Posts by Alison Van Norman | Today at Elon | 榴莲app官方网站入 /u/news Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:22:32 -0400 en-US hourly 1 Archives exhibit highlights women鈥檚 athletics at Elon /u/news/2025/03/31/archives-exhibit-highlights-womens-athletics-at-elon/ Mon, 31 Mar 2025 19:08:52 +0000 /u/news/?p=1010929 In celebration of Women鈥檚 History Month, the 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives has created an exhibit on the history of women鈥檚 athletics at 榴莲app官方网站入 in the Archives Reading Room on the second floor of Belk Library. The exhibit was designed by archives student assistant Kayden Poteat 鈥27.

A 1913 photo of the women's basketball team
The women鈥檚 basketball team, 1913. Phi Psi Cli yearbook, 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives & Special Collections

It’s commonly believed that women’s athletics didn’t begin at Elon until the 1970s. This misconception likely stems from the fact that women鈥檚 intercollegiate sports officially began in 1971, but records of women鈥檚 participation in athletics at Elon go as far back as 1913. These early teams were likely intramural and interclass teams, like the women鈥檚 basketball team pictured from 榴莲app官方网站入 first yearbook from 1913. Little documentation of women鈥檚 athletics was saved up until the 1970s, and throughout 榴莲app官方网站入 history there has been much less emphasis on the importance of women鈥檚 athletics as compared to men鈥檚. This has erased valuable historical knowledge on the many contributions women have made to athletics on campus.

In the artifacts and documents that Elon has retained, the women鈥檚 basketball team is the most well-documented. Thus, the exhibit focuses heavily on the history of women鈥檚 basketball, starting in 1913. Moving into the 1970s, the Yow sisters鈥擪ay, Debbie, and Susan鈥攁ll got their start at Elon. Debbie and Susan Yow were members of 榴莲app官方网站入 inaugural women鈥檚 basketball team, while Kay Yow was 榴莲app官方网站入 first women鈥檚 basketball coach, leading the team to success between 1971 and 1975. Each of the Yows would go on to become celebrated head women鈥檚 basketball coaches at universities across the country, and Kay and Susan would coach the 1988 Olympic women鈥檚 team to gold. Kay and Susan were inducted into the Elon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1986 and 1993 respectively, and Debbie was awarded the Elon Medallion in 2021. All three sisters were inducted to the NC聽Sports Hall of Fame between 1989 and 2016.

A group of women basketball players huddle around their coach
Kay Yow coaches the 榴莲app官方网站入 women鈥檚 basketball team. EUA153 Jim Waggoner Athletics Department Records, 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives & Special Collections
A basketball player throws the ball toward the net with her arm outstretched. Another player is next to her with her arm outstretched
Venessa Corbett overwhelms the competition. EUA153 Jim Waggoner Athletics Department Records, 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives & Special Collections

Another key figure in Elon women鈥檚 basketball history was Venessa Corbett, a star basketball player between 1977 and 1982. During her time at 榴莲app官方网站入 she recorded 2,430 career points, a school record that has gone untouched by any athlete since. She was also inducted into the Elon Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992.

The exhibit also highlights the women鈥檚 soccer and volleyball teams, with two autographed artifacts from the 1999 soccer team and the 2003 volleyball team. Both teams participated in conference championships, with women鈥檚 soccer winning the Big South Conference Championship final, marking their first participation in in聽NCAA National聽Championships in 1999.聽The volleyball team finished in the top five of the 2003 Southern Conference championship.

Photograph of the Elon women's volleyball team in 2003
The 2003 women鈥檚 volleyball team, who won 榴莲app官方网站入 first division I league championship in the sport. EUA153 Jim Waggoner Athletics Department Records, 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives & Special Collections

This exhibit offers just a small insight into the long and complex history of women鈥檚 athletics at Elon.

For more information on how to preserve records, documents, artifacts and more, please contact University Archives and Special Collections at belkarchives@elon.edu.

