Elon celebrates 30 years of global education, first interdisciplinary major

Elon University marked 30 years of International & Global Studies with an April 21 event in front of Lindner Hall, framing the program as one of the clearest examples of how a small-town university can build international reach. What began as International Studies in the 1995-96 academic catalog became Elon’s first interdisciplinary major, and the first degree was conferred in spring 1996.

The celebration pointed back to the program’s earliest architects, especially Brian Digre, who arrived at Elon in 1990 and applied in 1993 for a U.S. Department of Education Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language grant. The grant was approved in 1994, then followed by regional studies support for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. That funding helped turn a new major into a durable part of Elon’s academic identity.

Digre’s influence reached far beyond the classroom. He helped spearhead African studies work at Elon, led the university’s first Winter Term course in Ghana in 1997, and taught that course for 21 years to more than 500 students before retiring in 2019. That kind of sustained faculty-led travel is one reason the program has outlived a simple branding exercise: it created direct academic, cultural and professional pathways for students.

University leaders used the anniversary to connect that history to Elon’s broader global-education push. President Connie Ledoux Book, dean Hilton Kelly and program director Andrea Sinn all took part, along with students Emily Ecker and Nancy Mueller. Elon says the major prepares students for careers in international affairs, government, nongovernmental organizations, international travel, business and graduate study, with a full semester abroad serving as a cornerstone of the experience.

The numbers underscore the scale. Global education is one of Elon’s five core experiences, the university offers more than 100 study-away programs in more than 30 countries, and 94% of undergraduates studied abroad in the 2022-23 Open Doors data, exceeding Elon’s 90% goal. In Winter Term 2025 alone, more than 1,000 students traveled across the United States and 27 countries.

For Alamance County, the value is both cultural and economic. Elon’s international programs help draw students, faculty and events to campus, while also strengthening the university’s standing as a regional institution with global connections. Three decades after the major was approved, the program’s strongest local impact is still practical: it keeps Elon tied to the wider world and gives students a direct route into it.