Elon University
Encyclopedia
Elon University is a private liberal arts university in Elon, North Carolina
Elon, North Carolina
Elon is a town in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current population estimate is 7,060. The town of Elon is home to Elon University. The town was called "Elon College" until the college known as Elon...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Formerly known as Elon College, it became Elon University on June 1, 2001. The 600 acres (242.8 ha) campus is a botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

 and features oak trees, brick sidewalks, fountains, and lakes. Elon is ranked by the U.S.News & World Report as the second best Regional University in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

.

History

Presidents of Elon
President From To
William S. Long 1889 1894
William Wesley Staley 1894 1905
Emmett Leonidas Moffit 1905 1911
William Allen Harper 1911 1931
Leon Edgar Smith 1931 1957
James Earl Danieley
James Danieley
James Earl Danieley was the sixth president of Elon College , a private college in Elon, North Carolina and has contributed over 60 years of service to the school.-Early life:...

1957 1973
James Fred Young 1973 1998
Leo Michael Lambert 1999

Elon College was founded by the Christian Church
Christian Connection
The Christian Connection or Christian Connexion was a Christian movement which began in several places during the late 18th and early 19th centuries and were secessions from three different religious denominations. The Christian Connection claimed to have no creed, instead professing to rely...

, which later became a part of the United Church of Christ
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination primarily in the Reformed tradition but also historically influenced by Lutheranism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC...

. The charter for Elon College was issued by the North Carolina legislature in 1889. William S. Long was the first president, and the original student body consisted of 76 students. In 1923, a fire destroyed most of the campus, including school records, classrooms, the library, and the chapel. The Board of Trustees voted to rebuild immediately. Many of the buildings that were erected in the years following the fire still stand and make up the bedrock of Elon's campus.

In the early 1970s, Elon was an undergraduate college serving mainly local residents commuting from family homes, attracting "regional students of average ability from families of modest means." In 1973, James Fred Young took over the presidency of Elon and dedicated himself to transforming the institution. By the start of the 21st century, about 68 percent of Elon's students came from out-of-state and were only accepted if they met high academic standards.

Elon's transformation was the subject of an academic study by George Keller
George Keller (academic)
George Keller was an American scholar of higher education, Professor of Higher-Education Studies at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, from which he retired in 1994....

 of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 titled Transforming a College: The Story of a Little Known College's Strategic Climb to National Distinction. The study, published by Johns Hopkins University Press
Johns Hopkins University Press
The Johns Hopkins University Press is the publishing division of the Johns Hopkins University. It was founded in 1878 and holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously running university press in the United States. The Press publishes books, journals, and electronic databases...

, depicted how Elon successfully transformed itself from an unimpressive college to a selective, nationally recognized university. Keller concluded that "strategic planning, financial ingenuity, faculty
dedication, and strong, determined leadership," all of which were present at Elon, can transform a higher education institution.

In transforming itself, Elon has sought to distinguish itself from conventional liberal arts colleges and conventional national universities. According to a study by Terrence J. MacTaggart, Elon claimed "to combine the best qualities of neighboring Davidson College
Davidson College
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. The college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently ranked in the top ten liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News and World Report magazine, although it has recently dropped to 11th in U.S. News...

 and Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...

." Other schools with which the university has compared itself include Villanova University
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

, the College of William and Mary
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary in Virginia is a public research university located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States...

, and Trinity College, Hartford.

Elon's mission statement states that the university "embraces its founders' vision of an academic community that transforms mind, body, and spirit and encourages freedom of thought and liberty of conscience," and emphasizes its commitment to "nurture a rich intellectual community characterized by student engagement with a faculty dedicated to excellent teaching and scholarly accomplishment."

Many prominent figures have visited and spoken at Elon, including U.S. Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...

, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

, George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...

 and Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

, former U.S. Secretaries of State General Colin L. Powell and Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Korbelová Albright is the first woman to become a United States Secretary of State. She was appointed by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0...

, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...

, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak is an Israeli politician who served as Prime Minister from 1999 until 2001. He was leader of the Labor Party until January 2011 and holds the posts of Minister of Defense and Deputy Prime Minister in Binyamin Netanyahu's government....

, Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel
Sir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...

, astronauts John Glenn
John Glenn
John Herschel Glenn, Jr. is a former United States Marine Corps pilot, astronaut, and United States senator who was the first American to orbit the Earth and the third American in space. Glenn was a Marine Corps fighter pilot before joining NASA's Mercury program as a member of NASA's original...

 and Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing in history...

 and network news anchors Brian Williams
Brian Williams
Brian Douglas Williams is the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, the evening news program of the NBC television network, a position he assumed in 2004...

 and Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...

.

Academics

The university includes Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences; the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business
Martha and Spencer Love School of Business
The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business is part of Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. The undergraduate school offers degrees in Bachelor of Science in Accounting, the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and the Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Minors are also offered in...

; the School of Communications; the School of Education; and the School of Law. Master's programs are offered in business administration, interactive media and education, and doctoral programs include physical therapy and law. Elon operates on a 4-1-4 academic calendar, including a four-week term in January known as Winter Term.

