The study, 鈥�,鈥� looked at whether the growing availability of generative AI has changed who enters the video game market and how developers use AI in the creative process.

Kim and his co-authors analyzed more than 66,000 developers whose first game was published on Steam between 2014 and 2025. They found that more indie developers entered the platform in 2024 and 2025 than earlier trends predicted, while new non-indie developers remained within the expected range.

Key findings

• More indie developers entered the market after generative AI became widely available. The increase was greater than researchers鈥� models predicted based on previous trends.
• Images were the most common use of AI. Both indie and non-indie developers most often reported using AI to generate images, while use for music, voice and coding was lower.
• Indie developers used AI differently. Compared with non-indie developers, indie developers were more likely to use AI for music and coding.
• AI was associated with shorter indie games. The researchers say this may reflect AI鈥檚 usefulness in helping developers quickly develop and test ideas.
• The study shows an association, not causation. The researchers do not conclude that generative AI caused more indie developers to enter the market.

Kim plans to bring the research into his business analytics courses.

鈥淚 will use this paper in class to demonstrate the positive role of AI in facilitating human creativity by enabling individuals to quickly prototype and implement their ideas,鈥� Kim said.

The research was published in ACM AI Letters by the Association for Computing Machinery and co-authored with Seonbin Jo and Woo-Sung Jung of Pohang University of Science and Technology and Jisung Yoon of the KDI School of Public Policy and Management.

Kim joined 福利亚洲国产精品 in Fall 2023 from Boston University. His expertise includes business analytics, innovation, misinformation, and computational social science. He is currently the director of the Center for Applied Analytics and AI at Elon.

He started over.

Taylor was leading about 1,200 employees when he told company leaders he eventually wanted to run a business. Their response: He needed to learn how to build brands. So the engineer and plant manager moved into marketing, working alongside colleagues who were much earlier in their careers.

鈥淚t was a wonderful lesson in humility,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淚t was a great chance to learn and to be in the learning mode, not the knowing mode.鈥�

That willingness to keep learning became a recurring theme on Sept. 10 in LaRose Digital Theatre at the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business.

The conversation was moderated by Jack Ryan P’17, founder and principal of Jack Ryan Advisory and chair of the Love School of Business Board of Advisors.

Taylor spent more than 40 years with P&G, with assignments across the United States, Asia and Europe before eventually becoming chairman, president and CEO. Today, he serves as senior operating adviser to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, chairman of the supervisory board of Opella Healthcare Group and non-executive chair of Delta Air Lines鈥� board of directors.

When Ryan asked what advice he would give students preparing to enter the workforce, Taylor pushed back on the idea that there is one ideal first assignment.

鈥淢any people ask me, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 the right first assignment? Do I need to start in marketing or sales?鈥欌�� Taylor said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter. What matters is what you do with the first assignment. Do you come into whatever you鈥檙e asked to do and do it with excellence?鈥�

He said that strong work creates the credibility to take on larger challenges and eventually influence the organization itself.

鈥淚f you really want to change the system, be successful at wherever you are,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭hat gives you a platform to be able to change the system. You build credibility that you can accomplish outcomes, and once you do that, the willingness for others to listen to you grows.鈥�

Taylor said one of the strongest differentiators he has seen among successful leaders is their ability to bring out the best in the people around them.

鈥淭he greatest differentiator I鈥檝e seen in my time with P&G, my time at Delta and now working with a private equity company is often their ability to unleash those around them,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭hose that have relatively little ego, but a high level of achievement, a high level of personal accountability and a high level of empathy for others.鈥�

That combination, he said, creates something leaders cannot achieve on their own.

鈥淲hat happens is they generate followership,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭hat creates wonderful outcomes, especially when you get to mid- and higher levels, because the group amplifies the results.鈥�

Students later turned the conversation toward artificial intelligence, asking Taylor what skills they should focus on as AI changes marketing and business.

Taylor said AI is already helping companies create and analyze content more quickly, but technology does not replace the need to understand the people a business serves.

鈥淲hen we go to markets, the first meeting is in homes,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淲e鈥檇 get to know the person. We鈥檇 learn about their life, their kids. 鈥楾ell us what you do each day.鈥欌��

He said those visits allowed teams to observe what consumers actually did, not just what they said they needed.

