14-16

Sacred Space, Numen Lumen Pavilion, ongoing viewing 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day

Tibetan Buddhist monk Geshe Palden Sangpo will construct a Green Tara sand mandala for healing and peace during a period of three days. Viewers are encouraged to frequently stop by and see its progress. An opening ceremony will begin the process at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, and a closing ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday in which the mandala is deconstructed and the sand is shared with the community and the earth. Sponsored by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life

Mike Wiley, “Dar He: The Story of Emmett Till”

Thursday, September 15

McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m.

In 1955, a 14-year-old Black Chicago youth traveled to the Mississippi Delta with country kinfolk and southern cooking on his mind. He walked off the train and stepped into a world he could never understand – a world of thick color lines, of hard-held class systems and unspeakable taboos. Young Emmett crossed that line and met his gruesome fate by whistling at a White woman. This one-actor, multiple-character original drama developed by actor and playwright Mike Wiley, chronicles the murder, trial and unbelievable confession of the men accused of Emmett Till’s lynching. Wiley has appeared on the Discovery Channel, TLC and the National Geographic Channel and was named an Indy Artist of the Year in 2012. He is a former Lehman Brady Visiting Professor at Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies. Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available August 23 at www.elon.edu/boxoffice. For information call (336) 278-5610.

Building Diverse Communities: Past and Present

Monday, September 19

LaRose Student Commons 200, 6:30 p.m.

In our work toward a more inclusive and equitable society, the experience of historical communities around the world can offer valuable examples to guide, caution and offer alternatives to longstanding systems and structures. This public panel brings together four members of the Elon community for presentations and audience Q&A on themes of diversity and inclusion, explored through different global and local contexts, past and present. How have diverse communities been imagined, created and sustained, and what lessons from these narratives can we take with us today? Panelists include Tedd Wimperis (Classical Studies), Sylvia Muñoz (Director of CREDE), Samuele Pardini (Italian Studies) and Nadine Jose (SGA Executive President). Light food and drink will be provided. Sponsored by the Classical Studies Department

Anna Gifty, “Race and Gender in the Economy: The Case for Inclusive Economic Policy”

Thursday, September 22

Whitley Auditorium, 4 p.m.

Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman is the co-founder of The Sadie Collective, a non-profit providing Black women, students, and professionals the resources they need to succeed in fields of economics, finance, and policy. In her book “The Black Agenda,” Opoku-Agyeman features Black voices across economics, education, health, climate, and technology as they address a policy-oriented approach in the fight for racial justice in America. Opoku-Agyeman’s work has been featured in Bloomberg, The Washington Post,  Wall Street Journal, NPR, Forbes, and Newsweek. In 2019, she co-authored a viral New York Times op-ed with Dr. Lisa Cook, a former White House aide for President Barack Obama who later became a member of the Biden-Harris transition team, that focused on the underrepresentation of Black women in economics and related fields. Sponsored by the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and Elon College, The College of Arts and Sciences

Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra

Thursday, September 22

McCrary Theatre, Center for the Arts, 7:30 p.m.

Director/percussionist/arranger: Gianni Mano • Vocalist: Solange Prat

This thrilling 11-piece group plays dynamic, innovative salsa arrangements of popular indie rock tunes. With a new, vibrant aesthetic and ever-evolving set list (Arcade Fire, TV On The Radio, Spoon, M83, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Black Keys and many more), Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra has transformed typical salsa and infused it with a modern identity. Their arrangements have established the band as a groundbreaking force in the New York underground and have led to international acclaim for its completely new approach to the genre. Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available beginning August 23 at www.elon.edu/boxoffice. For information call (336) 278-5610.

Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year)

Sunday-Tuesday, September 25-27

Various observances and locations, listed below

Rosh Hashanah is the holiday marking the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah is a time for new beginnings, spiritual renewal and community. Holiday traditions include gathering for prayer services to hear the blowing of the shofar, or ram’s horn, dipping apples into honey to symbolize hopes for a sweet new year, and gathering for communal meals. Registration/RSVP information will be available on the Hillel website (www.elon.edu/hillel).

Active Citizen Series: Deliberative Dialogue – Policing: What Should We Do to Ensure Fair Treatment and Keep Neighborhoods Safe for Everyone?

Monday, September 26

Lakeside Meeting Room 212, 4:30 p.m.

Advance Registration Required Here

In communities across the United States, people are rethinking police practices. The goal is to treat all people fairly while still enforcing the law. All Americans want to feel safe, both from crime and police misconduct. While the overall crime rate continues to decline, in 2020 alone FBI data showed a 30% increase in murders, and gun violence took nearly 20,000 American lives – the most in more than 20 years. Although federal, state and local lawmakers have taken some steps to review policing policies and reform police departments, crucial decisions still must be made. Making these decisions will require sustained focus and involvement of community members, policymakers and law enforcement professionals. A Deliberative Dialogue is an opportunity for students, faculty, staff and community members to gather and exchange diverse views and experiences to seek a shared understanding of a challenge facing our society and to search for common ground for action.