In 2009, the Phi Beta Kappa Society
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The Phi Beta Kappa Society is an academic honor society. Its mission is to "celebrate and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences"; and induct "the most outstanding students of arts and sciences at America’s leading colleges and universities." Founded at The College of William and...

 voted to establish a chapter at Elon, a mark of distinction for the university's commitment to meeting the high standards of excellence in the arts and sciences advocated by the Society.

Elon is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is one of the six regional accreditation organizations recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation...

.

The College of Arts and Sciences

Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, offers 51 undergraduate majors within three divisions: the Arts and Humanities, the Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the Natural, Mathematical and Computational Sciences. Students can also create their own independent majors, and choose from a range of minors. Students are also strongly encouraged to participate in five programs known as the "Elon Experiences": doing student undergraduate research, studying abroad, doing internships, engaging in service learning, and demonstrating leadership. Elon sends more undergraduate students to study abroad than any other master's-level school in the nation. 80% of Elon students complete internships and 91% of recent graduates participated in volunteer service. Mention of participation in these programs can be included on an "Elon Experiences" transcript which accompanies the academic student transcript.

Admitted freshmen in the class of 2013 had a core academic GPA of 3.96, and the class included 12 high school valedictorians.

The average class size is 21 students, maximum class size is 35 and the 4-year graduation rate is 71%. 71% of students will complete at least one study abroad program (the national average is 6%). 84% of students will complete an internship prior to graduation. As of 2011, Freshman retention rate was 90%.

School of Business

The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business
Martha and Spencer Love School of Business
The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business is part of Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. The undergraduate school offers degrees in Bachelor of Science in Accounting, the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and the Bachelor of Arts in Economics. Minors are also offered in...

 offers undergraduate degrees in Accounting, Business Administration, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Management and Marketing. The part-time MBA program was ranked #1 in the South by BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek
Bloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...

.

School of Communications

The Elon School of Communications is one of 18 accredited communications programs for private universities in the US by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, or AEJMC, is a major international membership organization for academics in the field, offering regional and national conferences and refereed publications. It has numerous membership divisions, interest groups, publications and...

 (AEJMC). The program encompasses 20% of students and is divided into six main concentrations: Journalism, Broadcast & New Media, Cinema, Strategic Communications, Communication Science and Sport & Event Management. The teaching staff is rich in professional experience, including a Pulitzer Prize winner, top corporate communicators, a CNN veteran and a Webby Honors winner. The curriculum emphasizes media convergence, and the School has its own Director of Internet Projects. Students use HD digital cameras, produce multimedia content in Macintosh computer labs with the newest software and hardware, and edit in suites equipped with the latest technology tools. There are no lab fees, and students can sign out top-line digital media equipment to use for free.

Students each complete at least one required internship. Workplaces include NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

, 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....

, National Geographic, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

, Dreamworks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...

, New York Times, VOGUE
Vogue
As a noun, "vogue" suggests transient fashionability, hence phrases such as "vogue word."Vogue can also refer for:* Vogue , the fashion magazine** Vogue , the British edition...

 and the Washington Post. Many students complete multiple internships. Some students complete an internship while enrolled in the London program and intern at international media companies headquartered there. There is a summer program in Los Angeles for students who intern and take classes there. Elon students also conduct research at or present their work at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum, Federal Communications Commission, the Broadcast Education Association conference and many other venues.

Students in this discipline have several opportunities to gain practical experience, whether through working on the newspaper (The Pendulum
The Pendulum (newspaper)
The Pendulum is the student run college newspaper at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, United States. The Pendulum was founded in 1974, and since 2009 has expanded into both an online and print newspaper. It is composed of 16 to 24 pages and is published weekly...

), the radio station (WSOE
WSOE
WSOE is a non-commercial student-run college radio station based at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. The station's transmitter is located on the south side of Harden Dining Hall, while the studios are located in the second floor of Moseley Center. The original WSOE studio, news room,...

), or one of many award-winning shows on Elon Student Television (ESTV) including Emmy award winning One-on-One Sports, and Phoenix14 News
Phoenix14news
Phoenix14News is a student-run newscast and one of several media organizations that are a part of ESTV at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina....

, both recognized by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Elon also has a public relations company called Live Oak Communications, as well as a student film group known as Cinelon. In the summer of 2009, the school established an M.A. program in Interactive Media which lasts for ten months. Elon Communications is also home to sketch comedy show Elon Tonight, established in 2010.

School of Law

The Elon University School of Law opened on August 10, 2006. The School of Law is located in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

 in the former city library. Former United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor is an American jurist who was the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States. She served as an Associate Justice from 1981 until her retirement from the Court in 2006. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981...

 delivered the Dedication Address on September 19, 2006.

Rankings and Reputation

  • U.S. News & World Report
    U.S. News & World Report
    U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...

     ranks Elon #2 among southern regional universities. They also rank Elon as the #1 Southern University (and among the top 68 colleges and universities in the nation) "that have recently made the most promising and innovative changes in the areas of academics, faculty, student life, campus, or facilities"
  • In 2003, Jay Mathews of the Washington Post named Elon the #1 under-appreciated college in the nation
  • The Education Trust recognizes Elon for excellence in freshman retention and outstanding graduation rates
  • The Fiske Guide to Colleges ranks Elon one of 24 "best buy" private universities
  • Kiplinger's Personal Finance
    Kiplinger's Personal Finance
    Kiplinger's Personal Finance is a magazine that has been continuously published, on a monthly basis, from 1947 to the present day. It was the nation's first personal finance magazine, and claims to deliver "sound, unbiased advice in clear, concise language"...

     ranks Elon # 1 in the "total costs category" among the nation's top 50 best value private universities
  • Newsweek
    Newsweek
    Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...