鈥淵ou find there鈥檚 a lot of compensating behaviors consumers have,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l say, 鈥楾his is not an issue,鈥� but you see they do an extra step because something doesn鈥檛 work the way they think it should.鈥�

Taylor shared examples from P&G鈥檚 work in markets around the world, including observing how consumers washed their hair in rural China and how a consumer in Japan used Febreze on furniture she wished she could wash.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 see that looking at a sheet of paper,鈥� Taylor said.

For Taylor, AI can accelerate the work once a company understands the problem it is trying to solve.

鈥淎I will let you have faster, better answers once you know what to work on,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淲hat mountain do you want to climb? And that often comes from a better consumer insight and empathy.鈥�

For the final student question, Taylor was asked whether there was one piece of advice he had used as a filter when making major decisions throughout his career.

His answer brought the conversation back to learning.

鈥淧robably the simplest one is: Can I make a difference, and can I learn?鈥� Taylor said.

He encouraged students to consider those questions as they evaluate their own opportunities, rather than getting caught up in salary, job titles or whether an assignment appears prestigious.

鈥淧ick a place that you鈥檙e happy to walk in the door every day, you can hold your head up, you can learn and you can make a difference,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淵ou have talents and the ability to do a ton of things. You get to choose how you use those.鈥�

福利亚洲国产精品 Lessons from Leaders

Launched in 2017 by Dean Emeritus Raghu Tadepalli, Lessons from Leaders brings senior executives to campus for open talks, small group discussions and purposeful one-on-one networking that connects students with mentors. The program helps bridge classroom learning to real-world decision-making and strategy, and aims for every student to leave with a new contact and meaningful career insights.

A new chapter in 福利亚洲国产精品鈥檚 global sport education programming officially began Sept. 7 in Pistoia, Italy.

Five Elon students arrived in the Tuscan city as the inaugural cohort participating in the university鈥檚 partnership with Lumos Pistoia Basket 2000, a professional basketball organization, and the Accademia Europea di Firenze (AEF). Their arrival was marked by a from the club as the students prepare to begin a semester combining study abroad with hands-on experience in the professional sport industry.

As part of their initial visit, the students explored Pistoia鈥檚 historic center before making their way to LumoSquare, the 3,835-seat home of Pistoia Basket and a growing community hub. Accompanied by Professor Marco Bracci and Elisabetta Santanni, academic director of AEF/福利亚洲国产精品 in Florence, the group toured the facility, met members of the club staff, and received a personal welcome from Pistoia Basket President Joseph Mark David.

The visit offered the students their first look at the organization, where they will soon become part of the day-to-day operations. Beginning in mid-September, they will work alongside Pistoia Basket staff on projects involving sport management, marketing and social media.

鈥淭his experience is over a year in the making and couldn’t have come together without the amazing work of our partners at AEF, especially Elisabetta Santanni and Marco Bracci,鈥� said David Bockino, professor of sport management. 鈥淎s we launch the partnership this semester, we’re already discussing how to make it accessible to more students moving forward. The reception on campus has been great 鈥� we have students lining up to participate in the future.鈥�

A global professional experience

Announced last fall, Elon鈥檚 partnership with AEF and Pistoia Basket was developed in collaboration with the Department of Sport Management to expand experiential learning opportunities for students studying in Florence. It combines two hallmarks of an Elon education 鈥� global engagement and professional experience 鈥� placing students inside a European professional sport organization while they study abroad.

鈥淭his experience was the logical next step as Elon grows its sport-related experiences,鈥� Bockino said. 鈥淎s a university, we’re great at study abroad and at helping our students get internships. Why not put those two together? When these students eventually hit the job market, they’ll arrive with a true resume differentiator: an internship with a professional Italian basketball club that allows them to better understand sport from a global perspective.鈥�

As part of a mentored, two-credit internship with Pistoia Basket, students will spend approximately 10 hours each week gaining practical experience in event operations, fan engagement, marketing, communications and social media. Their responsibilities will be tailored to their academic backgrounds and professional interests.

For example, students interested in media analytics may evaluate the club鈥檚 social media performance, while students studying sport management or strategic communications will work to increase Pistoia Basket鈥檚 visibility among college students studying abroad in Florence. Participants will also meet regularly with accompanying professors and complete applied and reflection-based assignments.

