Sarah Gustafson, assistant professor of politics at The Catholic University of America, led the discussion, titled “The Declaration of Independence and the American Political Imagination.” Gustafson’s research is focused on 19th century political thought, particularly the work of French political thinker, Alexis de Tocqueville, whose writings on American democracy became a central focus of her presentation.

Gustafson described the Declaration as an urtext of the American story. Although the Constitution and Bill of Rights carry greater legal authority, she said the Declaration continues to have “rhetorical and sentimental force.” Its language, she explained, has been repeatedly used by Americans to discuss the country’s ideals, including in Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech and “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

Rather than treating the Declaration as an isolated historical document, Gustafson used Tocqueville’s observations to explore the political culture that existed around it. Tocqueville traveled through the United States in the 1830s and later published “Democracy in America,” a detailed study of American democracy and political life.

One of the examples Gustafson highlighted was Tocqueville’s experience in Albany, New York, on July 4. He witnessed military demonstrations, Revolutionary War veterans being honored, and copies of the Declaration being printed in the street. The celebration concluded with a public reading of the document.

Tocqueville found the experience had “something deeply felt and truly great about it.” For Gustafson, the celebration showed how Americans are able to pass down history and traditions through local communities and organizations rather than relying on institutions

Gustafson compared those formal institutions to the first floor of a house, supported by a basement made up of families, clubs, religion, ethics and other informal institutions.

“They provide the dynamism, strength, and support, without which that first floor would not hold.” said Gustafson.

During the question and answer session, Gustafson encouraged students to apply those ideas locally rather than focusing exclusively on national politics.

“Go build something,” Gustafson said. “Go work with your hands. Go work with other people.”

For Gustafson, civic education is about more than memorizing founding documents. It is about developing a ‘political imagination’ that connects the words of those documents to the communities, relationships, and traditions that give them meaning.

The Constitution Day program came during a year of national attention on the Declaration’s 250th anniversary. The event was supported by a grant from the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History and organized with support from the Department of Political Science and Public Policy.

With the support of the Departments of Art History, English, History, Philosophy, Religious Studies and World Languages and Cultures, a slate of events from Oct. 5-9, 2026, are intended to communicate the value of the humanistic disciplines in a digital age.

All Elon community members are welcome to join. Contact Associate Professor Ariela Marcus-Sells (amarcussells@elon.edu) with any questions. 

Monday, October 5

• Trivia Night at 6:30 p.m. at the Oak House

Tuesday, October 6

• Social Media Takeover with Humanities majors

Wednesday, October 7

• Career Paths for Humanities Majors at 6 p.m. in Lakeside 212 and 213

Thursday, October 8

• Being Human Coffee, from 9:50 – 10:20 a.m. in Numen Lumen

Friday, October 9

• Being Human Alumni Reception and Networking from 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. on the Spence Pavilion Patio

Visit the Humanities Week webpage for updated information.

“I’ve always been a writer, but I never believed I could write a whole novel,” said Schramm, who majored in philosophy and journalism in 2008. “But during the pandemic I saw all these people living their dreams and I thought maybe I could do that too. This is when I came up with the idea for my novel and started writing.”

The young adult novel, “,” tells the story of high school senior Sydney Hoffman as she sees pink neon countdown clocks over people’s heads 72 hours before they die. This has left her cynical, closed off and alone until she meets Peter Beckett, who changes everything she believes about life and death. Peter convinces Sydney she does not have to handle the countdowns alone, and together they help strangers live their best final hours.

“It felt like everyone around me had a clock over their head during the pandemic and I was really struggling to figure out how to live a meaningful life with the threat of the world possibly ending at any moment,” said Schramm. “I was sort of learning alongside the main character, Sydney, how to enjoy life and be present.”

During this time writing the novel became cathartic for her.

“My classes at Elon influenced my writing so much,” said Schramm. “This book is very philosophical and so many of the ideas in there are from my time eating bread around the fireplace in the philosophy building talking about existentialism and what it means to live an examined life. One of the teachers in the book is named in honor of one of my favorite philosophy professors, Dr. Jegstrup. She pushed me harder than any teacher ever has, and I owe so much to her and her classes.”

Schramm was originally only a journalism major, but that all changed after she took a philosophy class taught by Associate Professor Elsebet Jegstrup.