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Celebrating Black history in the 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives & Special Collections /u/news/2025/02/11/celebrating-black-history-in-the-elon-university-archives-special-collections/ Tue, 11 Feb 2025 18:54:48 +0000 /u/news/?p=1006926 Fifty years ago, in February 1975, Elon College鈥檚 Black Cultural Society鈥攁n organization founded in 1974 鈥渢o promote understanding and a sense of unity among Black students鈥濃攃elebrated National Black Heritage Week, the precursor to Black History Month, for the first time on 榴莲app官方网站入 campus. The BCS sponsored a program of hymns and poetry; a talk by Raymond McLaughlin, a professor of history at NC A&T University, titled 鈥淲hat It Means to be Black in the Twentieth Century鈥; and a talk by alumnus Rev. Marvin Morgan 鈥71, a Burlington minister, titled 鈥淭he Standpoint of Theology in the Black Society.鈥

These days, February brings a wealth of opportunities for learning, reflection and advocacy around Black history and the legacies of anti-Black racism on 榴莲app官方网站入 campus and around the country. While you鈥檙e likely to see pop-up exhibits around campus this month that utilize materials from the 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives & Special Collection, this seems a particularly appropriate time of year to remind the campus of the records, papers and artifacts related to 榴莲app官方网站入 Black history that the Archives makes available to students, faculty, staff and the public year-round.

Online Resources聽

Not all of the materials in the 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives & Special Collections are available online. Still, there are several small collections and exhibits that represent a good start to exploring 榴莲app官方网站入 Black history.

Andrew Morgan standing beside car in black and white photo
Staff member Andrew Morgan with his car, 1940s or 1950s. Photo featured in the History and Memory Collection online. EUA028 Photograph Collection

Since its inception in 2018, the Committee on Elon History & Memory has worked closely with the Archives to uncover hidden, unsung, and sometimes difficult histories on campus, including the underdeveloped stories of Black contributions and Black excellence at Elon. After the release of the committee鈥檚 2020 report (see the Recommended Reading section below), the Archives created a special online collection that brings together some of the resources used to write the report, many of which document 榴莲app官方网站入 Black history.

听补苍诲 Freedom Footprints鈥The Archives also created an interactive map exhibit that connects the campus鈥檚 physical spaces with the stories told in the 2020 Committee on Elon History and Memory report, allowing users to walk through Black history on campus. In the summer 2024, the original tour was adapted to create a thought-provoking Juneteenth walking tour titled 鈥淔reedom Footprints.鈥澛

This student project, researched and created by Emily Lange ’21, a 2019 recipient of the Lumen Prize, documents the origins of the African and African American Studies at Elon minor. Starting with the first request for a Black studies course in 1969 and working through Wilhelmina Boyd鈥檚 successful launch of the minor in 1994, the exhibit highlights the importance of student advocacy in the long fight for academic recognition on campus.

Wilhemina Boyd sits with a student in front of foliage
Wilhelmina Boyd, founder of the African and African American Studies at Elon minor program, with an unidentified student, 1990s. EUA028 Photograph Collection

This collection currently houses only a few interviews germane to Black history on 榴莲app官方网站入 campus, but watch this space for new resources (see Expanding the Collections, below).

听补苍诲 颁辞濒濒别肠迟颈辞苍蝉鈥A sampling of our total photographic and video holdings is available in our online collections and are searchable there, but we have many more AV resources in our collections. Contact an archivist at belkarchives@elon.edu for more information.

Physical Collections聽

Within our physical collections, we are always working to identify entry points to Black history and the Black experience on our campus and beyond. What follows is a list of materials we know to be relevant to understanding Black history at Elon. These can be accessed in the Archives Reading Room at Belk Library. Email belkarchives@elon.edu for more information.

Books and Publications鈥擬oments in 榴莲app官方网站入 Black history have been captured in a range of campus publications, including campus newspapers like the Maroon and Gold (1920-1970), the Veritas Liberated Press (1968-1970), Broadside Today (1972-1973), and the Pendulum (1974-ongoing); in the Phi Psi Cli yearbook (1913-ongoing); administrative publications like the Elon College/University fact books; newsletters like Black Underground; in original research like L鈥橳anya Richmond鈥檚 master鈥檚 thesis, 鈥溋窳玜pp官方网站入 Black History: A Story to Be Told鈥 (2005); and in recent campus reports like the Black Lumen report (2023). Many of these publications have been digitized and are now fully searchable online.