    -Kaplan named Elon the hottest college in the nation for student engagement in its 2006 guide
  • The Carnegie Foundation chose Elon as one of 76 schools meriting their new Community Engagement Classification in 2007
  • Princeton Review and Campus Compact
    Campus Compact
    Campus Compact is a coalition of college and university presidents, committed to fulfilling the public purposes of higher education. Over 1,100 educational institutions, more than a third of all higher education providers in the United States, are members....

     chose Elon as one of 81 "colleges with a conscience" in the United States
  • The Templeton Guide chose Elon as one of the 100 universities that does best with the "character development" of its students
  • The Kaplan Day Star Guide to Colleges for African-American Students named Elon one of the hundred best schools in the US for African-American students. In 2005, the Education Trust named Elon as one of only fifteen schools in the United States where there is a small or non-existent gap between the graduation rates of African-American and white students.

Student body

Elon has a student body of 5,032 undergraduate students and 677 graduate students. 48 states, the District of Columbia, and 49 nations are represented in the student body.
From State Percentage
North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

28%
Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

8%
Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

8%
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

8%
New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

8%
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

6%
Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

5%
New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

4%
Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

4%

Athletics

Elon's 16 varsity sports teams, known as the Phoenix, compete in the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

's Division I Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...

. Intercollegiate sports include baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, soccer, and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 for men, and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, indoor track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

, outdoor track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

, soccer, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

 for women. The football team competes in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA).

Campus Recreation offers intramural and club sports programs, such as baseball, cycling, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

, flag football
Flag football
Flag football is a version of Canadian football or American football that is popular worldwide. The basic rules of the game are similar to those of the mainstream game , but instead of tackling players to the ground, the defensive team must remove a flag or flag belt from the ball carrier to end...

, equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

, swimming, rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

, triathlon
Triathlon
A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...

, water skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...

, ice hockey and Ultimate Frisbee
Ultimate (sport)
Ultimate is a sport played with a 175 gram flying disc. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opposing end zone, similar to an end zone in American football or rugby...

. During Winter Term the intramurals include bowling, arena football, dodgeball, ultimate frisbee, and a monster golf tournament.

Up until 1999, the mascot of Elon was the Fighting Christian. The moniker is said to have been coined by a sportswriter covering a contest in the 1930s between Elon and nearby Guilford College
Guilford College
Guilford College, founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of Friends , is an independent college whose stated mission is to: provide a transformative, practical and excellent liberal arts education that produces critical thinkers in an inclusive, diverse environment, guided by Quaker...

, a Quaker school. (Prior to the 1930s, Elon had been known by several different nicknames.) The nickname was chosen due to Elon's proximity to the Wake Forest
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...

 Demon Deacons, and the Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

 Blue Devils. However, many did not feel that the nickname was universal enough for a team making the transition to Division I athletics, so a new mascot was adopted in 1999, the Phoenix
Phoenix (mythology)
The phoenix or phenix is a mythical sacred firebird that can be found in the mythologies of the Arabian, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese, Indian and Phoenicians....

. The choice came from the 1923 fire that destroyed almost the entire campus. Soon after the fire, the university trustees began planning to make Elon "rise from the ashes". The Phoenix was a mythical creature that rose from the ashes of its predecessors.

Elon's Fight Song was written in 1921 by Mark Z. Rhodes to the tune of F.E. Bigelow's march "Our Director."


So here's to dear old Elon

Faithful and bold

Here's to her banner

Of maroon and gold

Here's to men and women

Who've come and gone

Singing the victor's song

Of old Elon


Facilities

Elon's sports facilities include two gymnasiums, Walter C. Latham Baseball Park, Rhodes Stadium
Rhodes Stadium
Rhodes Stadium is a 13,000-seat multi-purpose stadium in Elon, North Carolina. Named for trustee Dusty Rhodes, his wife, Peggy, and their family, the stadium opened in 2001 and is home to the Elon University Phoenix football team. The stadium also hosts soccer games.Before Rhodes Stadium was built...

, the on-campus football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 stadium, a field house, six club athletic fields, a driving range and putting green, and an Athletic Center. The Athletic Center features the 2,400 seat Alumni Gym
Alumni Gym (Elon University)
Alumni Gym is a 1,585-seat multi-purpose arena in Elon, North Carolina. It was built in 1949 and is home to the Elon University Phoenix basketball team.-References:...

, an aerobic fitness center, a weight room, racquetball
Racquetball
For other sports often called "paddleball", see Paddleball .Racquetball is a racquet sport played with a hollow rubber ball in an indoor or outdoor court...

 courts, an indoor pool, and a dance studio. The Jimmy Powell Tennis Center is a twelve-court state-of-the-art complex and is recognized as one of the finest collegiate tennis complexes in the nation. Athletics staff and coaches began the move into Alumni Field House on Jan. 14. The 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) facility at the north end of Rhodes Stadium in the North Athletics Complex is the new headquarters for Phoenix athletics.

