Moe fall 2015 by University Communications

PLUS: 2014-2015 Honor Roll of Donors FA L L 2 0 1 5

I AM ELON BY KIM WALKER

Watch the full story at

elon.edu/magazine Steven Armendariz never expected to go to college. Higher education was a foreign concept to the firstgeneration college student, and he says the college application process was one of the biggest struggles of his life. Now that he’s here, a junior majoring in political science and minoring in leadership studies and economics, he fully embraces Elon. “I appreciate my time here, and I try not to waste one minute. I want to maximize all of the opportunities I have—on campus and in the community,” Steven says. A volunteer with the “It Takes A Village” Project, an Elon initiative that connects tutors from the university with struggling readers and their parents in the local community, Steven sees himself in the children. Growing up, he struggled with reading and learning the English language. “I was in their shoes once, and they’re not alone. They can see my story and know that they have hope, too,” he says. Steven began studying political science in his first year, and the topic fascinates him. Over the summer, he completed an internship at the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, which cemented his love for international relations. “Now that I have a sense of how government works and how policies are made, I want to be able to change and create policy in the future,” he says. Outside of his heavy academic load, Steven is the vice president of his class in the Student Government Association, presents as a global ambassador for the Global Education Center, works in the Academic Support and Advising Center and coordinates servicelearning trips. “Service gives you the opportunity to make a change. And it is reciprocal,” he says.”Service allows for introspection while helping others.” Steven is Elon. Visit elon.edu/magazine to see more of his story, part of our “I Am Elon” multimedia series featuring Elon students in their own words.

CONTENTS The Magazine of Elon | fall 2015

UNDERTAKING THE FAMILY BUSINESS BY ERIC TOWNSEND

Rob Finch Jr. ’80 is a leader in an industry undergoing change as American attitudes toward faith and death evolve.

IN TUNE WITH THE TIMES BY KEREN RIVAS ’04

The addition of state-of-the-art music recording studios reflects changes in the music industry and the success of students and alumni.

PERSEVERANCE PERSONIFIED BY ERIC TOWNSEND

Daniel Sheehan ’15 has made it a personal mission to help others overcome challenges.

22 COVER STORY

RISING INFLUENCE BY DAN ANDERSON & KEREN RIVAS ’04

Alumni across the country and around the globe are expanding the university’s influence and impact.

A THOUGHTFUL LEADER BY JONATHAN BLACK ’15

A fixture in North Carolina’s public education, Todd Wirt ’98 is not afraid to tackle challenges head-on, with compassion and determination.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS BY ROSELEE PAPANDREA

For decades, Elon students learned “the principles governing cookery” as part of the home economics program.

2 UNDER THE OAKS 11 LONG LIVE ELON 13 PHOENIX SPORTS

15 POINT OF VIEW 31 ALUMNI ACTION 35 CLASS NOTES

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▶ from the PRESIDENT

Supporting Student-Athletes

facebook.com/leomlambert twitter.com/headphoenix

In a landmark move last January, the NCAA adopted a proposal granting “autonomy” for the “Power Five” athletics conferences (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC) to develop rules of their own that they feel best impact Division I athletics. Schools in the other 27 Division I conferences may choose to adopt the autonomy rules or not. This controversial arrangement has led to much discussion among higher education leaders about the best ways to support student-athletes. The most widely-discussed issue has been a decision by the “Power Five” conferences to provide student-athletes with financial aid that exceeds the formerly-defined elements of an athletics scholarship (tuition, room, board, books and fees) by including the entire cost of attendance as determined by each individual institution. In most cases, the additional aid comes to the student-athlete in the form of a cash stipend and has no direct relationship to the financial need of the recipient. For many of the NCAA schools, including Elon, providing stipends to student-athletes above the current scholarship amount based solely on athletic ability raises basic questions of fairness and institutional values. Therefore, at Elon, our priorities for athletics will include a focus on providing a rich student-athlete experience that is consistent with the values of our university and prepares our student-athletes to go out into the world and make a difference. Along with this column is a statement I co-signed with eight other college and university leaders explaining our viewpoint on how to best prepare student-athletes for meaningful lives, careers and citizenship. Instead of providing additional cash grants to individuals, we have chosen to make much more substantive and long-lasting investments in their future. For example, Phoenix athletes participate in study abroad experiences with their teammates. For many of these students, it is their first opportunity to visit another country. We will work to ensure more Elon student-athletes also receive support for undergraduate research projects with faculty mentors, and they work with career counselors to find internships that will be the gateway to their careers. These, and many other transformative learning experiences, help ensure that academic success remains the top priority for every Elon student, including those who represent our community in athletic competition. Leo M. Lambert President

Another Presidential Perspective on College Athletics

he NCAA employs a public relations campaign that accurately captures the experience of most young men and women who participate in intercollegiate athletics. The campaign simply states: “We are 480,000 student-athletes who are turning pro in something other than sports.” We applaud that message because it expresses the priority that our institutions place on the education and general well-being of students. As intercollegiate athletics continues to be the subject of tremendous media attention and public scrutiny, we believe it is important to emphasize the values and principles upon which our athletic programs are based. First, our intercollegiate athletes are students who compete against other students under an amateur

2 the MAGAZINE of ELON

model. They learn important skills in leadership, teamwork, character development, resilience and problemsolving that are broadly { Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler ‘16 & Elijah Agu ‘18, applicable later in life. We members of the men’s soccer team, during a have the same study abroad course in Spain. } expectations of these students as we do of all of our students: i.e., we expect them to focus on their academic endeavors, to go to class, to graduate and to be prepared to be productive members of society. We provide them with

UNDER THE OAKS tremendous educational benefits both in and outside the classroom that will prepare them for lives of meaning and contribution to society. We strive to be vigilant in finding the “right balance” between time requirements for athletics, academics, and other aspects of { Former women’s tennis player Maria Camara Ruiz ’15 is attending student life so that graduate school at the University of Algarve in Faro, Portugal, where they can explore and enjoy all our she is studying aquaculture and fisheries. Maria completed an institutions have internship at a fish farm in Spain the summer of her junior year. } to offer. And of course, many of them also receive full scholarships that cover tuition, fees, room, board and books. Much of the recent public discourse regarding college athletics has focused attention on the very few elite athletes who may go on to have lucrative professional sports careers and on athletic revenues that flow to a relatively small number of institutions from media rights, ticket sales and sponsorships. The widely held public opinion that athletic programs at every institution are “profit centers” for the institution and that the athletes are being taken advantage of in the quest for revenues is simply not true. Most institutions invest millions of dollars annually beyond the monies generated by athletics in order to support their student-athletes and the benefits and values intercollegiate sports bring to the institution. The extremely limited view of those advocating a more professional model towards individual compensation ignores the experience of most of our student-athletes and the fundamental point that they are students—not employees and not biding their time at a professional training camp. While we are happy for that very small number of students who are able to pursue professional sports careers (which typically last only a few years), we must maintain our focus on the education that we provide that will prepare them for life after college and life after sport. Given that focus, we believe that we must continue to treat these students as we do our other students. Across our campuses, many of our students have financial need, and we need to balance the support and spending on athletics with our primary academic and student priorities. Some institutions have recently opted to offer “cost of attendance” payments that provide additional economic benefits for miscellaneous expenses to some or all student-athletes (particularly in high-profile sports that receive significant media attention). Every institution must make choices that reflect its values, priorities and circumstances. Our institutions have chosen not to offer additional “cost of attendance” payments to student-athletes at this time. We care deeply about our student-athletes, but we also care deeply about all of our students and want to treat all students equitably at a time when overall aid is limited, costs are increasing and public financial support for higher education is diminishing. As educational leaders, we feel strongly that our budgets must reflect our missions and the needs of all of our students. Many student-athletes have significant financial need, but so do many of their fellow students.

