Elon University is not only growing in enrollment, but also in faculty size. This year, Elon University continues to grow in size with its largest freshman class ever. With more students means more faculty, and this year Elon has hired 79 new faculty members who will join the school this fall. From Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., to Northern Marianas College in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, the new incoming faculty come from every stretch of the country.
“I was brought to Elon by the short but powerful experience I had with the faculty members and the students,” incoming assistant professor of art administration from Ohio State Wen Guo said. “They, together, brought the best out of me as a young teacher and scholar while I was trying to be recognized as a part of the Elon community.”
Of the new faculty hires, 36 will be full-time and 44 will be part time. The College of Arts and Sciences will see 53 new faculty hires; Love School of Business, 14; School of Education, six; School of Communication, four; School of Health Sciences, two; and the School of Law, one.
The dozens of new faculty hires come during a time when the university is expanding, with faculty employment growing at a faster rate than student enrollment. Since the 2000-01 school year, Elon’s fall enrollment has increased by 70 percent reaching 6991 total students in fall 2018. During this time, the amount of full-time faculty has grown even faster increasing by 118 percent to 439 faculty members during the 2018-19 academic year, according to the most recent numbers available from Elon University’s Office of Institutional Research.
With a total of 590 full and part-time faculty members working at the university during the last academic year, Elon University is on par with its advertised 12 to 1 student teacher ratio.
Incoming provost Aswani Volety says he is looking to continue keeping this ratio low.
“I am planning on working with deans of schools and College of Arts and Science, as well as other campus constituencies to ensure that students get the best educational experience they deserve, and one that we are proud,” Volety said. “I plan to take a look at various programs that are growing to ensure appropriate resource allocation and follow our strategic plan in ensuring responsible growth.”
Elon’s non-tenured track faculty placed themselves in to the spotlight last year following a movement to unionize and demand “fair wages” and “job security.” Of the 283 eligible voters, 200 votes were cast with 112 members voted in favor of the union. Despite objections by Elon University this past spring, the university’s first non-tenure track faculty union is expected to move forward.