The cohort will also contribute to a video storytelling project designed to introduce Pistoia Basket to new audiences in the United States. Funded by the Elon Innovation Council and coordinated through Elon鈥檚 Sports Media Lab and Elon Sports Vision, the project will use footage captured by the students to tell the story of Pistoia鈥檚 2026-27 season. According to Bockino, the resulting videos are expected to appear on Elon social media channels and during Elon Athletics broadcasts.

This fall鈥檚 inaugural cohort includes Robbie Pataky ’28, a strategic communications major; Amelia Weaver ’28, a sport management and media analytics double major; Riley Greenwald ’28, a sport management major; Olivia Tichnor ’28, a marketing major; and Max Edelstein ’28, a sport management major.

福利亚洲国产精品 Assistant Professor of Finance聽Andrew Schwartz provided expert insight for a recent WalletHub article examining how credit card companies determine whether to instantly approve online applicants and what consumers should do if they don鈥檛 receive an immediate decision.

Schwartz explained that most credit card issuers now rely on automated underwriting systems that consider an applicant鈥檚 credit report alongside information such as income to determine approval and credit limits.

鈥淭oday, it is uncommon not to receive a decision within a few minutes,鈥� Schwartz said. 鈥淲hen a decision is delayed, it is usually because the issuer needs additional time or documentation to verify information such as your identity or income.鈥�

Schwartz advised consumers not to assume a delayed decision means their application will be denied. He also recommended responding promptly to requests for additional information and avoiding applying for other credit cards while waiting.

鈥淢ultiple applications in a short period can result in additional hard inquiries and make a borrower appear to be in desperate need of credit, which could make lenders more cautious,鈥� Schwartz said.

This marks the tenth consecutive year that Elon鈥檚 chapter has been honored with either a Merit or Superior Merit Award by the national Society for Human Resource Management, highlighting the organization鈥檚 commitment to professional development and its strong presence on campus.

Elon鈥檚 chapter is advised by Professor Brian Lyons and led by a dedicated executive board of students who are passionate about advancing their skills and engaging with the HR community.

鈥淲e are incredibly proud to receive the Superior Merit Award for another year, as it reflects the hard work, dedication, and passion our members bring to the SHRM chapter. This recognition highlights not only the initiatives and professional development opportunities we have created, but also the strong community our members have built together,鈥� said Isabelle Cross 鈥�27, a human resource management major. 鈥淎s we look to the future, we are excited to grow our presence on campus, strengthen our connections with HR professionals, and create meaningful opportunities that help our members prepare for successful careers.鈥�

The SHRM Student Chapter Merit Award program encourages student chapters to develop more effective operations and promote the value of the human resource profession through outstanding activities and projects.

鈥淓arning a fourth consecutive Superior Merit Award from national SHRM is a remarkable accomplishment and speaks to the sustained commitment of the club鈥檚 student leaders and members,鈥� said Brian Lyons, professor of management and the club鈥檚 faculty advisor. 鈥淲hat makes this recognition especially meaningful is that it reflects years of students building upon the work of the executive board leaders who came before them, while continuing to find new ways to create engaging professional development opportunities, strengthen connections with the local and national HR community, and promote the HRM major and minor on campus. I鈥檓 incredibly proud of Isabelle鈥檚 leadership and the strong culture of engagement and excellence that our students have sustained over time.鈥�

福利亚洲国产精品 Assistant Teaching Professor of Economics Devon Hawkins provided insight for a recent examining why rising Treasury yields are keeping mortgage rates elevated and contributing to affordability challenges for prospective homebuyers.

The article explains that Treasury yields have reached their highest levels in nearly two decades amid persistent inflation, increased government borrowing and greater competition for investor dollars. Because mortgage lenders use the 10-year Treasury yield as a benchmark when pricing home loans, increases in Treasury yields generally lead to higher mortgage rates.

鈥淲hen Treasury yields go up, mortgage rates usually go up with them,鈥� said Hawkins. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a perfect one-for-one relationship, but they tend to move in the same direction.鈥�

That relationship is one reason 30-year mortgage rates remain around 6.6% to 6.7%, adding to borrowing costs for prospective buyers. The article advises homebuyers to focus on what they can comfortably afford at current rates rather than attempting to predict when borrowing costs might decline.