Traditionally, athletic scholarships are “need blind,” meaning they are awarded based on the individual’s athletic ability, with little (if any) consideration of the student’s financial need. In stark contrast to the families of most students, in many instances, the athlete’s family is not required to fill out financial aid forms (FAFSA) for governmental or institutional financial aid. In sheer number and amount, athletics scholarships are already often the largest and best non-loan student financial aid packages on campus. In addition to athletics scholarships, student-athletes who do choose to demonstrate financial need can receive an unrestricted federal Pell Grant with a maximum value of $5,775 for the 2015-16 year. Similar need-based scholarship programs are also available through state and institutional funds. Many student-athletes graduate without any educational debt. Spending even more money on payments for certain high-profile sports could lead to pressures to eliminate other varsity sports on campus, which would limit the athletic experiences available to many of our students or cause an increase in tuition and fees for all students. It is our responsibility to ensure that the disproportionate media and financial attention on certain high-profile sports does not undermine opportunities for large numbers of students or get in the way of larger institutional interests. Accordingly, we are committed to administering our institution’s athletic programs in ways that are consistent with our mission, culture and values. Student-athletes are a vital and integral part of our student bodies. They make us proud in their competitive venues, on campus, in the classroom and in the community. Their efforts can engender a strong sense of school spirit and influence the behaviors of others. Like other students, and in ways consistent with institutional resources, student-athletes will receive the financial support needed to thrive at our colleges and universities. We will also continue to look for ways to enhance their health, safety and well-being. We will foster their development with comprehensive academic advising and career counseling. We will support their participation in activities such as study abroad, internships and undergraduate research—where athletes have often been underrepresented. These are the ways in which we can and should support all of our students, and that reflect and reinforce our educational mission. Signed, Jonathan R. Alger President, James Madison University Mark Huddleston President, University of New Hampshire Leo M. Lambert President, Elon University General J.H. Binford Peay III, U.S. Army (Retired) Superintendent, Virginia Military Institute Stuart Rabinowitz President, Hofstra University W. Taylor Reveley III President, College of William & Mary Nayef H. Samhat President, Wofford College E. Thomas Sullivan President, University of Vermont Nancy M. Targett Acting President, University of Delaware fall 2015 3

UNDER THE OAKS The Magazine of Elon fall 2015 | Vol. 77, No. 4 The Magazine of Elon is published quarterly for alumni, parents and friends by the Office of University Communications. © 2015, Elon University E D I TO R

Keren Rivas ’04 D E SI G N E R S

Garry Graham Bryan Huffman PH OTO G R A PH Y

Kim Walker E D I TO R IA L S TA FF

Holley Berry Katie DeGraff Roselee Papandrea Eric Townsend CO N T R I B U TO R S

Belk Library Archives and Special Collections Shakori Fletcher ’16 Kyle Lubinsky ’17 Sarah Mulnick ’17 V I C E PR E SI D EN T, U N I V ER SI T Y CO M M U N I C AT I O NS

Daniel J. Anderson E D I TO R IA L O FFI C E S

The Magazine of Elon 2030 Campus Box Elon, NC 27244-2020 (336) 278-7415 elon.edu/magazine B OA R D O F T R US T EE S, C H A I R

Dr. William N.P. Herbert ’68

Charlottesville, Va.

ELO N A LU M N I B OA R D, PR E SI D EN T

Shannon Moody ’94

Richmond, Va.

YO U N G A LU M N I CO U N C I L , PR E SI D EN T

Scott Leighty ’09

Charlotte, N.C.

PA R EN T S CO U N C I L , CO - PR E SI D EN T S

Andy & Muffy Fox P’14 P’15 P’17

Making the case for a #SERVICEYEAR Retired Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal asks three questions when he advocates for a “year of service” in which young people help their communities by joining programs such as Teach for America, AmeriCorps and the College Advising Corps: “Should we?” “Can we?” “Must we?”

f the answer to those three questions is “yes,” McChrystal says, then higher education, corporate and political leaders would be shortsighted if they allowed the logistics and cost of creating a national service corps to stop them from doing so. The former commander of U.S. and International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan and the former commander of the nation’s premier military counterterrorism task force, Joint Special Operations Command, shared his thoughts Sept. 30 with college presidents and administrators who visited Elon’s campus for the fifth annual North Carolina Campus Compact Presidents Forum. The forum’s theme of “Creating a Culture for #ServiceYear in North Carolina” sparked ideas and discussion on ways service can be incorporated into higher education. The event included panel discussions with insights and advice from alumni of service programs, and from corporate and philanthropic leaders who pointed to the benefits for their organizations provided by service opportunities for young people. “I think #ServiceYear is the best idea I’ve heard of in a decade,” Elon University President Leo M. Lambert said in his welcoming remarks. “It has huge promise for our nation as a whole and for a rising generation of young leaders. #ServiceYear can help us solve big problems and renew America’s can-do spirit.” McChrystal, who serves as chair of the Franklin Project at the Aspen Institute, believes an expectation of national service among young people would make the United States

Greenwich, Conn.

SCHO OL OF L AW ADV ISORY BOARD, CHAIR

David Gergen

Cambridge, Mass.

S C H O O L O F CO M M U N I C AT I O NS A D V IS O RY B OA R D, N AT I O N A L C H A I R

Brian Williams p’13

New Canaan, Conn.

S C H O O L O F CO M M U N I C AT I O NS A D V IS O RY B OA R D, C H A I R

Michael Radutzky P’12 P’17 Summit, N.J.

M A R T H A A N D SPEN C ER LO V E S C H O O L O F B USI N E SS A D V IS O RY B OA R D, C H A I R

William S. Creekmuir p’09 p’10

Atlanta, Ga.

PH O EN IX C LU B A D V IS O RY B OA R D, C H A I R

Mike Cross

Burlington, N.C.

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“I think #ServiceYear is the best idea I’ve heard of in a decade. It has huge promise for our nation as a whole and for a rising generation of young leaders. #ServiceYear can help us solve big problems and renew America’s can-do spirit.” —Elon President Leo M. Lambert

a better place by linking young people of all backgrounds with a common experience “bigger than themselves.” He was quick to praise colleges and universities for the service opportunities they already offer, but added more is needed to shift American culture. “A person has to have a 12-month experience, full time, and it needs to be paid,” he said. “I’m trying to get into people’s minds and hearts. Citizenship must be a very big commitment.” Since 2002, North Carolina Campus Compact has supported college and university presidents and chancellors in their efforts to engage the civic mission of higher education. The national Campus Compact, whose president, Andrew Seligsohn, was also in attendance at the forum, includes 1,200 presidents and chancellors leading civic engagement initiatives on their campuses. “Every college represented in this room today is committed to high-impact learning practices, like study abroad, and we’re proud of the fact that our institutions are preparing the global citizens that the world needs,” Lambert said at the forum. “#ServiceYear reminds me constantly that there is a place for young people right here in our state, right here in our local communities, where they can make an untold, important difference.”

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ELON LAW’S NEW MODEL FOR LEGAL EDUCATION TAKES OFF

lon University School of Law kicked off the 2015-16 academic year with 132 new students, an 18 percent increase from last year’s class that indicates a strong endorsement of the school’s groundbreaking new curriculum. “The enthusiasm of Elon Law’s entering class for our pioneering model of legal education is matched only by our institution’s energy and focus as we implement a transformative law school curriculum,” Dean Luke Bierman said in his opening address to students in August. Founded to be “a law school with a difference,” Elon Law continues to take a national leadership role in the modernization of legal education, launching a

new curriculum that the entering class will be the first to experience. The new curriculum guarantees every student a full-time, course-connected residency-in-practice; weaves experiential learning into the curriculum in a strategic and logical progression; and moves to a standard 2½-year curriculum, enabling graduates to take the bar exam months earlier than counterparts in traditional three-year programs. This year’s class ties the record for the largest entering class size in the school’s 10-year history. Elon Law’s national leadership in the innovation of legal education has earned widespread attention, with a

Outstanding service recognized

istinguished University Professor Russell Gill; Professor Emerita of Education Glenda Crawford; Betty Covington, retired office coordinator for the Office of Academic Advising; and Professor Emeritus and Dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business John Burbridge Jr., were honored in August with Elon

U.S. News & World Report cover story on law schools featuring Elon Law’s new curriculum prominently, additional reporting in a variety of national media and a cover story in The Triad Business Journal titled, “Why law school will never be the same again.”