“After the first class, I walked directly to the registrar’s office and immediately changed my major to philosophy,” Schramm said. “I only needed one day for it to change everything.

Publishing a novel was not exactly what she thought it would be. While writing her debut novel, Schramm learned from other authors how the publishing world worked.

“One of the things I didn’t realize was how long publishing takes,” Schramm said. “My auction for “72 Hours of You” happened in early 2024 and it just recently came out.”

Life as a debut author has been a dream come true for Schramm. She has had the opportunity to meet many creative colleagues and visit stores to sign copies of her book.

“I feel wildly lucky that this is my job,” Schramm said. “To see my debut novel translated into so many different languages has been such an incredible gift.”

Now working on her second young adult novel, “Kiss Me Like the Last Time,” about a girl who kisses someone for the first time while also experiencing her last kiss with them at the same time, which is set to publish in 2027.

Schramm is also publishing her first debut adult novel in 2028 titled “The Eternal Deaths of Hattie Gold,” about a woman who is training to become Gen-Z Death.

While at Elon, Schramm participated in Greek Life and developed strong relationships with faculty.

“I loved attending Elon and being in the Department of Philosophy,” Schramm said. “The philosophy department was such a special tight-knot space, and I am forever grateful that I changed my major to philosophy.”

Schramm is earning her PhD in creative writing.

Kranec, an applied mathematics and biomedical engineering major, whose research focuses on using a mathematical model to better understand how the immune system responds during COVID-19 and how that response may contribute to heart damage. She developed a system of differential equations that describes the interactions between the virus, immune cells and cytokines in the heart. Kranec has conducted this research with Associate Professor of Mathematics Hwayeon Ryu.

Their goal is to better understand how immune dysregulation can lead to cardiac complications during infection.

“As an applied mathematics and biomedical engineering student, I’ve always been drawn to how mathematics can be applied in real-world health problems,” Kranec said. “COVID-19 really highlighted how complex the interactions between the immune system and an infection are, and I was super interested in how mathematical modeling could help to answer biological questions that might be different to experimentally study.”

This research project allows Kranec to combine her interests in mathematics, biology and medicine.

“Receiving this award is incredibly meaningful to me,” Kranec said. “It is a privilege to have my presentation recognized by other researchers and educators in the mathematical community. This award reflects not only the research itself, but the mentorship we received and the collaborative effort that went into this project. Being award this prize has given me more confidence in pursuing interdisciplinary research in the future.”

Her research poster was submitted as part of the MAA MathFest presentation session for �þ��� students. Kranec recalled being surprised and honored to receive the award at MathFest.

“I had seen many other impressive projects being presented at the conference, so I was grateful that the judges held my work in the same high esteem,” Kranec said. “It was a very rewarding and exciting moment.”

At the MAA MathFest conference, Kranec enjoyed the opportunity to explain her research on how mathematical models can be used to provide insights into complex biological systems and hearing questions and new perspectives from others.

Keopagnapech Ngoun ’26, James Felder ’27, and Andrew Pipeling ’29 also contributed to this project.

“Receiving this award was an honor, and although my research group members were not able to attend the conference, I am grateful to have represented our team’s research at the conference,” Kranec said.

Kranec attended the conference with Ryu through support from a National Science Foundation grant to fund Ryu’s research on COVID-19.

“As a mentor, there is nothing more rewarding than watching a student grow in confidence and begin to see herself as a researcher,” Ryu said. “Lisa has worked hard on her project, so seeing her research recognized at a national conference was a very proud moment for me. This award is a wonderful recognition of her curiosity, persistence and growth, but it also shows what �þ���s can accomplish when they are given meaningful opportunities to engage with research. This is just the beginning for Lisa, over the next two years, she will continue her interdisciplinary research through her Lumen project, Mathematical modeling of excessive collagen production in cardiac fibrosis, under the joint mentorship of Efrain Rivera-Serrano and I. I’m excited to see how she continues to grow as an interdisciplinary researcher.”

Ayesh Awad ’24 received this award at the 2024 MathFest conference.

Established in 2007, the Janet L. Andersen Award for Undergraduate Research in Mathematical or Computational Biology honors Janet Andersen, professor of mathematics, at Hope College.