Campus

Elon's historic campus is located in the Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...

 region of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, adjacent to Burlington
Burlington, North Carolina
Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the city is located. The population was 49,963 at the 2010...

, a city of 50,000. Elon is just 20 minutes from Greensboro
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the third-largest city by population in North Carolina and the largest city in Guilford County and the surrounding Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. According to the 2010 U.S...

 and within a one hour drive of major universities — Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...

, NC State, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Greensboro, North Carolina A&T State University, and Wake Forest
Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private, coeducational university in the U.S. state of North Carolina, founded in 1834. The university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital. The Reynolda Campus, the university's main campus, is...

.

Princeton Review has recognized Elon University for having one of the nation's most beautiful campuses. The wooded grounds have been designated a botanical garden
Botanical garden
A botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...

. Elon's 525 acres (212.5 ha) campus is divided into seven major sections: North Area, Central Campus, West Area, East Area, South Campus, Danieley Center, and Elon West. Each area consists of different services and facilities. There are 29 residence buildings on campus and 12 major academic buildings. Elon also has numerous lakes and fountains throughout its campus.

Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....

 used Elon as one of the university locations for the movie He Got Game
He Got Game
He Got Game is a 1998 American sports-drama film written and directed by Spike Lee. It stars Denzel Washington as Jake Shuttlesworth, a prison inmate convicted for killing his wife...

. The Alamance Building, Fonville Fountain, and the Moseley Center's outside patio were the setting for the movie's "Tech University."

Campus Life

The university has more than 150 campus organizations and programs, including 12 national fraternities and 13 national sororities.

The Pendulum
The Pendulum (newspaper)
The Pendulum is the student run college newspaper at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, United States. The Pendulum was founded in 1974, and since 2009 has expanded into both an online and print newspaper. It is composed of 16 to 24 pages and is published weekly...

, Elon's undergraduate weekly newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 is published every Wednesday. WSOE
WSOE
WSOE is a non-commercial student-run college radio station based at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina. The station's transmitter is located on the south side of Harden Dining Hall, while the studios are located in the second floor of Moseley Center. The original WSOE studio, news room,...

, the University's student-run non-commercial
Non-commercial
Non-commercial refers to an activity or entity that does not in some sense involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis...

 campus radio
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...

 station, has been airing since 1977. ETV (Elon Television) is the Student television station
Student television station
A student television station is a television station run by university, high or middle school students that primarily airs school/university news and in many cases, student-produced soap operas, entertainment shows, and other programming....

 featuring numerous student-created and -run programs in addition to its nationally recognized news program, Phoenix14 News, produced by ESTV (Elon Student Television). Phoenix14News was ranked #1 college newscast by the Broadcast Education Association in 2009 and was recognized as the Best College Newscast by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.

Numerous student government, special interest, and service organizations
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 are represented on campus, including Elon Volunteers, Habitat for Humanity, Model UN, Epsilon Sigma Alpha
Epsilon Sigma Alpha
Epsilon Sigma Alpha International is a collegiate and service organization for women and men ages 18 and older. The organization states that its purpose "is to inspire leadership and service by bringing good people together to pursue programs and projects that make a positive difference locally,...

, Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega
Alpha Phi Omega is the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States, with chapters at over 350 campuses, an active membership of approximately 17,000 students, and over 350,000 alumni members...

, the Resident Student Association, the Student Government Association, and the Student Union Board. Cultural groups on campus include the Black Cultural Society, Hillel
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...

, Intercultural Club, and Spectrum (Gay-Straight Alliance).

Elon is home to the Fire of the Carolinas Marching Band (FOTC), which delivers pre-game, halftime, and occasionally post-game performances at home football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 games. The band also includes color guard (flag spinning) and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 auxiliary squads.

Religious life

Religious groups on campus include Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

 Campus Ministry, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life
Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life is the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, working with thousands of college students globally...

, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA is an inter-denominational, evangelical Christian, student-led ministry which for the past 70 years has been dedicated to establishing witnessing communities on U.S. college and university campuses...

, Sigma Alpha Omega
Sigma Alpha Omega
Sigma Alpha Omega is a nationally incorporated Christian sorority for women, founded at North Carolina State University in 1998. However, they can trace their roots back to the once co-educational Chi Alpha Omega fraternity founded at East Carolina University in 1987...

, and Campus Outreach
Campus Outreach
Campus Outreach is a network of interdenominational Christian organizations, focusing on evangelizing and discipling college students worldwide under the mission statement "Glorifying God by Building Laborers on the Campus for the Lost World."...

.

The Jewish population at Elon has grown especially rapidly in recent years, with eight percent of recent classes self-identifying as Jewish, though the number of Jewish students on campus is assumed by some to be higher than this. Elon was recently profiled in Reform Judaism magazine as a school which has "gone the extra mile" to make itself more attractive to Jewish students.

A Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 Student Association is currently in development at Elon.