Medallions, the university’s highest honor, in recognition of their meritorious service to the institution. After joining the faculty in 1976, Gill served in many important leadership roles, including professor of English, Maude Sharpe Powell Professor and Distinguished University Professor. He also chaired Elon’s Phi Beta Kappa Steering Committee, successfully leading the university’s quest to shelter a Phi Beta Kappa chapter in 2010, and he served as the first president of Elon’s Eta chapter. He retired in 2014. Following her career as an educator in Alamance-Burlington schools, Crawford joined the Elon faculty in 1989 and served in many leadership roles, including chair of the Department of Education, director of the Master of Education and the Teaching Fellows programs, and professor of education. A prominent scholar of adolescent learning and development, she retired in 2014 as professor emerita of education. Covington joined the Elon community in 1982 and served for the majority of her career as office coordinator for Academic Advising, where she played an integral role in the personal and intellectual development of Elon students. A dedicated mentor to black students, she served as adviser for 15 years to Elon’s Gospel Choir and for two years to the Zeta Phi Beta, Inc., sorority. Burbridge served for 11 years as dean of the Love School of Business before stepping down in 2007 to return to full-time teaching as professor of operations and supply chain management. During his 18 years of service, he helped propel the school to a top-50 national ranking and prepared undergraduate and graduate students for success. He retired in 2014 as professor emeritus of business administration.

fall 2015 5

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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

“When I teach others, I teach myself.”

School of Communications students Simone Jasper ’16 and Atoria Mills ’17, and alumnae Jasmine Spencer ’11 and Zora Stephenson ’15, attended the National Association of Black Journalists’ annual convention and career fair in Minneapolis. The summer convention celebrated NABJ’s 40th anniversary. It is the country’s largest organization of black journalists. Odyssey Scholar and Elon sophomore Barang Phuk attended the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York City in September to advocate for tuition-free schools in her home nation of Cambodia. The Clinton Global Initiative is an annual meeting of leaders, policy makers and student representatives from across the globe. This year’s theme, the “Future of Impact,” encouraged attendees to collaborate on challenging the current methods of instituting change.

— Violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, who told Elon’s Fall Convocation audience on Oct. 3 that teaching young musicians renews his passion and helps him assess his own room for improvement.

“You may have no choice about whether you are part of the boulder of oppression, but you do have a choice about whether you are inert. American history is filled with heroic white Americans who chose not to be.” — Miami Herald syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. delivering the 2015 Baird Pulitzer Prize Lecture on Sept. 24. He shared insights about race, personal responsibility and how to foster social justice for all people.

Fun at the PARC

lon’s newest fitness facility, the Phoenix Activities & Recreation Center, opened its doors in September in the Danieley Neighborhood. Supported in part by a gift from Elon’s Student Government Association, the facility features a 1,200-square-foot fitness center that includes a stretching/functional training area and a large gymnasium that will host neighborhood and campus events. A catering kitchen has also been included to accommodate various neighborhood and campus needs.

6 the MAGAZINE of ELON

CAMPUS

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UNCOMMONS BY KATIE DEGRAFF

Karen Yokley has this thing about blank walls. She can’t stand them. Her childhood home was packed full of original artwork, and her home now is much the same. The associate professor of mathematics discovered her love of numbers at an early age, and her appreciation for art soon followed. “I don’t claim to be an artist,” she says. “I tell my students I’m a mathematician with a hobby.” But what Yokley calls a hobby has found national acclaim within her profession. Working with acrylics, she paints pieces based on mathematical content. Three of her works have been selected for inclusion in the math art gallery of the Joint Mathematics Meetings. This year’s meeting included two of her works, “Bubble Spiral,” which incorporates repetition, symmetry and the idea of adding noise to data and includes spirals generated using the golden ratio. The second work, “Pinwheel,” has layers of radial symmetry. “So much of mathematical art is digital, and therefore very precise. As an applied mathematician, I’m interested in approximation and error,” she says. “My approach to art is similar. Because I choose to paint by hand, that also leaves room for variation, for a little bit of error.” Before joining Elon’s faculty eight years ago, Yokley worked with the Environmental Protection Agency in Research Triangle Park. Much of her time was spent generating and interpreting models that described mathematical biology. Above all, she loved that math allowed her to clarify how the world worked.

Her approach to art continues to be shaped by her love of math. Her art is carefully planned and structured, but once she begins a piece, she gives herself permission to let creativity take over. “This is my way of bridging two things that I love, two parts of my personality,” she says. “The idea that there’s beauty in variation and difference exists in both mediums.” What faculty or staff member do you think is uncommon? Send a suggestion to themagazineofelon@gmail.com.

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FACULTY/STAFF

SPOTLIGHT

The Guidebook Experiment: Discovering Exploration in a Hyper-Connected World, which examines how the proliferation of guidebook material has fundamentally altered the nature of travel.

{ Carmen Mónico }

Assistant Professor of Human Service Studies Carmen Mónico has been selected as a Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar. The award will support Mónico’s travel to Guatemala next spring to assess a vocational training program aimed at creating work opportunities for youth who might instead emigrate elsewhere. Assistant Professor of Communications David Bockino published his first book,

SYLLABUZZ

The Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership selected five faculty members to serve as Coleman Foundation Faculty Entrepreneurship Fellows for the 2015-16 academic year. As part of the grant, Associate Professor of Biology Dave Gammon, Assistant Professor of Sport and Event Management Craig Schmitt, Professor of Computing Science Megan Squire, Associate Professor of Communications Frances Ward-Johnson and Lecturer in Communications Hal Vincent will attend a three-day workshop in Chicago and receive discretionary funds to involve students in different activities throughout the academic year.

BY SHAKORI FLETCHER ’16

ake a look around. Whether you’re working on a computer, sitting at a desk, ascending a flight of stairs or even standing in line at the grocery store, there’s a good chance ergonomic design is affecting you at this very moment. From drop-down menus on software to standing workstations, to signage and checkout scanners at grocery stores, the study, design and implementation of ergonomics impact our everyday lives in countless ways. Joyce Davis, a professor of exercise science who is teaching the new ergonomics course this fall, says this discipline specifically aims to make our lives easier. “The goal is that we create environments that fit us, not that we try to change to fit a tool or an instrument,” Davis says. “I shouldn’t have to over-extend myself to pull a lever at my job. We should move the position of the lever so that it’s

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Assistant Professor of Mathematics Chad Awtrey has been selected as the fifth recipient of the A.L. Hook Emerging Scholar Professorship in Science and Mathematics. The three-year professorship provides funding and opportunities for faculty to mentor students and involve undergraduates in research. Tommy Holmes ’39 and Harris L. Hendricks ’39 established the professorship to honor former physics and mathematics professor and 1913 graduate Alonzo L. Hook. Associate Professor of Biology Yuko Miyamoto has been named the next Japheth E. Rawls Professor for Undergraduate Research in Science. The honor is a rotating two-year professorship that supports the efforts of faculty engagement with students in the scholarship of scientific discovery. It is funded through a gift from the estate of Dr. Japheth E. Rawls Jr. ’35 and his wife, Virginia Riddick Rawls.