Emory Moore, one of the first Black student-athletes at Elon, late 1960s. Featured in Phi Psi Cli yearbook. EUA012 Athletics Collection

EUA012 Elon Athletics Collection, 1891-ongoing (13 archival boxes, 18 bound volumes, plus unprocessed material)鈥擜thletics represented a pathway to join the Elon community for Black student-athletes, and Black athletes were at the forefront of the fight for equity on campus from the late 1960s onward. This collection includes a variety of materials and documents that relate to the history of athletics at 榴莲app官方网站入.

EUA040 榴莲app官方网站入 Biographical Files鈥擳his collection includes biographical information about individuals associated with 榴莲app官方网站入 and the Town of Elon, including some of the founders of the institution, faculty and staff, and alumni. Documents within each folder contain a variety of items, such as newspaper clippings, correspondences, essays and memoirs, and other types of printed materials.

EUA041 Elon Files (General and Administrative)鈥 This collection includes general information files about departments on campus, events, courses, organizations and other miscellaneous subjects associated with Elon. The files are arranged alphabetically and span eight file cabinet drawers. For example, the 鈥淏lack Cultural Society/Black Student Union鈥 folder was cited in the 2020 report by the Committee on Elon History & Memory.

The 榴莲app官方网站入 Gospel Choir, ca. 1980s-1990s. EUA028 Photograph Collection

EUA095 Gospel Choir Collection, 1980-ongoing (three archival boxes)鈥擳he Gospel Choir at Elon was founded in 1977 by a group of African American students in search of fellowship on campus. The Gospel Choir Collection includes documents about the organization from 1980 to the present day. Documents include materials such as correspondence, receipts or financial records, advertising flyers, programs and membership listings.

EUA098 African and African American Studies Collection, 1969-ongoing (four archival boxes)鈥 This collection consists of materials relating to the founding and continued work of the African and African-American Studies Program at 榴莲app官方网站入.

EUA134 Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education (CREDE) Collection, 1992-ongoing (one archival box)鈥擳his collection pertains to multicultural affairs across Elon’s campus, including the creation of the CREDE, as well as some information on the African and African-American Studies minor.

EUA155 Anti-Racism at Elon Collection, 2020-ongoing (one archival box)鈥 This is a collection of correspondence, news articles, and reports related to anti-racism efforts at 榴莲app官方网站入, as well as events that took place at 榴莲app官方网站入 and in Alamance County in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020. The collection includes the report of the Committee on Elon History & Memory released in October 2020.

Mary Carroll-Robertson ’81, the first Black Homecoming Queen at Elon, 1979. When this photo was omitted from the 1980 yearbook, it sparked a protest. EUA028 Photograph Collection

EUA159 Black Excellence Awards Collection, 1993- ongoing (one archival box)鈥擳his collection encompasses the history of the Black Excellence Awards from their creation in 1993 to the present day. It includes both programs and invitations from past Black Excellence Awards ceremonies and news articles discussing the Black Excellence Awards. Particularly of note are the programs and newspaper coverage relating to the inaugural award ceremony in 1993.

MSS005 William H. Maness Collection, 1957-2000 (two archival boxes)鈥擳he William H. Maness collection contains a variety of materials relating to his tenure as a judge in Jacksonville, Florida, as well as issues of racism, social inequality, the Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the strides people took to promote the well-being and equality of the human race.聽

Expanding the Collections聽

Like all archives, the 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives & Special Collections represents the goals, values and priorities of its participants over the years of its existence. For much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the history and experiences of those who identified as Black or African American were ignored, elided, or just plain excluded from official archives and records鈥攁nd Elon was no different. Within the EUA&SC, we鈥檙e committed to making the Archives a place that reflects the histories of the whole community. In the hopes of filling in some of those 鈥渁rchival silences,鈥 we are always seeking materials that speak to the Black and African American experience on campus. In particular, we plan to begin an oral history program within the Archives that will focus on recovering Black voices, with input from the Committee on Elon History & Memory. We also must acknowledge that, in some cases, evidence and information has simply been lost to history. It鈥檚 a difficult truth that keeps us motivated in our efforts to build a more equitable and accurate archive for the future.