There are only a handful of Hindu students at Elon, and no formal Hindu organization on campus, though Hindu students report feeling accepted at Elon.

Elon has received praise for its efforts to build a multi-faith center that is open to students of all religious traditions.

Greek Life

Elon University recognizes 25 social Greek organizations. 43% of women and 26% of men on campus belong to one of the following campus-chartered organizations. In 2011, two new Greek organizations were installed, one IFC fraternity (Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon is the sixth oldest international, all-male, college Greek-letter organization, and is the oldest non-secret fraternity in North America...

) and one PHC sorority (Kappa Delta
Kappa Delta
Kappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university...

).
Interfraternity Council
North-American Interfraternity Conference
The North-American Interfraternity Conference , is an association of collegiate men's fraternities that was formally organized in 1910, although it began on November 27, 1909. The power of the organization rests in a House of Delegates where each member fraternity is represented by a single delegate...

National Pan-Hellenic Council
National Pan-Hellenic Council
The National Pan-Hellenic Council is a collaborative organization of nine historically African American, international Greek lettered fraternities and sororities. The nine NPHC organizations are sometimes collectively referred to as the "Divine Nine"...

Panhellenic Council
National Panhellenic Conference
The National Panhellenic Conference , founded in 1902, is an umbrella organization for 26 national women's sororities.Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek-letter society of college women and alumnae...

ΚΑ
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...

ΑΦΑ
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...

ΑΧΩ
Alpha Chi Omega
Alpha Chi Omega is a women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1885. Currently, there are 135 chapters of Alpha Chi Omega at colleges and universities across the United States and more than 200,000 lifetime members...

ΚΣ
Kappa Sigma
Kappa Sigma , commonly nicknamed Kappa Sig, is an international fraternity with currently 282 active chapters and colonies in North America. Kappa Sigma has initiated more than 240,000 men on college campuses throughout the United States and Canada. Today, the Fraternity has over 175,000 living...

ΚΑΨ
Kappa Alpha Psi
Kappa Alpha Psi is a collegiate Greek-letter fraternity with a predominantly African American membership. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never limited membership based on color, creed or national origin...

ΑΟΠ
Alpha Omicron Pi
Alpha Omicron Pi is an international women's fraternity promoting friendship for a lifetime, inspiring academic excellence and lifelong learning, and developing leadership skills through service to the Fraternity and community. ΑΟΠ was founded on January 2, 1897 at Barnard College on the campus...

ΛΧΑ
Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...

ΩΨΦ
Omega Psi Phi
Omega Psi Phi is a fraternity and is the first African-American national fraternal organization to be founded at a historically black college. Omega Psi Phi was founded on November 17, 1911, at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. The founders were three Howard University juniors, Edgar Amos...

ΑΞΔ
Alpha Xi Delta
Alpha Xi Delta is a women's fraternity founded on April 17, 1893 at Lombard College, Galesburg, Illinois. Alpha Xi Delta is one of the oldest women's fraternities as well as one of the ten founding fraternities of the National Panhellenic Conference...

ΠΚΦ
Pi Kappa Phi
Pi Kappa Phi is an American social fraternity. It was founded by Andrew Alexander Kroeg, Jr., Lawrence Harry Mixson, and Simon Fogarty, Jr. on December 10, 1904 at the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina...

ΦΒΣ
Phi Beta Sigma
Phi Beta Sigma is a predominantly African-American fraternity which was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I...

ΔΔΔ
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta , also known as Tri Delta, is an international sorority founded on November 27, 1888, the eve of Thanksgiving Day. With over 200,000 initiates, Tri Delta is one of the world's largest NPC sororities.-History:...

ΣΧ
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...

ΑΚΑ
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...

ΚΔ
Kappa Delta
Kappa Delta was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School , in Farmville, Virginia. It is one of the "Farmville Four" sororities founded at the university...

ΣΦΕ
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Sigma Phi Epsilon , commonly nicknamed SigEp or SPE, is a social college fraternity for male college students in the United States. It was founded on November 1, 1901, at Richmond College , and its national headquarters remains in Richmond, Virginia. It was founded on three principles: Virtue,...

ΔΣΘ
Delta Sigma Theta
Delta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...

ΦΜ
Phi Mu
Phi Mu is the second oldest female fraternal organization established in the United States. It was founded at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. The organization was founded as the Philomathean Society on January 4, 1852, and was announced publicly on March 4 of the same year...

ΣΠ
Sigma Pi
Sigma Pi is an international college secret and social fraternity founded in 1897 at Vincennes University. Sigma Pi International fraternity currently has 127 chapters and 4 colonies in the United States and Canada and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee...

ΖΦΒ
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...

ΣΚ
Sigma Kappa
Sigma Kappa is a sorority founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. Sigma Kappa was founded by five women: Mary Caffrey Low Carver, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn...

ΔΥ
Delta Upsilon
Delta Upsilon is the sixth oldest international, all-male, college Greek-letter organization, and is the oldest non-secret fraternity in North America...

ΣΓΡ
Sigma Gamma Rho
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was founded on the campus of Butler University on November 12, 1922, by seven school teachers in Indianapolis, Indiana...