Assistant Professor Geoffrey Claussen, the Lori and Eric Sklut Emerging Scholar in Jewish Studies, has authored his first book, Sharing the Burden: Rabbi Simhah Zissel Ziv and the Path of Musar. Published by SUNY Press, the book analyzes the rich moral traditions of the 19th-century Musar movement, an Eastern European Jewish movement focused on the development of moral character.

{ Geoffrey Claussen }

ESS 371 Ergonomics

adjustable to a variety of heights and arm lengths.” In the simplest of terms, ergonomics is the study of our work environments. It’s a study of how to make the interaction between those work environments and the human machine—and its abilities and limitations— safe and efficient. Students in Davis’ class get the chance to put these concepts into action by completing an evaluation of the safety of different workplace environments. They do so by being paired with clients to assess their

workplaces using Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Job Stress Inventory assessments, and offer recommendations and suggestions. “They’re conducting a pretty extensive analysis of the sources of stressors for their client,” Davis says. “Whether it’s noise, lighting, job insecurity, temperature, lack of teamwork—there are many sources of psychological stress as well as physical stress.” In addition to learning a wide range of factors that can affect the outcomes of these assessments, the course shows students how the study of ergonomics can take them into countless career options, including management, consultation, software and

MOSELEY GIFT FUNDS CAMPUS EXPANSION

lon recently purchased 19.5 acres of property adjacent to the athletics facilities on the northwest edge of campus. The land, which was acquired from Kaye and Joseph Murray and their family trust, is part of the historic Cable family homestead and lies west of Elon’s Hunt Softball Park and parking lot along North Williamson Avenue. It has been designated by Elon’s board of trustees as the preferred location for the university’s proposed convocation center. “This property is an exciting expansion of our campus and will be a valuable asset as we pursue the goals of the university’s strategic plan, the Elon Commitment,” said President Leo M. Lambert. A gift to Elon from alumnus Furman Moseley ’56 and his wife, Susan, funded the purchase price of the property. The Moseleys are among the university’s most generous donors. Elon received a lead naming gift for the proposed convocation center last December when parents Dwight and Martha Schar P’16 P’19 committed $8 million to the project. The multipurpose facility, to be called the Schar Center, will meet the university’s longstanding need for a large gathering space that will support major campus events and serve as the home for Phoenix basketball and volleyball programs.

Web design, robotics, engineering and psychology. For Davis, the course is an opportunity to work with students from all disciplines. “Typically I teach biomechanics within our exercise science program, but we have a variety of majors—history, sociology, biology and dance science—taking this course,” she says, adding that students from other disciplines bring different perspectives. “I’m enjoying working with them.” Davis intends for her course to continue to open students’ perspectives to the endless possibilities of the study of ergonomics. “I hope the main takeaway will be that students are exposed to the way ergonomics is applicable in everything we are doing, that students gain knowledge about the variety of ergonomic applications in everyday life.”

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR Joyce Davis joined Elon in 1997. She has taught biomechanics, research methods and introduction to exercise science, and served as department chair from 2004 to 2014. Her research interests include three-dimension motion analysis of dancers and athletes to improve performance and injury, lower leg muscle activation patterns in runners and the effectiveness of rocker bottom shoes.

RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

TAILGATING by the numbers Every fall hundreds of fans sport their maroon and gold, pack their coolers and descend on campus to cheer for the Phoenix. With Homecoming 2015 in the rearview mirror, here are some figures associated with tailgating on campus.

The total number of Elon tailgates, including five home games and four on the road at CAA locations.

11,250

The seating capacity at Rhodes Stadium (including grass seats and general admission). The average attendance so far this year is 8,878. The largest crowd in stadium history? 14,167.

51 1,250

The total number of student organizations represented at tailgates so far this season.

The average number of hot dogs sold at concession stands at the stadium each season. Source: Office of Athletics, Elon Dining Services, Office of Student Activities

• The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman • Set Phasers on Stun’ and Other True Tales of Design, Technology, and Human Error by Steven Casey

fall 2015 9

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calendar

PREVIEW

For a complete list of events, check the E-net calendar at elon.edu/e-net/calendar.

CAMPUS HAPPENINGS

THURSDAY, DEC. 3

Festival of Holiday Lights Lights and luminaries, hot chocolate and cider, music and the Clauses mark this annual holiday festival.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 6

MLK Commemorative Keynote Address by MSNBC Host Melissa Harris-Perry A professor of politics and international affairs at Wake Forest University, Harris-Perry’s academic work investigates stereotypes in contemporary society that hinder African-American men and women in asserting their rights. THURSDAY-SUNDAY, JAN. 21-24 WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY, FEB. 3-6

Department of Performing Arts presents All’s Well that Ends Well by William Shakespeare

The battles of love mirror the battles of war and class as the main protagonist strives to make sure that all will indeed “end well.” FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JAN. 22-23

Tapped Out! Comprised of faculty and select students, the 2016 Tap Ensemble performs original and classical tap dance.

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Walter Isaacson to headline Spring Convocation Walter Isaacson, a former journalist and editor who is now president and chief executive officer of the Aspen Institute, will headline Spring Convocation on March 31. A graduate of Harvard College and of Pembroke College of Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar, Isaacson began his career at The Sunday Times of London and then the New Orleans TimesPicayune/States-Item. He joined TIME magazine in 1978 and served as a political correspondent, national editor and editor of new media before becoming the maga-

zine’s 14th editor in 1996. He became chairman and CEO of CNN in 2001, and then president and CEO of the Aspen Institute in 2003. Isaacson’s most recent book, The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution, is a biographical tale of the people who invented the computer, Internet and other great innovations of our time. Information about tickets for his visit will be shared early next year.

STUDENT-CENTERED ACADEMICS Elon’s focus on student success and experiential learning earns top national rankings in college guides. U.S. News & World Report recognizes Elon more often than any other college or university in the nation in its 2016 ranking of academic programs that are key to student success. Elon is the only school cited for excellence in all eight categories:

ՔՔFirst-year experiences ՔՔInternships/co-ops ՔՔSenior capstone ՔՔUndergraduate research

/creative projects

ՔՔ Learning communities ՔՔ Study abroad ՔՔ Service learning ՔՔ Writing in the disciplines

Elon ranks #1 among Southern master’s-level universities with the top academic reputation score in the category. Elon also earns #1 rankings for undergraduate teaching and for innovation. In the 2016 edition of “The Best 380 Colleges,” Princeton Review ranks Elon #1 in the nation for study abroad, along with top rankings for the university’s performing arts program, career services, residence halls and administrative management. In other rankings, Bloomberg Businessweek named Elon’s MBA the #17 part-time program in the nation; and a new ranking by USA Today and College Factual placed Elon in the top 15 percent of the nation’s universities, with the communications and journalism program ranked in the top 1 percent of programs nationwide.

LONG LIVE ELON { Dwight and Martha Schar P’16 P’19 }

A signature moment BY JALEH HAGIGH

he power of philanthropy took center stage during Family Weekend as the Elon community gathered to celebrate the success of the School of Communications campaign and dedicate the site for the expansion of one of the nation’s top-tier communications schools. As students, faculty and staff looked on, university leaders thanked the more than 40 families whose generous gifts provided $15.2 million to make the expansion possible. During the Sept. 25 ceremony, donors signed a steel plate that will be displayed in the lobby of Dwight C. Schar Hall, the centerpiece of the new communications quadrangle currently under construction. Elon parents Dwight and Martha Schar P’16 P’19 of Palm Beach, Fla., were the first to sign the plate followed by other benefactors and members of the campus community. President Leo M. Lambert thanked all the donors for helping to complete the School of Communications campaign in less than a year. “Thanks to the generosity of families who have made lead gifts to make this building possible, a year from now, we are going

to open one of the best communications facilities in the United States,” Lambert said. “Thank you all for your continued support of Elon students, who, through programs like the School of Communications, become the ethical and resilient leaders our world so desperately needs.” Lambert highlighted the many accomplishments of alumni from the school, including graduates who have won the Pulitzer Prize, Oscars and Emmy Awards, and whose films have been honored in the Sundance and Tribeca film festivals. He also praised recipients of Hearst student journalism awards and noted that Elon publishes the nation’s only undergraduate research journal in communications. Ed Moriarty III P’15 P’18, Elon Trustee and parent, also spoke at the ceremony and praised the spirit of innovation that permeates the school and its emphasis on developing strong writing skills among students.