References and Recommended Reading聽

Alvarez, Shaunta. 鈥溋窳玜pp官方网站入 First Black History Celebration.鈥 Under the Oaks (blog). February 1, 2012. .

Black Lumen Project. The Black Experience at Elon: A Black Lumen Project Report. Elon, NC: 榴莲app官方网站入, 2023. .

Committee on Elon History and Memory. Report and Recommendations. 2020. Elon, NC: 榴莲app官方网站入, 2022. .

Richmond, L鈥橳anya. 鈥溋窳玜pp官方网站入 Black History: A Story to Be Told.鈥 Master鈥檚 thesis, Duke University, 2005. 榴莲app官方网站入 Archives and Special Collections, Elon, NC.

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Elon librarians present at Core Forum /u/news/2024/12/12/elon-librarians-present-at-core-forum/ Thu, 12 Dec 2024 22:05:55 +0000 /u/news/?p=1003405 Elon librarians Patrick Rudd and Shannon Tennant presented at the 4th annual Core Forum in Minneapolis, Minnesota from Nov. 14-16.

The is the annual conference for the American Library Association’s newest division, Core: Leadership, Infrastructures, Futures. It brings together decision makers and practitioners in libraries that focus on the following areas:

  • Access & Equity
  • Buildings & Operations
  • Leadership & Management
  • Metadata & Collections
  • Preservation
  • Technology

Patrick Rudd, coordinator of library instruction and outreach services and Shannon Tennant, coordinator of library collections, presented some of their recent work in a session titled “Investigating Information Privilege with First-Year College Students: A Partnership Between Librarians and Teaching Faculty”.

Rudd and Tennant’s presentation discussed the partnership between the two librarians and teaching faculty on a DEI grant to explore issues of information privilege with students in first-year foundation classes. In these class sessions they investigate existing systems of information collection and dissemination, with the premise that these systems are often inequitable and potentially harmful. The instruction sessions inform students on how data algorithms play into information distribution, the reasons for missing and marginalized perspectives in published research and privilege in access to information.聽The presentation demonstrated how their instruction sessions have made 榴莲app官方网站入 students more successful in finding and evaluating information.

Tennant also examined how her experience with the grant directly relates to her role in library collections, since technical services librarians at other institutions do not often participate in library instruction. This work allowed her to share her expertise in electronic resource acquisition and collection development with students and teaching faculty, as well as show how the principles of in metadata and classification are relevant to all library users.

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Elon celebrates Open Access Week with workshop and faculty panel /u/news/2024/10/15/elon-celebrates-open-access-week-with-workshop-and-faculty-panel/ Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:50:51 +0000 /u/news/?p=998029 榴莲app官方网站入 is celebrating聽 from Monday, Oct. 14 to Friday, Oct. 18.

Open access (OA) is a movement in academic publishing that makes scholarly content available free of charge and allows scholarship to be disseminated as widely as possible. Authors retain their intellectual property rights, and scholars across the world have immediate access to new research. Learn more on the Belk Library’s聽.

Belk Library is hosting a on Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. titled “Community over Commercialization: Open Access and Publishing for All.” Learn about open access publishing, opportunities for OA funding available through the library and hear from a panel of faculty who have published OA.

As part of the library鈥檚 membership in the Carolina Consortium, the library has agreements with several large publishers (Wiley, Sage, Springer Nature, Cambridge University Press and others) that allow researchers to publish their articles open access for free or at a reduced cost. In 2023, seven articles were published by Elon researchers through these deals, saving the university over $21,000.

During the session on Oct. 23, Jessie Moore, professor of English and director of the Center for Engaged Learning; Brian Pennington, professor of religious studies and director of the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture, and Society; and Jen Hamel, professor of biology and associate director of Undergraduate Research will share their experiences publishing open access and answer questions about the process.

Please 聽where there will be coffee and donuts available for all attendees. The library will also be tabling at College Coffee on Oct. 22, so stop by to test your knowledge of OA and win some swag.