Ginsburg, a junior economics and entrepreneurship double major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has built a business around transforming photographs of homes and other buildings into custom LEGO kits. Through his company, Blueprint Bricks, customers from around the world can turn meaningful places, including their own homes, into one-of-a-kind LEGO creations.

鈥淚 built my own house during COVID using the pieces I had in my basement,鈥� Ginsburg said. 鈥淭hat inspired me to learn the software, make a website and start my own business.鈥�

Ginsburg launched the company as a high school freshman in 2021 under the name Henry鈥檚 Custom Homes. He rebranded as Blueprint Bricks this summer, just in time to help bring Elon鈥檚 LEGO-themed Family Weekend to life.

Family Weekend 2026 attendees can purchase a limited-edition Elon 鈥淓鈥� LEGO kit when they register for the weekend. The kit features 175 pieces and the final product stands 5.5 inches tall. A portion of each sale will support Elon鈥檚 Greatest Needs.

The LEGO fun will continue at the Fan Fest event on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Schar Center, as attendees will be able to participate in the building of a 40 inch x 40 inch, 16,644 piece Elon-themed LEGO mosaic. Ginsburg will be in attendance and is looking forward to seeing this project come to life.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to be there and see everyone at Fan Fest. I love interacting with people and answering their questions,” he said.

Families checking in at McKinnon Hall during Family Weekend will also be able to view examples of Ginsburg鈥檚 LEGO model of Elon鈥檚 Alamance building.

鈥淚 think Family Weekend is a really important part of the Elon experience,鈥� Ginsburg remarked. 鈥淕etting to be a part of it is such a privilege.鈥�

For more information on Ginsburg’s business, Blueprint Bricks, visit

Family Weekend 2026 will be held September 25-27. To register, visit聽/u/parents/family-weekend/.

Investors often look at past performance when deciding where to put their money. New research by Morillon and his co-authors examines whether retail and institutional investors respond to the same measures of fund performance.

The co-authored article, 鈥溾��, looks at several ways of measuring real estate mutual fund performance, from straightforward returns and Morningstar ratings to more complex measures that account for investment risk.

Using real estate mutual fund data from 1995 to 2022, the researchers compared those performance measures with subsequent fund flows to better understand which measures appear to be associated with investors鈥� allocation decisions.

Key Findings:

• Retail-oriented funds were most responsive to past returns, or how much the fund had gained or lost.
• Institutional investors appeared to look beyond simple returns and consider how much risk a fund took to achieve them.
• More complex ways of measuring fund performance appeared to have limited influence on the investment decisions of either group.
• The findings suggest retail and institutional investors may look at different information when evaluating real estate mutual funds.
• The research also considers how those investor preferences may affect the decisions fund managers make to attract investment.

鈥淪tudents who see risk-adjusted performance measures for the first time reasonably ask whether anyone actually uses them. This paper is a useful answer,鈥� said Morillon. 鈥淚nstitutional money does look past raw returns, retail money largely does not, and the more complex measures move very little capital either way. A measure only matters if someone is trading on it.鈥�

The article was published in The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics with co-authors Ryan G. Chacon at the University of Denver, William G. Hardin III at Florida International University and Pratik Kothari at Oakland University.

Morillon joined 福利亚洲国产精品 in 2019. His research interests include real estate, mergers and acquisitions, international finance, corporate governance and emerging financial technologies. His recent work has also explored the use of artificial intelligence and large language models in commercial real estate.

He received the Love School of Business Dean鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Scholarship in 2022 and has earned multiple awards for his research, including the American Real Estate Society鈥檚 Best Practitioner Research Prize and two Emerald Literati Outstanding Paper Awards.

Devon Hawkins, assistant teaching professor of economics, recently spoke to USA Today for an advice article about mortgage affordability.

Hawkins cautions against relying solely on the mortgage amount approved based on income and debts. She notes that you should also factor in your budget and lifestyle.

“Once buyers receive lender approval, it can create a false sense of security around affordability,” Hawkins said. “Lenders rely on statistical formulas based on numbers, assumptions and averages, but they do not know your lifestyle, your future plans, your financial discipline, your non-negotiables or your risk tolerance.”

Nearly 1,600 new students arrived at 福利亚洲国产精品 on Friday, Aug. 21, as the university welcomed the Class of 2030.