“This school’s desire to put forward great educational resources, its focus on continuing improvement and most importantly, its people, is something you don’t understand until you get here,” said Moriarty, who along with his wife, Jill, made a generous gift to the campaign. “Elon is a really special place and we’re so pleased to be a part of it.” The expansion will more than double the space for the School of Communications and includes two new facilities and renovations to Long building and McEwen building, the current home of the school. Dwight C. Schar Hall will be the largest facility in the expanded communications campus. The Schars made a $12 million commitment to Elon—the largest single gift in the university’s history—to support the School of Communications expansion and to provide a lead naming gift for construction of the university’s convocation center, which is one of the facilities envisioned in the Elon Commitment strategic plan. Elon continues to receive gifts to the School of Communications expansion. The university is grateful to the following new donors who have recently made major gifts to the project:

ՔՔBruce B. Cameron IV ’05 and Caroline Cameron of Wilmington, N.C.

ՔՔAlan and Susan Rafte P’16 of Houston,

whose daughter Marika is an Elon senior

ՔՔBill and Katie Kanarick P’19 of Marblehead, Mass., parents of Rose, a first-year student

ՔՔRichard ’87 and Laurie Johnson P’17

of Potomac Falls, Va., parents of Grace, a junior

ՔՔChris and Kay Linneman P’16 of New

Canaan, Conn., parents of Harper, a senior

ՔՔKarena Zakhour-Bacciocco and Jeff

Bacciocco P’16 P’19 of San Rafael, Calif., parents of Alexis, a senior, and Kyle, a first-year student.

{ Dwight C. Schar Hall construction }

fall 2015 11

LONG LIVE ELON

making a difference { The Jenkins family (from left): Matt ’09, Ellie ’15, Nick, Geoff & Dottie. }

Elevating their commitment to Elon BY JALEH HAGIGH

12 the MAGAZINE of ELON

eoff and Dottie Jenkins have a simple mantra in life: When you find something that inspires you, support it. That’s what the couple from Dartmouth, Mass., did eight years ago when they made an estate gift to Elon to ensure that future generations of students would enjoy the same life-changing education that their son, Matt ’09, did. Earlier this year, they elevated their commitment to Elon by increasing their gift after watching their daughter, Ellie ’15, discover her passion for serving others. “Elon was a great fit for Matt and Ellie,” Dottie says. “They were both very happy, worked hard and were motivated to learn. They graduated as self-confident adults who knew they could make a difference and add to the goodness in the world, and we liked that.” Matt and Ellie also learned the value of persistence, taking risks and resilience, which Dottie says has been invaluable as they pursue careers in screenwriting and nursing, respectively. Geoff, a successful business executive, admires Elon’s entrepreneurial spirit. “I’ve been involved with startups my whole life and what impressed me about Elon is that Elon has been executing its strategic plan and improving every year, from increasing in selectivity to strong student engagement to the development of the campus, which creates a wonderful backdrop for learning,” he says. To show their appreciation for Elon, Dottie and Geoff named the university as the primary beneficiary of a charitable trust. By establishing a charitable trust, donors receive income for life while providing future support for their favorite charity or institution. “The trust was a very convenient way for us to make a gift that is meaningful and to recognize an institution that is important to us, and at the same time still

gain some tax benefits from the funds that have been invested in the trust,” Geoff says. “It’s a win-win situation because as the donor you have a good idea what your annual return will be, and you’re building a charitable gift that increases in value over time for Elon.” Also important to the couple was making their gift unrestricted. “It gives Elon the flexibility to apply the monies where they’re needed the most, and that changes over time,” Geoff says. Dottie and Geoff have served on the Parents Council and are part of The Elon Society, the university’s premier annual giving recognition society. They are also members of Elon’s legacy society, Order of the Oak. The couple have watched with pride as Elon continues to set its sights higher each year. “Many schools sit on their laurels,” Geoff says. “Elon is always looking ahead, staying on the forefront and innovating, and gaining national recognition for its efforts, which is inspiring.” Dottie agrees. “Elon is a great school, and we just see it getting stronger and stronger,” she says. “We feel that supporting education gives you a bigger bang for the buck because you’re empowering a whole generation to change the world.” They encourage more parents and alumni to make Elon part of their estate planning. “We all think about doing this kind of thing,” Geoff says. “The next step is to just do it. It’s easier than you think, and Elon will walk you through the process. You’re never too young to start.” Learn more about how you can make a difference at Elon with a planned gift by contacting Carolyn DeFrancesco, director of planned giving, at (336) 278-7454 or cdefrancesco@elon.edu or by visiting elon.plannedgiving.org.

PHOENIX SPORTS

▶ elonphoenix.com

GLOBAL COMPETENCY BY SHAKORI FLETCHER ’16

tudy abroad is a big part of the Elon experience. In fact, the university’s strategic plan outlines an unprecedented commitment to diversity and global engagement, which includes providing 100 percent access to a global study experience. But for many student-athletes, finding the time to study abroad amidst demanding seasons and workout schedules proves to be difficult. That’s why Director of Athletics Dave Blank devised a plan using NCAA rules, which allow for team travel, to give all student-athletes the opportunity to advance both their sport and academic studies while abroad. Since first working with exercise science professors Joyce Davis and Eric Hall during the 2011 men’s and women’s basketball teams’ visits to Europe, Blank has ensured faculty members are an integral part of the travel experience. During the men’s basketball team Europe visit in August, for instance, Hall led the team on guided tours to places such as Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp, and Kehlsteinhaus, a mountain retreat that was given to

{ The men’s soccer team in Spain }

{ The women’s soccer team in Costa Rica }

Adolf Hitler for his 50th birthday. These experiences gave students a more vivid understanding of historical events. From pre-departure presentations and essays, to daily discussions during the program, to reflective experiences upon return, faculty members are involved in every step of the process. Taylor Glenn, a senior midfielder on the women’s soccer team, says the academic component made her March Costa Rica experience much more than just a spring break trip. “[Sociology] Professor Tom Arcaro did a good job of getting us ready to go,” she says. “Before leaving, we set up a meeting with him, went over the itinerary and he proposed the idea of writing a book.” The book is a compilation of blog posts from the team throughout the experience. Not only did team members volunteer, zipline, surf and hike, they also got the opportunity to play the U-20 Costa Rican National Team. “We’ve tried to incorporate something specific to the sport in every experience,” Blank says. “So, for example, the tennis teams went to England, and spent a day at Wimbledon. The men’s soccer team just went to El Clásico.” The latter team watched a fierce rivalry match-up between Real Madrid and Barcelona soccer clubs during their March visit to Spain. To create these experiences, Blank’s team works with a sport travel agency, which also arranged for the men’s basketball team to play the Austrian National Team during their August visit. Senior guard Tanner Samson, who says this was his first opportunity to go abroad, notes that his experience had both immediate and longterm impact. “It was great to play before our

season and get extra practice,” he says. “It also gave me an opportunity to realize what professional basketball is like over there, and now I’m interested in doing that.” Since 2011, 11 of the 17 athletic teams have traveled { The men’s basketball abroad through team in Austria } Elon-sponsored programs. Two more teams, softball and baseball, have experiences planned during Thanksgiving break. Blank says his goal is to work within NCAA rules to create a feasible four-year plan that will allow all of the Phoenix teams to travel. Glenn, who has studied abroad during Winter Term in both Greece and Peru, says the commitment to allow student-athletes to study abroad can create a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “For other people, it was their first time out of the country— and that is just such a big gift to give to someone,” she says. For Blank, it’s all about supporting students to provide the best possible experience. He says athletics can be a roadblock to global engagement, so he wants to take that roadblock down. “It’s really amazing to see the impact on the life of a student-athlete, because it’s life changing,” he says. “The things they experience, the bonds they create with each other on the experience, the advancement of the team—it’s just remarkable.” FALL 2015 13