Assistant Professor Danny Frye will oversee in 2026-27 the “Fire of the Carolinas” Marching Band, the Wind Ensemble, the Concert Band and the Pep Band.

“We are so excited to welcome Dr. Danny Frye to our university,” said Associate Professor Ally Wente, chair of the Department of Music. “Danny has already been in the thick of it for several weeks now, leading marching band camp with energy, warmth and dedication. We couldn’t ask for a better start to his term as interim director of bands.”

Frye is a percussionist and music educator with over two decades of leadership and �þ��� experience in K-12 and collegiate music programs, including those at Wake Forest University, High Point University, Pfeiffer University and UNC Charlotte.

Frye has appeared as a guest artist at the Festival Internacional de la Puerto Rico, the Southeastern Percussion Festival and the Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina Days of Percussion. He has led clinics, recitals and masterclasses at universities throughout the country.

A professional percussionist, Frye earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has performed with Aretha Franklin, Lorrie Morgan and symphonies across the Carolinas in Charleston, Greensboro and Winston-Salem.

McKayla “MK” Phillips, adjunct assistant professor of music, will serve as interim percussion instructor and interim assistant director of bands.

Frye succeeds Associate Professor Jonathan Poquette, the university’s previous director of bands, who joined the music faculty this summer at Bethel College in Kansas alongside his wife, Kelly, another music educator.

Martin’s 22-year astrophotography project captures the shape of Earth’s shadow through a series of lunar eclipses. The collage is the culmination of a long-term astrophotography project that began with Martin’s first digital photograph of a lunar eclipse in 2003. By combining multiple images across eclipses, he completed the collage in March 2025 that shows the complete shadow of the Earth.

The project was inspired by the observation and documentation of lunar eclipses by the ancient Greeks who concluded the reason why occasional full moons look different was due to the Moon passing into the shadow of the Earth. Martin’s interest in astrophotography began as an eighth grader in the early 1980s when he photographed lunar eclipses for a science fair project.

“As I have taught this for years, I started to compile several images to outline the shadow of the Earth,” said Martin. “After a number of eclipses, I realized that I had enough data to mostly show the shadow of the Earth.”

Martin’s collage brings together images captured from numerous locations, including Australia, over the course of 22 years. Each eclipse presented a different opportunity and a different challenge. Weather conditions, the time of night and the position of the Moon within Earth’s shadow all had to align for Martin to capture the images he needed.

“At first I was just watching and photographing eclipses,” Martin said. “It was only in the last decade that I started intentionally working on creating this image. It was still a long time for the creation of the image and one that can’t be easily replicated without waiting on celestial alignments,” Martin said.

In March 2025, he finally completed the image by photographing the lunar eclipse on Elon’s campus. Shortly after completing his collage, Martin submitted it to NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day, a website that has showcased astronomy images from around the world since the 1990s. The site reaches millions of viewers and is translated into more than 20 languages.

Martin initially expected the photograph might be published sooner. When he received an email notifying him that NASA had selected the image, his disappointment over the wait quickly turned into excitement.

“I was super excited when I got the email a few days ago,” Martin said. “I wanted to share this long-term project with the larger community of folks who are interested in astronomy and space science.”

The timing of NASA’s selection also makes the recognition particularly fitting. The photograph is being featured in conjunction with an upcoming lunar eclipse on Aug. 27, giving viewers an opportunity to see the phenomenon that inspired Martin’s project.

Over the years, Martin has used a combination of cameras and telescopes to photograph the lunar eclipses. He has used early generation digital cameras and his current Nikon Z8 camera paired with a 600 mm telephoto lens.

Martin joined Elon in 2020, his scholarly areas of expertise include astronomy, meteorology and geology.

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

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

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

About Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences

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

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

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

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

Recipients of the annual awards are nominated by their colleagues and selected by the College’s dean and associate deans.

“Each of these award recipients demonstrate dedication to their students and colleagues,” said Hilton Kelly, dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. “I am so pleased to recognize each of these faculty and staff members for all of their work and contributions to supporting the mission of the College.”

