A look back at select sights from around campus during a year that saw challenges, triumphs and celebrations.
Another eventful year is in the books for Elon University, with 2022 marking new milestones, introducing new facilities, welcoming new students, faculty and staff and notching new achievements.
A selection of 22 photos from the year offers a look at what Elon and the university community have been able to accomplish during the past 12 months.
Among the notable news from 2022:
- Elon opened the doors to Founders Hall and Innovation Hall, the two newest buildings in the university’s Innovation Quad. The buildings are now home to the Department of Engineering, which formally became a department this year and achieved ABET accreditation, as well as the Department of Physics.
- Elon was recognized for a second-straight year as the top national university for undergraduate teaching excellence by U.S. News & World Report, underscoring the student-centered approach to engaged learning the university is committed to and the strong emphasis on mentoring.
- 2022 was the concluding year for the historic Elon LEADS campaign, a comprehensive fundraising campaign to support a wide range of university priorities. Gifts by Elon students, faculty, staff, family members and friends of the university will fund scholarships, capital projects while providing crucial support for faculty and staff as they pursue the university’s strategic initiatives. Read more about philanthropy at Elon during the past year.
- Among the other significant accolades Elon received in 2022 was the Campus-wide Award for Undergraduate Research Accomplishments from The Council on Undergraduate Research, and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business was recognized as offering one of the top 40 undergraduate business programs in the country by business education news outlet Poets&Quants.
- The university said congratulations and farewell (for now) to the Class of 2022 at Commencement in May, and hello to the Class of 2026 with Move-In Day and New Student Convocation in August. In December, new scores of professionals received their diplomas from Elon Law and the Doctor of Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant Studies and Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs. The 14 ABSN students become the first to graduate with nursing degrees from Elon.
- Four received the Elon Medallion, the university’s highest honor for service, in 2022 — Ed and Joan Doherty, Jane Deaton, Paul Parsons and Jeffrey Pugh.
- Elon launched an updated version of its summer internship program, Campus Alamance, providing dozens of students with invaluable experience while furthering the university’s reputation as a national leader in experiential education.
- Today at Elon sought to highlight the accomplishments and achievements of students, faculty and staff throughout the year, with feature articles including:
- Father Peter Tremblay crafting a Torah ark for the Jewish community on campus.
- Huria Tahiry ’26 arriving at Elon from Afghanistan as the first Commitment to Democracy Scholar.
- Peter Felten, assistant provost and executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning, being selected for a Fulbright Award to teach and research in Canada.
- Stratton Bacogeorge ’22 showcasing the automated vibrating-sample magnetometer he built to advance physics research into magnetic polymers.
- Student-athlete and engineering major Madison George being selected as a Goldwater Scholar.
- Biochemistry major Anna Sheinberg laser mapping molecular processes as part of her research.
- Students who participated in the long-running Winter Term course in Tanzania penning a book, “Kilimanjaro Millenial Style,” to highlight their experiences.
- The new Huemanity of People series highlighting the wonderfully diverse people who make up the university community.
- New entries in the “Alumni in Action” series showcasing the achievements of generations of Elon graduates.
- Elon hosted a wide range of renowned and insightful speakers throughout the year including BD Wong, Eric Liu, Nikki Giovanni, Leland Melvin, William Ferris, Belle Liang, Robert Sallis, Anna Roslin Rönnlund, Dorothy Roberts, Wendy Suzuki and Dan Abrams. The 2022-23 Elon University Speaker Series continues in January.
- Elon faculty and staff secured funding for critical research objectives and impactful initiatives throughout the year. Included among the list was a $380,000 grant to advance inclusion and belonging in Elon’s STEM programs, a $300,000 grant to reduce gender-based violence, additional funding from the National Institutes of Health to investigate age-related cognitive changes, and a $300,000 grant to develop a mathematical model that could facilitate new COVID-19 treatment options in the future, to name a few.
- During the summer, Elon hosted the inaugural cohorts for two new initiatives offering immersive experiences on campus for high school students — the Freedom Scholars and the Emerging Journalists Program.
- This fall, Elon launched HealthEU, a comprehensive health and wellness initiative that seeks to provide students, faculty and staff with necessary resources to support their wellness and well-being.
- With the departure of Aswani Volety to become chancellor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington earlier this year, the university undertook a national search for its next provost and vice president for academic affairs and will welcome Rebecca Kohn to the university in those roles in January.