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榴莲app官方网站入 students, faculty and staff can now access the Wall Street Journal /u/news/2024/08/27/elon-students-faculty-and-staff-can-now-access-the-wall-street-journal/ Tue, 27 Aug 2024 12:41:00 +0000 /u/news/?p=992808

榴莲app官方网站入 students, faculty and staff can claim free access to The Wall Street Journal thanks to a new subscription from Belk Library. This subscription includes unlimited聽access to WSJ.com, WSJ mobile apps, curated newsletters and podcasts.

Get started in just a few quick steps:

  • Visit . This will lead you to the Elon SSO login page鈥搒ign in using your Elon credentials.
  • On the next page, from the dropdown menu that reads “account type”, select your classification (faculty, staff, or student).
  • Enter your first name, last name and your Elon email address (if not already populated). Enter a password, check the box agreeing to the terms of service,听补苍诲 click “Create”.
  • Once you’ve created your account, you will receive an email that confirms your account. You can now access WSJ via the website, or download their app.
  • Note: If you have a personal WSJ account, call 1-800-JOURNAL to cancel and switch over to Elon’s school-sponsored subscription.

Members of the Elon community can also claim subscription access to the聽听补苍诲 the聽.

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榴莲app官方网站入 and Belk Library well-represented at 2023 North Carolina Library Association Conference /u/news/2023/11/06/elon-university-and-belk-library-well-represented-at-2023-north-carolina-library-association-conference/ Mon, 06 Nov 2023 19:07:53 +0000 /u/news/?p=962293 The North Carolina Library Association (NCLA) is the statewide organization for the entire North Carolina library community promoting libraries, library and information services, librarianship, intellectual freedom, and literacy across public, academic, school and special libraries. The association鈥檚 biennial conference features a wide variety of presentations across library types. At this year鈥檚 NCLA conference, there were eight presentations featuring Elon librarians and staff.

Elon and Belk Library鈥檚 contributions to the conference ranged from topics including AI in library instruction, intellectual freedom, student success collaborations, cultivating healthy workplace environments, and more. Find each presentation title and a brief description below:

The theme of this year’s conference was “Cultivating Community: Strengthening Roots, Supporting New Growth”

In聽“A Chatbot Did Not Write This: The Library鈥檚 Role in AI Instruction,”聽Health and Life Sciences Librarian Jesse Akman, Engineering and Physical Science Librarian Ellen Cline and聽Outreach and Marketing Librarian聽Alison Van Norman聽discussed Belk Library鈥檚 partnership with other offices across campus to develop a series of workshops aimed at demystifying AI, addressing faculty concerns, and offering ideas for using AI constructively in the classroom and in research practices. The library is a natural place and partner for AI education, but what exactly do those roles look like? With an issue as broad as AI, how do we identify topics the library should or should not cover? Who might we partner with for a more comprehensive AI education experience? These questions, as well as strategies for moving beyond the technology itself and towards a more holistic understanding were introduced in this session.

Digital Collections & Systems Librarian Shaunta Alvarez presented with a panel on Demystifying Careers in Technical Services: Getting a job, learning the job, growing in the job with librarians from Appalachian State University, Cabarrus County Public Library, Meredith College, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, and UNC-Greensboro. The panel featured technical services professionals discussing what it takes to get a job in cataloging, e-resources, acquisitions, and more. Hiring managers, accidental tech services librarians and recent job-seekers from public and academic libraries shared their insights and advice on this often overlooked and misunderstood area of librarianship.

From Co-location to Collaboration: Connecting with Building Partners for Student Success Programming from聽Outreach & Marketing Librarian聽Alison Van Norman听补苍诲聽Executive Director of the Koenigsberger Learning Center & Director of Learning Assistance聽James Holsinger聽described the partnership between staff in Belk Library and Learning Assistance to create academic recovery workshops for first-year students on academic probation. The goals of this collaboration were two-fold: first, to find new and creative ways to not only reach 榴莲app官方网站入 most at-risk students but also to convince them to attend a set of workshops that were not compulsory; and second, to create content for academic success workshops that motivates, inspires, and helps students find their academic footing. The presenters shared workshop outcomes, successes, and challenges in this interactive session, encouraging those in attendance to share their own experiences.

