In 2013, he came out of retirement to lead the mass communications department at Savannah State University to ACEJMC reaccreditation from 2013 to 2019.
In 1997–98 Elmore was named Savannah State University's Regents Distinguished Professor of Teaching and Learning.
In February 2016, he was named to the inaugural Hall of Fame of Savannah State University's Southern Regional Press Institute in its 66th year of existence.
Elmore interest in jazz led him to collect recordings, research and write more than twenty articles on the history of this musical art form in Savannah.
His work has also been cited in the Washington Post, Savannah Morning News, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.