Elon Contemporary Chamber Ensemble Concert

Monday, September 26

Whitley Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

Artistic Director: Jonathan Poquette

The ensemble’s fall concert includes a program of new music featuring works by living composers from a wide variety of backgrounds. Sponsored by the Department of Music

Common Reading Lecture, “Factfulness”

Tuesday, September 27

Virtual Presentation, 7:30 p.m., www.elon.edu/live

“Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think” is the Elon University Common Reading for the 2022-23 academic year. The term “factfulness” was coined in 2014 by Ola Rosling to refer to a fact-based worldview, which anyone can develop and which counterbalances the human instinct towards a dramatic worldview. With Factfulness, you can test your knowledge of global issues and learn a set of critical thinking tools that will help you get your—well—facts straight, improve your sense of the state of the world, make better decisions, and feel more hopeful.

Anna Rosling Rönnlund
Together with Hans Rosling and Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund founded Gapminder in 2005. Gapminder’s mission statement is to fight devastating ignorance with a fact-based world view everyone can understand. She designed the user-interface of the famous animating bubble-chart tool called Trendalyzer, used by millions of students across the world, to understand global development trends. The tool was acquired by Google, and Anna worked at Google in Mountain View, CA as a Senior Usability Designer from 2007 to 2010. At Google, Anna improved search results for public data, developed data exploration tools for Public Data and made a bubble tool gadget (Motion chart) in Google Spreadsheets. In 2010, Anna came back to Gapminder to develop new free teaching material. Anna is now Vice President and Head of Design & User Experience at Gapminder. She also sits in the Gapminder Board. Anna holds a Master’s Degree in Sociology and a Bachelor’s Degree in Photography.

A Tribute to Jeanne & Jerry Robertson

Thursday, September 29

Whitley Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

Join the Elon community in celebrating the lives of Jeanne and Jerry Robertson, longtime Elon leaders and benefactors who both passed away in 2021. The couple received Elon Medallions in 2017 in recognition of their distinguished service to the university, with a special focus on Elon athletics. In addition to serving as an Elon trustee for many years, Jeanne was a nationally renowned public speaker and humorist. The evening will honor the Robertsons through laughter and remarks by local humorists and friends, and Elon University President Connie Ledoux Book.
Admission is free but registration is required. Register at elonphoenix.com/robertson.

Elon University Fall Convocation:

 Ashley Judd, “Mental Health: What we do not transform in ourselves, we will transfer to others”

Friday, September 30

Schar Center, 3:30 p.m.

Heralded for starring in both box office hits and for her unforgettable performances in independent films, Ashley Judd is a renowned actress, humanitarian and political activist. One of the most vocal and influential figures of the #MeToo movement, Judd was named to TIME’s “Person of the Year” as one of the silence-breakers and change-makers who help shift the culture and conversation around sexual abuse and harassment. A feminist and social justice advocate, Judd serves as Global Goodwill Ambassador for UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency; is the Global Ambassador for Population Services International; and is chairperson of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project: Curbing Abuse, Expanding Freedom.

Ashley both grew up with mental illness in her family and speaks with authority on the topic of the mental illness epidemic in our society. She offers vivid personal examples of how her own life was affected; effective suggestions about how to love and support those who suffer; and information about evidence-based methods of treatment and how to reduce stigma.

Her beloved mother, Naomi, lived for years with undiagnosed and untreated bipolar and PTSD; her father had depression; and in 2006 Ashley herself went to in-patient treatment to heal the emotional pain stemming from unresolved childhood trauma, grief and abuse. There, she learned recovery as a way of life, something she practices on a daily basis; pushing back against generations of mental illness and the often-dysfunctional behaviors of those who must cope with a loved one’s disease. Ashley tells an ultimately hopeful story about thriving and resilience from which everyone can learn, garner deep inspiration and personally relate.

Admission: $15 or Elon ID. Tickets available beginning August 23 at www.elon.edu/boxoffice. For information, call (336) 278-5610.

Dancing in the Landscape

Friday-Saturday, September 30-October 1

Lambert Academic Village, Sept. 30 at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at 12 p.m.

Artistic director: Jasmine Powell

A site-specific dance performance featuring original and experimental choreography by faculty, guest artists and students, which explores and highlights beautiful places on Elon’s campus. Sponsored by the Department of Performing Arts

Department of Music Faculty Concert

Friday, September 30

Whitley Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.

Faculty artists invite Elon families and friends to a mixed program for voice, piano, percussion, wind, strings and more. This program has remained a much-anticipated event since it began in 1999. Sponsored by the Department of Music