ΣΣΣ
Sigma Sigma Sigma
Sigma Sigma Sigma , also known as Tri Sigma, is a national American women’s sorority with membership of more than 100,000 members. Sigma Sigma Sigma is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference and hosts chapters on more than 110 college campuses and 89 alumnae chapters in communities all...

ΖΤΑ
Zeta Tau Alpha
Zeta Tau Alpha is a women's fraternity, founded October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Virginia. The Executive office is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...


The Elon University Poll

Elon students conduct statewide polls on issues of importance to North Carolinians. Formed in 2000, the non-partisan polls' results are shared with various media outlets, citizens and researchers to facilitate representative democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

 and public policy making through the better understanding of the opinions and needs of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 citizens. It is one of the only polls in the country that is conducted by student callers as compared to hired workers.

Polls have gauged respondents' opinions of the Presidential performance
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...

, and the Iraq War.

Business

  • Kerrii Anderson - Former Chief Executive Officer and President of Wendy's International, Inc.
  • Robert Model
    Robert Model
    Robert Model is the son of Faith Rockefeller Model and Belgian Jean Model. He is the great-grandson of Standard Oil co-founder William Rockefeller . Model was born in Greenwich, Connecticut....

     - great-grandson of Standard Oil
    Standard Oil
    Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...

     co-founder William Rockefeller
    William Rockefeller
    William Avery Rockefeller, Jr. , American financier, was a co-founder with his older brother John D. Rockefeller of the prominent United States Rockefeller family. He was the son of William Avery Rockefeller, Sr. and Eliza Rockefeller.-Youth, education:Rockefeller was born in Richford, New York,...

    ; Director on the boards of CapMAC, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Piggly Wiggly
    Piggly Wiggly
    Piggly Wiggly is a supermarket chain operating in the Midwestern and Southern regions of the United States, run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. The current company headquarters is in Keene, New Hampshire....


Education/Academia

  • William Herbert - Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Virginia
    University of Virginia
    The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

     Medical Center
  • Drew L. Van Horn - President of Brevard College
    Brevard College
    Brevard College is a small, private, United Methodist, liberal arts college in Brevard, North Carolina. The college currently grants the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, or Bachelor of Music degree...

  • John Decatur Messick
    John Decatur Messick
    John Decatur Messick was the fifth president of what is now East Carolina University. He was born on November 9, 1897, near Aurora, North Carolina. He graduated from Elon College in 1922. He then went to summer school to complete graduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill....

     - Former President of East Carolina University
    East Carolina University
    East Carolina University is a public, coeducational, engaged doctoral/research university located in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. Named East Carolina University by statute and commonly known as ECU or East Carolina, the university is the largest institution of higher learning in...

     (1947–1959)
  • Marvin K. Moss - former Provost and Vice Chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington
    University of North Carolina at Wilmington
    The University of North Carolina at Wilmington, sometimes referred to as UNC Wilmington, is a public, co-educational university located in Wilmington, North Carolina...

  • H. Shelton Smith - scholar of religion, founder of Duke University’s graduate school in religion

Arts, literature and entertainment

  • Rich Blomquist
    Rich Blomquist
    Rich Blomquist is a staff writer for The Daily Show. The show has won six Emmy awards during his employment; in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009 and 2011. He has also contributed material to Saturday Night Live, specifically for Robert Smigel's TV Funhouse. Blomquist is originally from Westbrook,...

     - Emmy Award
    Emmy Award
    An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

     winning writer on The Daily Show
    The Daily Show
    The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...

  • Reno Collier
    Reno Collier
    Reno Collier is a stand up comedian who gained celebrity as the opening act for Larry the Cable Guy and with his own Comedy Central Presents special. He was also featured as a roaster for the Comedy Central Roast of Larry the Cable Guy...

     - standup comic, host of NBC's The Great American Road Trip
    The Great American Road Trip
    Great American Road Trip is a reality television competition series that aired on NBC. It follows seven families as they go on a road trip and compete against each other at different landmarks in and around U.S. Route 66 in the United States. The series is hosted by comedian Reno Collier.The show...

  • Lisa Goldstein
    Lisa Goldstein (actress)
    Lisa Erin Goldstein is an American television, film and theatre actress. She is currently known for her role as Millicent Huxtable on One Tree Hill.-Personal life and education:...

     - actress, plays Millicent Huxtable on the CW series One Tree Hill
    One Tree Hill (TV series)
    One Tree Hill is an American television drama created by Mark Schwahn, which premiered on September 23, 2003, on The WB Television Network. After its third season, The WB merged with UPN to form The CW Television Network, and, since September 27, 2006, the network has been the official broadcaster...

  • Tal Henry
    Tal Henry
    Tal Henry was an American orchestra director in the swing and big band eras.Henry was born Talmadge Allen Henry in Maysville, Georgia. At the age of 7, he started playing the violin. He left Maysville in 1914 to attend Shenandoah Conservatory of Music located in Dayton, Virginia...

     - orchestra director
  • H. Reid
    H. Reid
    Harold A. Reid was an American writer, photographer, and historian. Reid is best known for his lifelong love of railroading and related photography and published work...