Book challenges and censorship continue to be increasingly significant in North Carolina, with attempts to remove or restrict access to books in school, academic, and public libraries. In Intellectual Freedom in NC 鈥 What Can YOU Do?, Director of the Curriculum Resources Center聽Allison Bryan聽provided an overview of the current state of book challenges and censorship in North Carolina, including changing trends in challenges. She also discussed statewide advocacy efforts and explored strategies that librarians can use to fight censorship in their own communities.

Patrick Rudd & Alison Van Norman presenting on a panel with librarians from Wake Forest University and UNCG.

Coordinator of Library Instruction & Outreach Services聽Patrick Rudd听补苍诲聽Outreach & Marketing Librarian聽Alison Van Norman聽joined librarians from UNC-Greensboro and Wake Forest University for a panel titled Outreach Programming in Academic Libraries: What’s New, What Works, and What We’ve Learned Along the Way! Successful outreach programming requires planning, execution, and evaluation. Libraries must identify target audiences and their needs, develop compelling programming/events that meet those needs, and measure the impact of their outreach efforts to inform future programming decisions. By engaging with their communities in meaningful and impactful ways, libraries can enhance their value and relevance to their institutions and beyond. The panelists discussed various outreach efforts at their three academic libraries, hosting various events that attract a range of audiences and foster deeper connections with the communities they serve, describing programming that can be applied to any type of library.

Student Success Librarian Carlos Grooms presents on the history of redlining in East Greensboro

Student Success Librarian聽Carlos Grooms听补苍诲 librarians from North Carolina聽A&T State University discussed work done with A&T鈥檚 F.D. Bluford Library to elevate conversations surrounding the historical practice of redlining communities in Social Justice and Libraries: Strengthening East Greensboro through archival collections and historical programs. In 2021, the Bluford library received a grant from North Carolina Humanities and began a series of events and talks exploring the history of redlining and discriminatory housing practices in Greensboro. The panel discussed their experiences working on this project, things they learned, the success of the community programs, and more.

Dean of the Carol Grotnes Belk Library Joan Ruelle presented on a panel on Surviving to Thriving: Cultivating Healthy Workplace Environments with librarians from Orange County Public Library, Wake County Public Libraries, and Wake Forest University. Much of the advice that鈥檚 given to employees regarding mental health is based on solutions to burnout, coping strategies, and methods to mitigate stress and frustration caused by their workplaces. While this advice helps employees survive, organizations that strive to create healthy workplace environments can focus on harm reduction at the source, allowing team members to thrive.聽Panelists shared their experiences as both employees and leaders, discussing what they have learned about creating functional workplace cultures, meeting employee needs, and providing support to staff and colleagues.

In When You鈥檙e the New Kid: Managing Career Transitions with Intention,聽Student Success Librarian聽Carlos Grooms听补苍诲 Kate Silton (Electronic Resources Librarian at Wake Forest University) discussed their experiences starting new jobs in 2022 after being colleagues at NC A&T State University for over a decade. After many years in the same workplace, the idea of pursuing new opportunities and trying something new can be daunting and can raise big questions about your career path and goals. The presenters shared from their personal experiences transitioning to new roles and institutions, considerations for library professionals interested in making a change, tips for acclimating to a new library, and suggestions for ways that libraries can successfully onboard new employees.

In addition to the contributions to the 2023 NCLA Conference, Carlos Grooms also serves as the chair of one of NCLA鈥檚 sections: Roundtable on Ethnic and Minority Concerns (REMCo). REMCo serves as a voice for NCLA鈥檚 ethnic and minority members and strives to improve and initiate services for the ethnic communities that all libraries serve.

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Take part in Faculty Scholarship Lunch & Learn on Friday, Sept. 8 /u/news/2023/09/04/take-part-in-faculty-scholarship-lunch-learn-on-friday-sept-8/ Mon, 04 Sep 2023 18:25:34 +0000 /u/news/?p=957800 Please join us on Friday, September 8 from 12:15鈥1:15 p.m. for a Faculty Scholarship Lunch & Learn in Belk Library 113. We will hear from three faculty on their research-in-progress in an informal, lightning talk format. Lunch will be provided!聽Please register here:聽.