The 2026 College Excellence Award recipients:

Excellence in Teaching Award

Kristen Mazur

Associate Professor of Mathematics and Statistics

Associate Professor Kristen Mazur builds her classrooms around the idea that students learn best when they are encouraged to take intellectual risks, embrace productive struggles and grow through challenges. She was the leader in the development of Elon’s Precalculus program and co-creator of the Mathematics and Statistics Learning Assistant Program, helping strengthen pathways into science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. She received the Trevor Evans Award, established by the Mathematical Association of America, for scholarship of an exceptional mathematics article that is accessible to �þ���s which was published in “Math Horizons.” Mazur also has multiple publications with �þ��� co-authors.

Excellence in Scholarship

Yanica Faustin

Assistant Professor of Public Health

Assistant Professor Yanica Faustin’s work focuses on health equity and understanding and dismantling the systemic and structural barriers that shape health and well-being for marginalized communities. Faustin was Elon’s first recipient of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Equity Scholars for Action award, a national grant supporting groundbreaking scholarship that advances health equity. This award helped position Elon on a national stage in public health research. In addition to peer-reviewed publications, invited presentations and public scholarship, she has built a research program committed to developing future scholars. Faustin has also advanced national conversations around maternal and reproductive health, racial inequities in birth outcomes, severe maternal morbidity and the health experiences of Black communities across the diaspora.

Excellence in Service-Leadership Award

Corey Roberts

Assistant Professor of Native American and Indigenous Studies

Assistant Professor Corey Roberts’ service has been defined by a commitment to collaboration and community engagement. Through leadership of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation (OBSN) Heritage Language and Learning Working Group, Roberts helped secure multiple grants, develop educational initiatives, organize conferences and workshops and deepens the partnership between �þ��� and the OBSN. These efforts brought together students, faculty, staff, tribal leaders and community members in meaningful and lasting ways. He helped to lead the creation and installation of a historic marker at The Oaks that includes Yesa:sahí language and a land acknowledgment, along with coordinating signage on OBSN tribal grounds. The dedication brought more than 120 members of the Elon and tribal communities together. Roberts also helped organize the Undergraduate Conference on Languages and Cultures, coordinated Polyglot Lunches, co-advises the Native American Student Association and delivered guest lectures that embody language, culture, community and belonging.

Excellence in Mentoring Award

Lauren Guilmette

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Associate Professor Lauren Guilmette has created numerous opportunities for students to connect their academic work with the wider world. From mentoring independent research projects, Honors students, Summer Undergraduate Research Experience scholars and graduate school applicants, to creating programs that connect students with faculty mentors, community partners and scholars across the country, Guilmette bands the horizons of what mentoring can be. As an advisor to the Gender & Sexuality Living Learning Community, Guilmette has cultivated spaces where students find community, leadership opportunities and a sense of belonging. Through partnerships with local organizations, grassroots initiatives, and community leaders, students have been encouraged to see themselves not simply as learners, but as engaged citizens capable of making a difference in the world. She also has a gift for connecting people, students with mentors, students with communities, students with one another and students with a deeper sense of purpose.

Staff Excellence Award

Beth DeFord

Program Assistant for Psychology, Human Service Studies and Public Health

Program Assistant Beth DeFord has spent more than two decades tracking down the right answer, identifying a potential problem before it arises, navigating a complicated process, helping a colleague meet a deadline and working behind the scenes to ensure things run smoothly. Known for approaching tasks with professionalism, precision, kindness and a desire to help others succeed, faculty trust her expertise, students benefit from her support and colleagues rely on her wisdom and institutional knowledge. DeFord supports three academic departments, Psychology, Human Service Studies and Public Health, to provide assistance to faculty, supervise student employees, support hundreds of students and manages a building. One nominator described DeFord as a superhero who manages an enormous workload, yet somehow makes it all look effortless.

During the Fall 2026 semester, Allocco will be �þ��� an introductory Hindu Traditions course and Death and the Afterlife: Ghosts, Demons and Ancestors in Asian Religions at Colgate University. In addition to �þ��� courses, she will present one public lecture as the NEH Chair and share her scholarship at a colloquium hosted by Colgate’s Division of Arts and Humanities.

“I loved my time at Colgate; it was obviously very formative for me,” Allocco said. “And it’s lovely to be thought of as someone who can contribute to an institution that I admire. I majored in religion, Asian studies and philosophy there, and I am doing work now that directly connects to what I studied. The first time I went to India was as a junior at Colgate and now I co-lead my own study abroad courses there. In many ways, this is a full circle moment.”