     - an American writer
    Writer
    A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

    , photographer, and historian
    Historian
    A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

  • Martin Ritt
    Martin Ritt
    Martin Ritt was an American director, actor, and playwright who worked in both film and theater. He was born in New York City.-Early career and influences:...

     - director, actor, and playwright (Hud
    Hud (film)
    Hud is a 1963 western film whose title character is an embittered and selfish modern-day cowboy. With screenplay by Irving Ravetch and Harriet Frank, Jr., based on Larry McMurtry's 1961 novel Horseman, Pass By, it was directed by Martin Ritt and stars Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal and...

    , Norma Rae
    Norma Rae
    Norma Rae is a 1979 American drama film that tells the story of a factory worker from a small town in North Carolina, who becomes involved in the labor union activities at the textile factory where she works...

    , Stanley & Iris)
  • Katherine Southard - Miss North Carolina
    Miss North Carolina
    The Miss North Carolina competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of North Carolina in the Miss America pageant. The competition has been held in Raleigh every year since 1978. Prior to that, it was held in various locales including Charlotte, Greensboro, Burlington,...

     2009
  • Mike Trainor
    Mike Trainor
    Mike Trainor is an American stand-up comedian and writer. He provides commentary on the TruTV series The Smoking Gun Presents.-Personal life:...

     - standup comic, panelist on TruTV's The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest...
    The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest...
    truTV Presents: World's Dumbest... is a cable television series produced by Meetinghouse Productions, Inc. and is airing on truTV...

  • Kenneth Utt - actor and producer (The Silence of the Lambs, Midnight Cowboy
    Midnight Cowboy
    Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...

    , Philadelphia
    Philadelphia (film)
    Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington...

    )

Non-profit organizations

  • Rev. Walstein Snyder - long-time CEO of Elon Homes for Children
  • Chuck and Carole Ann Collard - founders of Carly’s Club and Healing Hearts of WNY

Politics and military

  • Isabella W. Cannon - former Mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina
    Raleigh, North Carolina
    Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...

  • Harris Durham Blake - North Carolina
    North Carolina
    North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

     State Senator
  • Patricia Edmonson
    Patricia Edmonson
    Patricia "Pat" Edmonson is an American politician from Virginia Beach, Virginia. In May 2006 she was elected to the Virginia Beach School Board, representing the 6th district...

     - Virginia
    Virginia
    The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

     politician
  • Vice Admiral
    Vice Admiral
    Vice admiral is a senior naval rank of a three-star flag officer, which is equivalent to lieutenant general in the other uniformed services. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral...

     William E. Gortney
    William E. Gortney
    William Evans "Bill" Gortney is a vice admiral in the United States Navy. He is the current Director of the Joint Staff. He previously served as Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/5th Fleet...

     - Commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet
  • Hugh Holliman - North Carolina House of Representatives
    North Carolina House of Representatives
    The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the state senate....

     Majority Leader
    Majority leader
    In U.S. politics, the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.In the federal Congress, the role differs slightly in the two houses. In the House of Representatives, which chooses its own presiding officer, the leader of the majority party is elected the Speaker of the...

  • Phillip Kellam
    Phillip Kellam
    Phillip Kellam is a politician from a well known political family in Virginia Beach. He has served as the Commissioner of the Revenue for Virginia Beach for 12 years, and ran for Congress in .- Family life :...

     - Virginia
    Virginia
    The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

     politician

Sports

  • Tal Abernathy
    Tal Abernathy
    Talmadge Lafayette Abernathy , also known as Ted Abernathy, was a professional baseball player whose playing career spanned eight seasons, including parts of three in Major League Baseball with the Philadelphia Athletics . Abernathy was a pitcher...

     - Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     pitcher
  • Jesse Branson
    Jesse Branson
    Herman Jesse Branson is a retired American basketball player.He played collegiately for Elon University...

     - National Basketball Association
    National Basketball Association
    The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

     and American Basketball Association
    American Basketball Association
    The American Basketball Association was a professional basketball league founded in 1967. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger in 1976.-League history:...

     player.
  • Ward Burton
    Ward Burton
    John Edward Burton III is an American NASCAR auto racer, who has a total of five career Sprint Cup wins. He last drove the #4 State Water Heaters Chevrolet Impala SS for Morgan-McClure Motorsports in 2007. He is the older brother of fellow NASCAR driver Jeff Burton, against whom he first...

     - NASCAR
    NASCAR
    The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...

     auto racer
  • Cap Clark
    Cap Clark
    John Carrol "Cap" Clark was a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Born in Snow Camp, North Carolina, Clark graduated from Elon University in 1927. In , his only year in Major League Baseball, he played fifty-two games for the Phillies, twenty-nine of them as the starting catcher...

     - Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     catcher
  • Billy Devaney
    Billy Devaney
    William Joseph Peter Francis "Billy" Devaney is a professional American football executive. He is currently the general manager for the St. Louis Rams NFL team. He was formerly an assistant to the general manager with the Atlanta Falcons...

     - General Manager of the St. Louis Rams
    St. Louis Rams
    The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

  • Bill Dougherty- Running back for the New Orleans Saints
    New Orleans Saints
    The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

  • Wes Durham
    Wes Durham
    Dallas Wesley "Wes" Durham is an American sportscaster. He has been the radio play-by-play announcer for Georgia Tech football, men's basketball and baseball teams since the start of the 1995-1996 season, and is known as "The Voice of the Yellow Jackets." He is also Georgia Tech's Director of...