PHOENIX SPORTS

▶ elonphoenix.com

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SYDEL CURRY ’18 BY KYLE LUBINSKY ’17

Sydel Curry ’18 comes from an athletic family. Her father, Dell, played in the NBA, and her mother, Sonya, was a volleyball player at Virginia Tech. Then there are her brothers—Stephen, who recently won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors, and Seth, who played basketball at Duke University, where he was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference first team. Sydel was a four-year starter and three-year captain at Charlotte Christian School, and last year she received the Most Improved Award on Elon’s volleyball team. But there is much more to her than her athletic ability, as The Magazine of Elon recently found out. She loves musicals. “When I’m in the shower, I belt out songs from musicals,” she says. She loves both theater and television musicals. Some of her favorites include Wicked, based on The Wizard of Oz, and Dream Girls, which stars Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé Knowles, among others. And what is her favorite shower tune? “I think it would be ‘For Good’ from Wicked,” she says.

14 the MAGAZINE of ELON

She’s obsessed with the television show “Friends.” “I have watched the entire ‘Friends’ series on Netflix probably five times,” she says, adding that she is watching the sitcom yet again. It’s both her favorite show and her main reason for having a Netflix account, since it was added to the streaming service’s catalog on Jan. 1. Her favorite characters are Joey and Phoebe. “They’re both super ditzy, and they kind of remind me of myself.”

She chose Elon because it felt familiar—like home. “As soon as I came to the campus, I just wanted to be here,” she says. “It was similar to schools I’ve been to, [and] I’m not much for change.” After being redshirted, Curry made an impact for the Phoenix last season, finishing second on the team in assists with 360. The transition, she says, was natural. “I love the team and how the coaches are different types of characters, and they come together as one.”

She enjoys cooking. “At home, I’ll cook all the time,” she says. Cooking at school, though, can be a bit of a challenge. “It’s hard, because I don’t have all the nice cookware.” Even so, she’s found ways to cook certain things here and there while at school. “I just found this six cheese mac and cheese recipe, and it’s the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth,” she says. “It’s amazing. I’m on a mac and cheese high right now.”

In another life, she’d want to be an artist. Curry enjoys art but proclaims that she isn’t the creative type. “I’d like to do something totally the opposite of what I am now,” she says. “I think I’d want to be a female Picasso.” She is also a fan of Michelangelo’s work, especially the Sistine Chapel.

A CROWDED, UNCONVENTIONAL FIELD BY STEPHANIE MARKEN ’08

The crowded field for the 2016 presidential race has featured a lineup of unconventional candidates, capturing public interest and perhaps reflecting our nation’s frustration with the state of government.

n a Gallup poll earlier this year, 60 percent of Americans said government has too much power, making this the third year in a row that at least 59 percent of the public has voiced this view. The Republican Party in particular appears to be rejecting the establishment, as the leading candidates include a successful businessman, a neurosurgeon and a former chief executive officer. And although it is not the largest Republican field in history, at its height the 2016 Republican field tied a 100-year high with 17 total candidates. In particular, much attention has been paid to businessman Donald Trump and his precipitous rise to become one of the election cycle’s most favorable candidates among members of the Republican Party. While this is not his first time pursuing the presidency, it is his most successful. In 1999 Trump announced he was seeking the nomination as a third-party candidate for the Reform Party. The 1999 campaign only lasted several months, making his 2016 presidential attempt far more successful in comparison. In 1999, 23 percent of Americans reported they took his candidacy seriously while 74 percent said they did not. And although a similar 23 percent of all Americans view his candidacy as legitimate in 2015, he has captured the interest of members of his own party. Despite his substantive rise, Trump may lack staying power, as his favorable rating began declining in September among party members. Notably, Trump is the only Republican candidate to be seen more favorably by Republican men than Republican women. He also has a Hispanic problem: Hispanics give the candidate significantly lower ratings when compared with other Republican candidates, and markedly lower ratings than they assign Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Although Trump’s challenge with Hispanic

voters is not unique to the Republican field, it is the most pronounced and is unlikely to improve based on Trump’s statements on immigration issues. In contrast to Trump’s decline, and continuing with the party’s antiestablishment pattern, Dr. Ben Carson has enjoyed a surge in favorability, going from a net favorability of +40 in July to +58 in late September. In a race of unconventional candidates, it is unclear if Republican Party members will tire of the unorthodox list of candidates and return to a more predictable choice such as former Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush’s current image among Republicans indicates the candidate may have difficulty assuming the lead. Although 83 percent of Republicans are familiar with the candidate, his net favorable is only +15 among party members. But the race is a marathon, not a sprint, and given the significant changes that have occurred between Trump and Carson alone, significant changes should be expected. The ebb and flow of the favorable ratings among members of the Republican Party may indicate that the Republican electorate is less interested in an unconventional candidate than once thought. The Republican Party has placed nearly all of its eggs in the less-traditional basket, retaliating against what it often refers to as Beltway politics, identifying Clinton as its symbol. But if these favorability ratings are indicative of what lies ahead, the public’s fascination with these less traditional candidates might be a fad, and Carson might be headed for a similar fall, which would be great news for Bush. A 2008 political science graduate, Stephanie Marken is the chief methodologist of the Gallup Daily Poll, Gallup’s flagship survey that evaluates American opinion on politics, the economy, current events, education and health and well-being. fall 2015 15

UNDERTAKING

the Family Business As the fourth-generation owner of a Virginia funeral home, Rob Finch Jr. ’80 is a leader in an industry undergoing change as American attitudes toward faith and death evolve. BY ERIC TOWNSEND

16 the MAGAZINE of ELON

eath looked a lot different in this country 110 years ago when John T. Finch first advertised himself as a funeral director in the tiny village of Grit, a rural community nestled in the rolling hills of southern Virginia. Americans died younger. Most died in their homes. And it was in their homes where their bodies would be displayed for relatives and neighbors paying respects. If a death took place more than a few miles away, Finch would load his wagon for overnight travel to embalm the body and build a custom coffin. He soon relocated his business four miles north to Altavista, a mill town on the Staunton River, and it is here where the family tradition continues today with Rob Finch Jr. ’80 as the fourth-generation president and chief executive officer of Finch & Finch Funeral and Cremation Service. As the immediate past president of the Virginia Funeral Directors Association, which represents more than 300 funeral homes across the commonwealth, the Elon alumnus has been a forceful advocate for his profession in Virginia. Over the past decade, the number of funeral homes in the United States has fallen by nearly 10 percent while the median cost of an adult funeral has increased more than 28 percent. Society, Finch says, is more mobile than in past decades, when people finished school, returned to their communities, went to work and started a family. Today there’s less thought given to a permanent resting place in a cemetery. Coupled with fewer Americans identifying as people of faith, it’s been a fascinating time to watch the funeral industry keep pace with trends. “How we treat our dead shows who we are as a society,” Finch says. “We’ve become less traditional in this country, and whether we like it or not, we’re less religious than we were 50 years ago. We live in a ‘death-denying’ society.” ❋ ❋ ❋

