As the 2026-27 academic year begins, Elon University is opening a new school, launching innovative new programs and constructing new facilities for the campus community.
Elon University students return to the classroom on Aug. 25 and will be greeted by new faces, new buildings and new programs for the 2026-27 academic year.
Expanded academics
School of Engineering and Computing
The new School of Engineering and Computing will open in Fall 2026, anchoring the university’s Innovation Quad in the heart of campus. It will include 20 full-time faculty and three full-time staff positions with more than 300 undergraduate students. The school will include three new majors: civil engineering, mechanical engineering and cybersecurity. John Walz, a former president of the Milwaukee School of Engineering and longtime leader in engineering and technology education, will serve as the school’s inaugural dean.
Clinical Mental Health Counseling
Elon’s new Clinical Mental Health Counseling program will welcome its first cohort this fall. The graduate program, at Elon’s main campus and Charlotte national campus, will work to prepare competent, compassionate and ethical counselors committed to promoting mental wellness and addressing an urgent need for counselors.
Roberts Academy at Elon University
The Roberts Academy, North Carolina’s only university-based private school for children with dyslexia, officially opens this fall. It will serve as a statewide and national model for structured literacy education. The school was established through the philanthropic vision of Marjorie and Hal Roberts, who have witnessed the transformative power of a multisensory approach to reading education.
The school will initially welcome third- and fourth-grade students in Trollinger House, before expanding its capacity to grades one through six in a state-of-the-art facility planned for East Haggard Avenue, set to open in Fall 2028.
New sights
Several construction projects have been underway this summer, ahead of the 2026-27 academic year. The Slattery Center will be the university’s new health and wellness center, a central component to the university’s broader HealthEU initiative that focuses on six dimensions of health and wellness: community, emotional, purpose, financial, physical and social.
Renovations of the Mooney Building, home to the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education, are underway, including the replacement of windows and HVAC systems, upgrades to electrical and plumbing systems, and the addition of waterproofing.