Despite a mix of rain and sunshine, staff members in Student Life and Residence Life worked to make the Move-In Day process as seamless as possible for students and their families. Student organizations and Elon Athletics teams also lent a hand, helping unload vehicles and carry students鈥� belongings into their new homes.

Familiar items in a new home

For many members of the Class of 2030, those belongings include more than the essentials for college life. As they begin a new chapter at Elon, students brought photographs, books, keepsakes and other reminders of the people and places they call home.

Ale Furano 鈥�30 arrived at Elon from Greenwich, Connecticut, with three Polaroid photos of his family and friends. A Communications Fellow who plans to study sport management, Furano said he is looking forward to the opportunities ahead.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to meet new people and have a great opportunity and a new way of life,鈥� Furano said. 鈥淚 think the opportunities at Elon are really great, especially in the sport management field.鈥�

Avery McTigue 鈥�30, who plans to study nursing, is looking forward to joining clubs and organizations and exploring study abroad opportunities. Among the items making her new room feel more like home is an Elon-themed Jellycat plush toy with a special connection to her friends.

鈥淭he special item I brought from home is my Elon 鈥楯ellycat,鈥欌�� said McTigue, who is from Bergen County, New Jersey. 鈥淢y friends threw a 鈥榖ed party鈥� for me, and it reminds me of them. Basically, they decorate your whole room, and it鈥檚 all Elon stuff.鈥�

For George Schneider 鈥�30, from Seattle, Washington, the move to Elon meant finding room for his vinyl collection. Schneider chose Elon because of its acting program. The Princeton Review recently ranked Elon No. 1 for Best College Theater, while The Hollywood Reporter included Elon on its list of the “25 Best Drama Schools in the World.”

鈥淚鈥檓 very excited to be independent and expand on my training,鈥� Schneider said. 鈥淚 brought my record player and about 20 of my records. I knew I wasn鈥檛 going to bring a lot for my room, but I wanted to bring something to remember home by.鈥�

An avid reader, Ryan Parker 鈥�30, who plans to study journalism, made sure one of her books made the trip from Dallas, Texas. For Parker, attending Elon also means experiencing a new part of the country.

鈥淚 chose Elon because I felt it was the best for me, and I felt it would be a good transition as well,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淚鈥檓 most excited to meet new people, especially being from Texas and being in a different part of the country.鈥�

A class from around the world

The students arriving on campus bring a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and academic interests. Members of the incoming class come from 40 states and Washington, D.C., as well as 19 countries, including Singapore, Spain, Norway, Canada, Serbia, South Korea, China and New Zealand.

The most represented states are North Carolina, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Illinois.

Fourteen percent of incoming students are the first in their families to attend college. The class also enters Elon with a strong academic record, with an average high school GPA of 4.09.

Students are bringing a broad range of academic interests to campus. The 10 most popular intended majors among incoming students are psychology, finance, biology, business analytics & AI, marketing, nursing, exercise science, elementary education, sport management and political science.

Several programs are seeing notable increases in interest compared with last year鈥檚 incoming class. The number of new students intending to major in elementary education increased 41%, while finance increased 39% and biology increased 16%.

The community classroom experience

Those statistics are reflected in the individual journeys bringing students to Elon.

Alexis Jacobs 鈥�30 of Westport, Connecticut, was drawn to the university because of its size and sense of community. To personalize her new space, Jacobs brought handmade frames filled with reminders of the people, places and experiences important to her.

鈥淚 made these frames with different prints, photos, places I鈥檝e been and family members,鈥� Jacobs said.

Peter Matijevic 鈥�30, who plans to study business analytics and applied mathematics, brought a reminder of his Massachusetts roots: a Drake Maye NFL jersey.

鈥淚t reminds me of Massachusetts and my favorite NFL player,鈥� Matijevic said. 鈥淚 chose Elon because it鈥檚 a beautiful campus and has small classes, so I could get to know my teachers.鈥�

Elon’s teacher-scholar-mentor model among its faculty is a touchstone of the university’s academic experience. For five years in a row, Elon has been ranked best in the nation for undergraduate teaching, and The Princeton Review recently ranked the university as No. 4 Best Classroom Experience.

Following Move-In Day, students attend New Student Orientation, including New Student Convocation on Saturday, Aug. 22.