Running the family business was not part of Finch’s original career plans. Growing up he saw firsthand the downside of operating a funeral home. His father often went years without taking a vacation since he lacked the professional staff to run the funeral home in his absence. And telephone calls from grieving families could disrupt the household at any time, including the middle of the night. So when it came time to choose a career after graduating from Elon with a degree in education, Finch turned instead to production planning management at a local furniture manufacturing plant and, later, he managed sales at a car dealership. He even lived for a brief time in a small

“How we treat our dead shows who we are as a society.” apartment above the funeral home. As he aged, however, Finch felt the pull of his family’s legacy. The family’s funeral business, which includes a second location in Gladys, Va., performs anywhere from 130 to 150 funeral services each year, which is about the industry average. All deaths are a loss to someone. Some hurt more than others, for a variety of reasons. “Untimely deaths are the most difficult,” Finch says of the challenges inherent with his job. “The hard times are when the 16-year-old dies in a car wreck. Or the suicides when you’re left with ‘why?’” Or the father of four who perishes while serving his country. Finch tears up telling the story of Marine Staff Sgt. Gregory Todd Copes, killed in action in 2012 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. A few days later, on the tarmac of a small airport in Lynchburg, Finch watched as Copes’ casket was lowered from a military transport and his widow, Tia Copes, fell to her knees after several days of showing nothing but steely resolve in the face of tragedy. Finch wept as well as he drove the hearse through crowds that lined both sides of the street with American flags. Finch’s treatment of the family—including Copes’ four young children—is fondly remembered. Tia Copes recalls the way Finch welcomed a small group of relatives and fellow Marines into the funeral home the night before his service to share stories and toast his memory with shots of Glenfiddich Whisky around the casket. “I felt like they cared. It wasn’t just business,” Tia Copes says of her experience working with Finch. “It was personal.” ❋ ❋ ❋

Finch’s devotion to his clients is matched only by his dedication to the profession. Much of his tenure as president of the Virginia Funeral Directors Association from 2014-15 was spent lobbying lawmakers to require mandatory participation in Virginia’s Electronic Death Registry System. The tool is one way for funeral directors to reduce the time and mileage of having doctors and government officials receive death notification on paper. Participation by doctors is currently voluntary, which often requires funeral homes to log thousands of miles each year traveling just to get signatures on death certificates. Finch’s business alone logged 11,000 miles last year getting signatures on various documents. For funeral homes in even more remote parts of the state, that kind of travel can cripple a business. Finch learned this directly as president by personally visiting nearly two thirds

of the association’s members. That professional leadership came at a time of flux for the funeral industry. In the 1990s, a wave of acquisitions by national corporations brought an end to hundreds of locally owned, family-run funeral homes. Today, one company, Service Corporation International, owns roughly 12 percent of funeral homes in the country. Finch admits that running a business— any business—is intended to make money, and when you tour Finch & Finch’s second-floor showroom, it becomes obvious just how much someone can choose to spend on a funeral. Caskets in all shapes, colors and design line the walls. They range in price from $1,000 to $10,000. You can accent a casket with decorative plates and custom lining. For cremation, a countless number of urns are available. Another trend Finch now markets is creating custom jewelry from cremated remains. But Finch makes an oftoverlooked point when critics accuse the funeral industry of price-gouging: He offers products that help people grieve, and if a more expensive casket or a precious stone embedded with Grandma’s ashes gives comfort, so be it. “You do whatever it is that makes you feel comfortable. Our emotions are strange things,” he says from his office, an Elon diploma on the wall above his desk. “You’ll hear, ‘this is all marketing!’ Well, it is. But some people find it comforting.” Evolving attitudes toward death will drive the success or failure of many more funeral homes in the years ahead, and Finch is in a position of strength to weather the disruption. People in small communities like Altavista lean on personal relationships cultivated with funeral directors who, in some instances, have buried several generations of the same family. His successor is well known. Older son Trey Finch is a licensed funeral director and has already been learning the business of running Finch & Finch. He and brother Jackson grew up watching their father successfully balance work and family in a way that wasn’t possible half a century ago. In doing so, Rob Finch taught his sons that a career in the funeral industry is a noble calling. Retirement is still several years away for Finch. Until then, he plans to continue leading a team of five full-time staff members and a dozen part-time employees trained to provide comfort during a family’s most traumatic days. After all, “a funeral is not for the person who dies,” Finch explains. “A funeral is for the living.” fall 2015 17

{ Associate Professor of Music Todd Coleman leads a music session in one of the new studios in Arts West. Inset: Music students, faculty and alumni performing at the President's Music Concert. }

18â&#x20AC;&#x192; the MAGAZINE of ELON

In Tune with the Times The addition of state-of-the-art music recording studios reflects changes in the music industry and the success of Elon students and alumni. BY KEREN RIVAS ’04

MUSIC DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS Music education and performance graduates are accepted into top graduate schools including Boston University, Florida International University, George Mason University and Northwestern University. For the past 19 years, the Jazz Studies program has sponsored the Elon Jazz Festival, an on-campus event that welcomes jazz ensembles from across the state for three days of workshops and critiques.

Elon’s chapter of the National Association for Music Educators received the 2014 Chapter of Excellence Award for its contributions to the “Music in the Village” program, a component of the “It Takes a Village” Project that exposes young children to song and musical instruments as part of a larger effort to improve their reading abilities. Music students perform on Thursdays at Numen Lumen (formerly College Chapel) and at the lighting of the luminaries to usher in the winter holidays. The Fire of the Carolinas, Elon’s marching band, and a pep band perform at select athletics events; Elon’s Music Ambassadors visit schools to help educate, motivate and inspire younger children; and faculty and students perform at dozens of recitals, as well as at the annual President’s Music Concert.

here was a time when Professor Jon Metzger used to think Elon’s music program was the university’s best-kept secret. After a steady growth in applicants, which brought the total number of students in the program’s four majors to more than 100 this year, and new facilities that include professional quality recording studios, it’s evident the word has gotten out—and Metzger, who chairs the department, couldn’t be happier. “There is so much going on,” he says. “Across all of our four department majors, we have over 100 performances each academic year, 18 performing ensembles, a marching band and numerous guest artists. All these opportunities provide life-changing experiences for our students.” And then there are all the things alumni are doing. Alumni like bassist Kevin Pace ’02, a music graduate who is gaining the attention of the traditional jazz scene, and Amanda Fish ’11, a music performance graduate who made her international debut last year with the Mittelsächsische Philharmonie in Freiberg, Germany. Or Jacob Danieley ’11, a music production and recording arts graduate who recently won a Gospel Music Association Dove Award for his work as engineer and musician on a children’s music album. “Our job placement has been great,” says Todd Coleman, associate professor of music and coordinator of the music production and recording arts (MPRA) program. “We have plenty of students and graduates who are doing great and interesting things.” It’s a reflection of a department that has adapted to major industry changes to remain vibrant. The new music wing at Arts West on Haggard Avenue is a testament to that. With the increase in popularity of commercial music, the department revised its Bachelor of Arts offerings to make them more appealing and better match the type of student Elon attracts—driven, motivated and entrepreneurial. In 2007 department leaders also added the MPRA program, which now accounts for more than half of all department majors. “We are uniquely positioned as a comprehensive four-year program,” says Coleman. Many schools, he adds, focus on classical programs or technology in teaching without including commercial music. “Our program is a melting pot of all these genres,” he says. The renovated and expanded facility provides 10,750 square feet of space to support the growing program. It includes a new music technology lab, featuring full size keyboard controllers, a sound isolation booth and 18 27-inch iMac digital audio workstations; two new recording studios with world-class mixing consoles and compressors, patchbays and isolation booths; a large studio for recording, rehearsing and music production used by Techtronica and Electric Ensemble, the department’s two pop/commercial music ensembles; three practice rooms, a classroom and 11 faculty offices. For Coleman, the expansion offers students the opportunity to be more creative and have more time and space to do original work. “Here, students have a place where they can flourish and learn techniques they can build upon,” he says. “Here’s a place where they can learn all about music and the music business that will help them find their own path.” fall 2015 19

group led to his work on “The Hoppers: Kids,” which earned him the Dove Award. He recently received an invitation to be a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which means he can vote to select future Grammy Award winners. It’s another acknowledgment that his work is paying off. “I’m a strong believer that there is a plan we all have to follow,” he says. “God has everything in control and I’m doing my best to fulfill his plan. Elon was a part of that.”

