Faculty, staff recognized for excellence in Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences

Five members of faculty and staff in Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, were honored during Planning Week on Aug. 18, 2025, for their excellence in teaching, scholarship, service-leadership and mentorship.

Recipients of the annual awards are nominated by their colleagues and selected by the College’s dean and associate deans.

“It is an honor to recognize these exceptional faculty and staff,” said Hilton Kelly, dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. “In their own unique ways, each has demonstrated remarkable dedication to their students, their colleagues and the mission of the College. Their brilliance, creativity and care strengthen our community and create a place where every student feels supported, challenged and inspired to thrive.”

The 2025 College Excellence Award recipients:

Excellence in Teaching Award

Kim Shively

Associate Professor of Performing Arts

Associate Professor Kim Shively has led nationally recognized workshops on consent-based pedagogy across North America and Europe, and she is the co-author of “Applied Meisner for the 21st Century Actor” as well as the forthcoming “The Theatre Artist’s Guide to Consent-Based Pedagogy”. This past year, she mentored Honors Fellows, led a service-learning course in arts education and played a key role in shaping Elon’s theatre curriculum. Her classes are known for their rigor, care and representation where students can feel seen, respected and empowered. Beyond her work in the classroom, she is the cofounder of the Piedmont Shakespeare Company, which launched its inaugural season this summer with “Hamlet”, where Shively played Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother.

Excellence in Scholarship Award

Samuele Pardini

Professor of Italian

Professor Samuele Pardini’s work explores the intersections of Italian American identity, African American history and American literary modernism — making meaningful contributions to national conversations in the humanities. In 2024, he published “Writing Home: Selected WWII Letters of Leslie A. Fiedler”, a work critics called “literary, biographical, cultural and historical gold.” He submitted new scholarship on Sacco and Vanzetti, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the African American press to American Quarterly and presented it at the National MELUS conference. His work also included multiple essays in The Brooklyn Rail and a keynote address at Morgan State University honoring the centennial of James Baldwin. Beyond publishing, he mentors students, serves on research and curriculum advisory boards and continues to shape emerging fields like Black Mediterranean and comparative diaspora studies.

Excellence in Service-Leadership Award

CJ Fleming

Chair of the Department of Human Service Studies and Associate Professor of Psychology

The scholarly contributions of Associate Professor CJ Fleming, chair of the Department of Human Service Students, span departments and shape programs that benefit faculty and students throughout the university. She has strengthened Elon’s internship and research infrastructure as Faculty Fellow for Internships and associate director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, preparing 37 students to present at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research and co-authoring the Elon Statement on Work-Integrated Learning. A champion for equity in experiential learning, she has mentored nationally recognized student researchers, supported faculty in expanding career readiness, and helped shape Elon’s National Campus. Drawing on her training as a clinical psychologist, she has provided thoughtful guidance on key student well-being committees.

Excellence in Mentoring Award

Elisha Savchak-Trogdon

Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy

For more than a decade, Associate Professor Elisha Savchak-Trogdon has mentored students pursuing careers in pre-law. As the university’s pre-law advisor, she offers strategic, personalized guidance—from first conversations about legal careers to law school acceptances and scholarships—mentoring students across majors, class years, and even after graduation. She leads the Legal Professions Scholars program, designed a course on global legal rights, and now advises the 3+2.5 Accelerated Law Program with Elon Law, guiding fast-tracked future lawyers with care and structure. Through panels, programming, and one-on-one advising, she creates a supportive community where students feel prepared, confident, and seen.

Staff Excellence Award

Morgan Troxler

Program Assistant for Political Science & Public Policy, Philosophy & Religious Studies

Since joining the Elon University community in December, Morgan Troxler has balanced the needs of and contributed additional organization and efficiency to all three departments. Known for completing tasks ahead of schedule and with care and precision, she demonstrates responsiveness and a commitment to faculty and student success. As one department chair noted, their program would be lost without her.