     - radio play-by-play announcer for the Georgia Tech
    Georgia Institute of Technology
    The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...

     Yellow Jackets
    Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
    The Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that play for the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wreck, Engineers, Blacksmiths, and Golden Tornado. There are 8 men's and 7 women's teams that...

     and the Atlanta Falcons
    Atlanta Falcons
    The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

  • Joey Hackett
    Joey Hackett
    Joseph Glenn "Joey" Hackett is a former tight end in the National Football League.-Career:Hackett spent the 1986 NFL season with the Denver Broncos. He played the following two seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He played at the collegiate level at Elon University.-References:...

     - Tight end for the Denver Broncos
    Denver Broncos
    The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

     and Green Bay Packers
    Green Bay Packers
    The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

  • Frank Haith
    Frank Haith
    -Personal:Haith is a 1988 graduate of Elon College. He and his wife, Pam, have two children; one son, Corey, and one daughter, Brianna. Haith's nephew, Sean Bell, was slain by New York City police in a controversial November 25, 2006 shooting incident....

     - Head basketball coach at the University of Missouri
    University of Missouri
    The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

  • Greg W. Harris - Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     pitcher
  • Bunn Hearn
    Bunn Hearn
    Charles Bunn "Bunny" Hearn was a major league baseball pitcher, major league scout, and minor league, semi-pro and college level manager.-Biography:He was born on May 21, 1891 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina....

     - Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     pitcher
  • Terrell Hudgins
    Terrell Hudgins
    Terrell Hudgins is an American football wide receiver and is currently a free agent. Hudgins played college football at Elon University and was temporarily a member of the Dallas Cowboys off-season/practice squad before being signed by the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League.-Early life:He...

     - Chicago Rush
    Chicago Rush
    The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...

     Wide Receiver
  • Don Kernodle
    Don Kernodle
    Charles Donald Kernodle, Jr. better known as Don Kernodle was an American professional wrestler with the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions.-Professional wrestling career:...

     - Professional wrestler
  • Steven Kinney
    Steven Kinney
    Steven Kinney is an American soccer player who currently plays for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer.-Youth and College:...

     - Defender for the Chicago Fire
  • Rich McGeorge
    Rich McGeorge
    Richard Eugene McGeorge is a former professional American football player who played tight end for nine seasons for the Green Bay Packers in the National Football League....

     - Tight end for the Green Bay Packers
    Green Bay Packers
    The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

  • Jack McKeon
    Jack McKeon
    John Aloysius McKeon , nicknamed Trader Jack, is a former Major League Baseball manager. In 2003, he won a World Series with the Florida Marlins...

     - Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     Manager
  • Jim Morris - Head baseball coach at the University of Miami
    University of Miami
    The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...

  • Chad Nkang
    Chad Nkang
    Derek Chad Nkang is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft...

     - Linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars
    Jacksonville Jaguars
    The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

  • Blake Russell
    Blake Russell
    Blake Russell is an American long-distance runner who represented her country at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. After finishing third in the marathon at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, she went on to finish in 27th in the Olympic marathon in Beijing...

     - Olympic runner
  • Tony Settles
    Tony Settles
    Anthony C. Settles is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Elon University. He played high school football at Scotland High School in Laurinburg, North Carolina....

     - Linebacker for the Washington Redskins
    Washington Redskins
    The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...

  • Ed Sauer
    Ed Sauer
    Edward Sauer , was a professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1943-1949. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, and Chicago Cubs.-External links:...

     - Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     outfielder
  • Jim Schlossnagle
    Jim Schlossnagle
    Jim Schlossnagle is currently the head baseball coach at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Schlossnagle was named 2010 National Coach of the Year by the National College Baseball Writers Association....

     - Head baseball coach at Texas Christian University
    Texas Christian University
    Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...

  • Patrick Singleton - Bermudan Olympian
    Olympic Games
    The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

     in skeleton
    Skeleton (sport)
    Skeleton is a fast winter sliding sport in which an individual person rides a small sled down a frozen track while lying face down, during which athletes experience forces up to 5g. It originated in St. Moritz, Switzerland as a spin-off from the popular British sport of Cresta Sledding...

     and luge
    Luge
    A Luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine and feet-first. Steering is done by flexing the sled's runners with the calf of each leg or exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh 21-25 kilograms for singles and 25-30 kilograms for doubles. Luge...

  • Dick Such
    Dick Such
    Richard Stanley "Dick" Such is a former pitcher and coach in Major League Baseball. A right-hander who batted left-handed, Such stood 6'4" tall and weighed 190 pounds .-Playing career:...

     - Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     pitcher and coach
  • Joe West - Major League Baseball umpire
  • Joe Winkelsas
    Joe Winkelsas
    Joseph Winkelsas is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently a free agent.- Amateur career :...

    - Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball
    Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

     pitcher
  • Deborah A. Yow - North Carolina State University Athletics Director, formerly University of Maryland
    University of Maryland
    When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...

    's Director of Athletics

External links

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