Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences welcomes six new faculty members

Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, has welcomed six new faculty members to campus for the start of the 2026-27 academic year at Elon University.

“The magic of Elon College lies in the people who teach our students,” said Hilton Kelly, Dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. “Our new faculty members embody a commitment to the liberal arts. They are curious, inspiring and interdisciplinary thinkers. We are delighted to welcome them to our community.”

New Professors for 2026-27 in Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences

• Jackson Cooper, assistant professor of arts administration, earned an MFA from Seattle University. He will teach Arts Administration and Community, Legal Aspects of Art and Entertainment and COR 1100: The Global Experience.
• Joseph Frey, assistant teaching professor of human service studies, earned a PhD from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He will teach Social Policy and Inequality and The Art and Science of Human Service Studies.
• Rachel Johnson, assistant professor of biochemistry, earned a PhD from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. She will teach General Chemistry and Biochemistry. She will join in the Winter Term to teach General Chemistry and Biochemistry.
• Ariana Montoya-Lozano, assistant professor of political science and public policy and environmental studies, earned a PhD from Purdue University. She will teach Introduction to Environmental Science 1150 and Environmental Policy 3230.
• Aditi Vyas, assistant professor of biology, earned a PhD from Ohio University. She will teach Cell Biology and Genetics.
• Danny Frye, interim director of bands, earned a DMA from University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

About Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences

Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences provides the foundation for the study of the liberal arts and sciences at Elon University. The college is comprised of 19 departments across three branches: the arts and humanities; natural, mathematical and computational sciences; and social and behavioral sciences. It hosts Elon’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest honor society celebrating excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.

Committed to the growth of students’ intellectual curiosity, intercultural competence and critical thinking, the college champions disciplinary knowledge and interdisciplinary applications to reflect upon, respond to and offer solutions to complex problems in an interconnected and changing world.

With more than 45 majors and 65 minors, the college is Elon University’s largest academic division. Two-thirds of the nearly 1,600 students who graduate from Elon annually do so with at least one major or minor in the college. Within a year, over 90% of college graduates report employment in their chosen field or enrollment in top post-graduate programs.

College faculty are prolific and preeminent scholars and creators in their fields, recognized for expertise at national and international levels. Each year, its more than 300 full-time faculty publish hundreds of articles, chapters, and books, and they present at scores of conferences and events. Their scholarship results in grants and fellowships from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Institutes of Health and other prominent centers of research.