She plans to use this experience as a professional development opportunity and to bring back what she learned during her time at Colgate University to Elon.

“I’m excited to join a talented department and be on a campus where there is a lot of sharing of scholarship and I can learn how I can adjust my pedagogy and �þ���,” Allocco said. “I am looking forward tolearning from new mentorship models and gaining fresh insights that I can bring back and infuse into my own work and classroom at Elon. I am most invigorated in the classroom when my students are shifting my thinking, so I anticipate �þ��� in this context will offer me new perspectives to bring back.”

Personally, Allocco is looking forward to visiting with Wanda Warren Berry, professor emeritus of philosophy and religion and her mentor during her time at Colgate University, who is now 94. She is also looking forward to bringing engaged and experiential learning into the classroom and �þ��� in diverse contexts where students can contribute their own experiences.

“At Colgate there are many students from South Asia who grew up with Hindu culture and practices, so I’m looking forward to diverse learning environments where students can contribute their own lived experiences.” Allocco said. “I am also planning to embed some of the signature elements from my Elon courses into my classes at Colgate, such as site visits to Hindu temples.”

What Allocco is looking forward to the most is sharing her Fulbright sabbatical research on soundscapes and ritual art forms in India in Colgate’s classrooms and colloquiums.

“I have new scholarship from my sabbatical in India that I am excited to test drive, present and continue to develop,” Allocco said. “I’m excited for this growth opportunity and I am especially grateful to dean Kelly for his enthusiasm and support.”

Allocco’s professorship is both an opportunity to contribute to another institution and to bring new ideas and experiences back to Elon.

“I am incredibly proud of Professor Allocco and her well-earned distinguished professorship at Colgate,” said Hilton Kelly, dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. “Opportunities like this allow our faculty to share their expertise nationally while returning to Elon with new perspectives and experiences that enrich our classrooms and ultimately benefit our students.”

The seeds that were planted during Allocco’s time at Colgate helped to define her career at Elon.

“I feel certain that this experience will enrich my �þ���,” Allocco said. “The humanities push us inquire, to ask important questions and develop our own positions. I think that happens best in conversation, so I am sure that joining a different set of conversations temporarily will enrich me as a teacher, scholar and mentor.”

Colgate University, established in 1819, is a liberal arts college located in New York with an enrollment of over 3,000 students. Their Department of Religion has nine faculty members.

The funding was awarded through HSS 4110: Designing and Assessing Human Services Programs, a senior-level course taught by Tony Reyes, associate professor of Human Service Studies. In the course, students learn how to design programs that address social problems by conducting needs assessments, developing interventions, identifying necessary resources and evaluating program effectiveness.

Four Human Service Studies students — Jack Bull ’26, Haleigh Cephus ’26, Margaret Crawford ’26, and Eden Redmond ’26 — wrote the grant proposal that led to the award. Bull, who was interning with Sustainable Alamance at the time, brought firsthand knowledge of the organization’s work to the group’s research. Their proposal recommended funding a program to help people leaving incarceration understand the conditions of parole, a gap the students identified while researching reentry services in Alamance County.

Parole conditions are often complex and violating them can send someone back to prison for reasons unrelated to new criminal activity. The students proposed a series of monthly classes covering what counts as a violation, how to navigate parole requirements, and how to use the technology needed to pay parole fees. The program would be added to the life-skills courses and in-jail classes Sustainable Alamance already provides.

Sustainable Alamance has worked in reentry for 17 years and serves as the Local Reentry Council for Alamance County. The organization was founded by Phil Bowers, who continues to lead it.

“�þ��� in this course don’t write a hypothetical proposal for a hypothetical organization,” Reyes said. “They identify a real gap, work with a real partner, and make a funding decision that has consequences. That changes how carefully they think.”

The grant funding was made possible through a gift from an Elon alumna who supports the Learning by Giving model, an educational approach that allows students to learn philanthropy by making real funding decisions. The model has been championed at Elon by Bud Warner, emeritus professor of Human Service Studies, who advocated for incorporating hands-on philanthropy into �þ��� education.

Through the project, students gained experience researching community needs, working with local partners, and developing a professional grant proposal.