The lightning talks will be from:

Jacqueline DeBrew, Nursing

Show Me Your Story:聽 A community organization that provides transitional housing to people experiencing homelessness was the site for a qualitative study which utilized interviews and Photovoice to understand what activities performed by residents increases self-determination in managing their health, what barriers exist, as well as what nurses can do to support them.

Evan Gatti, Art History

Evan will share work completed as part of the Multispectral Imaging Collective聽Videntes聽(Latin, plural for the act of seeing). Over the last few years,聽Videntes聽has imaged six of the seven medieval scrolls preserved in the聽Museo del Tesoro del Duomo e Archivio Capitolare聽in Vercelli, Italy.聽Each scroll preserves a different mode of teaching or learning from their original medieval contexts and now, each presents a unique technical problem to their modern interpreters. Gatti鈥檚 work, specially,聽focuses on what we can see better through multispectral analysis using an object that does not demonstrate clear damage or intentional reuse. She will share how the process of slow (or layered) looking encouraged by multispectral analysis offers insights into medieval drawing and copying practices and what the implications of those findings could be for expanded use of multispectral analysis in art history.

Jessica Merricks, Biology

Reflective writing is an underutilized strategy in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) curricula for a variety of reasons, yet it may deepen disciplinary understanding and shape students鈥 cognitive, social, and emotional perspectives. Jessica鈥檚 research focuses on how to help students reflect more deeply on their learning process and their relationship with science content. She will also share results from a newly designed rubric for evaluating students鈥 written reflections.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Are you interested in participating in a future Faculty Scholarship Lunch & Learn, or would you like to nominate a colleague? Let us know using

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Elon librarians, faculty present at The Innovative Library Classroom conference /u/news/2023/06/21/elon-librarians-faculty-present-at-the-innovative-library-classroom-conference/ Wed, 21 Jun 2023 12:58:36 +0000 /u/news/?p=954244 Elon faculty and staff Patrick Rudd, Shannon Tennant and Christy Stein聽presented 鈥淎 Collaborative Approach to Finding and Using Data in a First-Year Writing Course鈥 at The Innovative Library Classroom conference at William & Mary University on June 2.

Shannon Tennant, Chrissy Stein, and Patrick Rudd presented at The Innovative Library Classroom conference.

The presentation shared Rudd, Tennant and Stein’s experiences with collaborating on a scaffolded approach to teaching data literacy in ENG 1100.

Rudd and Tennant co-taught multiple library sessions with Stein’s ENG 1100 sections focused on the development of research strategies to locate, interpret and use qualitative and quantitative data. Throughout the semester, students practiced how to effectively use and represent data in a persuasive argument. By the end of the semester students could position data sources in conversation through writing and infographics.聽The presentation discussed the instructors’ approaches, student responses and next steps.

(TILC) is a conference dedicated to the exploration of innovative practices related to teaching and learning in libraries. The conference is sponsored by the Virginia Library Association, William & Mary Libraries, Longwood University’s Greenwood Library, Radford University Libraries and Hollins University Library. TILC grew from a regional Libraries Exchange Observation project in Virginia, and the conference is now is attended by instruction librarians and library partners from across the country.

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Belk Library to celebrate National Library Week April 24鈥29 /u/news/2023/04/25/belk-library-to-celebrate-national-library-week-april-24-29/ Wed, 26 Apr 2023 01:53:17 +0000 /u/news/?p=947722 Provost Rebecca Kohn holding her favorite book for READ campaign. It鈥檚 National Library Week from April 24 through April 29! Come to Belk Library to see the collection of “READ” posters featuring Elon faculty, staff and students with their favorite books. This year鈥檚 new posters feature:

  • Rebecca Kohn, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs
  • Larry Mellinger, interim director for the Center for Leadership and two students for HealthEU
  • Tiffany Morris, associate professor of nursing and inaugural department chair of the Department of Nursing
  • Norma Rodriguez, assistant director of learning assistance and two student tutors for Learning Assistance

Also on display this week are some new additions to our physical book collection. Stop by the book display next to the Belk entrance to check out some new reading materials!

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Belk Library, CATL, TLT, Writing Across the University host discussion on ‘The Wave of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Ed’ /u/news/2023/03/03/belk-library-catl-tlt-writing-across-the-university-host-discussion-on-the-wave-of-artificial-intelligence-in-higher-ed/ Fri, 03 Mar 2023 20:02:21 +0000 /u/news/?p=941545 With the rapidly increasing relevance of artificial intelligence, especially language-based AI and chatbots like ChatGPT, Belk Library, The Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL), Teaching and Learning Technologies (TLT), and Writing Across the University teamed up on Feb. 16 to discuss AI and its implications on higher education.

With 50 faculty and staff in attendance to learn and share ideas surrounding 鈥淭he Wave of Artificial Intelligence,鈥 participants asked thought-provoking questions and offered nuanced viewpoints on how this technology might be used at Elon and across the country.

The goals of this session included:

  • increasing our knowledge about AI and ChatGPT
  • brainstorming opportunities for partnerships with ChatGPT during the learning process
  • reflecting on strategies for how we can support students with navigating the use of AI in higher education
  • building a community for further exploration of topics related to AI and ChatGPT

The session was structured so that each participating office could share information on how ChatGPT relates to their specific discipline, including potential ways to partner with the tool, and any potential issues that could arise from its use. Dhvani Toprani, assistant director of learning design and support in TLT opened the session by giving some basic information about what ChatGPT is, guiding the group through a brief overview of the ChatGPT system, looking closely at the acronym 鈥淕PT鈥 and delving further into how the system learns. Kate Moss, Instructional Technologist in TLT then gave some important context on privacy and data security relating to ChatGPT.

Several librarians then placed ChatGPT in the context of libraries and information science. Jesse Akman, health and life sciences librarian, and Ellen Cline, engineering and physical sciences librarian, discussed how ChatGPT might impact information literacy, copyright, research support and citations. Attendees raised several perceptive questions, such as 鈥渄oes ChatGPT cite its sources鈥 and 鈥渃an ChatGPT be used as a research tool to direct students to other sources?鈥 The short answer to these questions with the way ChatGPT currently operates is no, but these are important questions to think about when considering how students will use this tool and how it might be integrated into the classroom.

Research naturally segues into writing, which brought Paula Rosinski, director of Writing Across the University, into the discussion. Rosinski discussed the many ways that writing is affected by these new technologies, giving meaningful suggestions for how to work with these tools. Rosinski encouraged attendees to assess their own comfort with AI text generators and establish boundaries with students around these tools, to focus on best practices in writing instruction, and to focus on writing as a process. These focal points value student participation, help students learn, and discourage plagiarism and misuse of AI text generators.

Jill McSweeney, assistant director of CATL, and Jen Uno, Associate Director of CATL later responded to an attendee鈥檚 question regarding how we can use ChatGPT to amplify engaged learning. McSweeney gave examples of how students can debate with ChatGPT to locate flaws or gaps in its argument, and to grade an essay that was written by ChatGPT. They also discussed some ways that new technologies like ChatGPT can enhance teaching. McSweeney stressed the importance of supporting students鈥 academic integrity, defining ChatGPT鈥檚 presence in the classroom, and the need for contextualized assessments.

In closing, attendees were reminded that:

  • AI can support and augment the learning process
  • we should have clear and honest conversations with students and be transparent about AI use in the learning process
  • we should continue using intentional, authentic, and student-centric assessments

Conversations around ChatGPT and AI will be ongoing as the technology advances further and becomes more prevalent. We plan to provide more space later this spring to continue these important conversations, and to continue building a community around further exploration into these topics.

For more information, check out these resources:

Bali, M. (Feb 3, 2023). . Reflecting Allowed. [Blog].

Bjork, C. (Feb 9, 2023). . The Conversation.

CESE NSW. (2023). .

Cummings, L. (2023). .

D鈥橝gostino, S., (Jan 31, 2023). . Inside Higher Ed.

Hardman, P. (Jan 26, 2023). . The Learning Science Newsletter.

University of Michigan. (2023). .

Van Dis. E. et al. (Feb 3, 2023). . Nature.

Watkins, R. (2022). . Medium.

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