A collaborative environment

{ Jacob Danieley ’11 }

Learning the ropes That was certainly the case for Danieley. He was always drawn to music but it wasn’t until his high school years that he started honing his craft. When he heard about Elon’s new music production and recording arts program, he changed his mind about pursuing a business degree and gave the program a try. “I wanted it as a career but I didn’t think I was going to go to college and major in it,” he says with a smile. It’s a decision he has never regretted. Already married with a son by his first year of college, Danieley made the most of his experience. He collaborated with different music ensembles on campus, and when the opportunity came the summer after his sophomore year to spend a weekend exploring the music scene in Nashville, he didn’t think twice. “I parked my car and just walked,” he says. “I didn’t know anybody, but if you walk around, you never know who you are going to meet.” The weekend trip turned into a week after he befriended a musician on the street who introduced him to other musicians and producers. Soon he found himself hanging out in the basement of the historic RCA Studio B, making connections. He kept in contact with some of the people he met—he often drove to Nashville when he had free time—and eventually landed an internship in the city his junior year. He graduated in three and a half years with a growing family (his daughter was born at the end of his junior year) and many leads to follow. He decided to pursue a career in Southern Gospel music and now has songwriting credits on a number of album releases, has produced and engineered records in Nashville, North Carolina and Europe, and has shared the stage with gospel greats Loretta Lynn, Ricky Scaggs and Bill Gaither and country artist Jon Pardi. He has also toured with the Dove Brothers and The Hoppers. His connection with the latter 20 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Much of what made Danieley’s experience unique at Elon was the collaborative environment among alumni and students. As a student, he worked with Ben Soldate ’11, who is now based in Los Angeles, and later the two collaborated professionally. Danieley is currently mentoring a senior from the program and will be working this winter with another graduate, Sean Magee ’14, whose debut album was recorded and mixed by Soldate. “Elon is great about collaboration,” Danieley says. “That’s what Elon provides, the opportunity to build close relationships. It’s a community. It’s family.” Brooke Jenkins ’15, a songwriter based in Nashville, found the same support. During her first year at Elon, she got to perform and collaborate with Soldate and Kara Johnson ’13, who works as a movie sound technician and songwriter in Los Angeles. “The sense of collaboration is extremely prevalent,” she says. That culture fostered in her a desire to mentor, co-write songs and perform with younger students. Brooke Greenberg ’17 was one of the students Jenkins worked with. In fact, Jenkins played a role in her decision to come to Elon. While browsing the university’s website as a prospective student, Greenberg found a video of Jenkins performing an original song she had recorded at Elon during her first year. She was looking for a school that would give her the same opportunity, and that video told her she’d found the right place. “I knew I wanted to get involved in a project that would allow me to release music on iTunes,” Greenberg says. She found that outlet in the Electric { Brooke Greenberg ’17 } Ensemble, which allows students to compose and arrange their own material. Other members of the group really liked one of her original songs, which gave her the confidence to record her own single. With the help of yet more alumni

and students, she was able to produce her first solo, “You Already Knew,” which was released on iTunes in February under her artistic name, Brooke Alexx. The reception was so positive and the experience so rewarding, Greenberg is planning to release two more singles in the next six months. “It’s been empowering,” she says, adding that the support from her peers has been particularly special. “It’s like a great community, which is awesome.” This past summer, Greenberg was part of a small contingent of music majors who headed to Nashville to connect with alumni in the area and get a taste of the music scene there. She had the chance to perform at many local clubs with Jenkins and other alumni and students.

From an acorn to a tree For Coleman, this is just the beginning of greater collaborations. “There is this really great pattern of alumni, juniors and seniors mentoring younger students,” Coleman says. “Our alumni network is growing in Los Angeles, Nashville and Chicago, which means students already have contacts in those cities. That’s how music careers are made.” Having a well-rounded foundation doesn’t hurt. “Everything I did in the MPRA program was preparation for pursuing the career I want in music,” says Jenkins, who is in the process of forming an indie pop band, Chutes & Ladders. “I got to perform my original songs with Electric Ensemble and Techtronica and lead my own ensemble in my last semester; these experiences included all of the preparation of writing and sometimes arranging songs, making charts for the musicians, scheduling rehearsals and booking performances. I also had so many opportunities to work in the studio as an engineer, producer and performer.” All these opportunities only add to the excitement of the new facility. “Prior to the expansion, we were cutting our projects in a practice room,” says Danieley, who is now pursuing an MBA at Elon. He is quick to point out that those experiences taught him to be versatile, something that has come in handy many times throughout his career. “I learned the true arts and sciences of the trade, not just the tricks,” he says. “Professor Coleman has done an incredible job with the program. Taking the Elon analogy, he has taken an acorn and grown it into an oak tree.” Coleman likens the evolution of the program to the development of Apple, Inc. The revolutionary technology was there from the beginning, but it took resources, vision and strategic planning to turn it into the leader it is today. “It’s kind of like a second birth,” he says of the new facilities. “I expect there will be a tremendous increase in the number of students doing great things.” Metzger agrees. “I feed off the energy from everybody else,” he says. “It’s tremendously exciting.”

Perseverance Personified

Parts of Daniel Sheehan’s childhood were filled with heartbreak and hurdles that tested the human spirit. The 2015 Elon graduate has since made it a personal mission to help others overcome similar challenges. | BY ERIC TOWNSEND

f there’s one thing Daniel Sheehan ’15 wants you to know, it’s that help exists. Help exists for the mother who needs home nurses in her battles against breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. Help exists for the father to find stable work in a specialized field. Help exists for the high school senior with limited funding who understands the importance of a college education. Sheehan is also aware that many people don’t know of the resources his own family needed. And as a recipient of a 2015 Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs, which cultivates young leaders by placing them for nine months within government, corporate, campaign, labor and nonprofit organizations across the nation, he plans to gain experiences that will help him bring hope to other people.

{ From left: Virginia Parasiliti, Daniel Sheehan ’15, Russell Parasiliti & Matthew Sheehan ’17. }

Beginning this fall, the human service studies and strategic communications double major from North Carolina, is spending nine months in New York City, forging professional and community connections starting with the city’s Department of Youth and Community Development. In that role, he is identifying ways for local nonprofits to strengthen their relationship with the department and other city groups. He also is researching private-sector employers who might want to partner with the department’s Summer Youth Employment Program, which provides summer work for people ages 14 to 24. Coro Fellows work in small teams to address wide range of communities, interests, ideologies and experiences. Founded in 1942, Coro is a nonprofit, nonpartisan institute that develops young leaders through placement into philanthropic, corporate, media and civic sectors. Once his fall work is complete, Sheehan will work briefly for a

political campaign and, then, a corporation to broaden his experience working across sectors. Eventually, he hopes his work will make life better for thousands of children and families in New York City who may be struggling against the same challenges he once faced. Growing up, Sheehan and his younger brother, Matthew, an Elon junior, divided their time between divorced parents. Their dad moved frequently around the country for work as an archaeologist, while their mom remained in North Carolina fighting breast cancer and multiple sclerosis. Both environments exposed the young boys to emotional and psychological turmoil. While Daniel Sheehan doesn’t like to share specifics, he notes that he was forced to grow up early, and that past experiences make him a strong voice for marginalized groups. “My motivation for fostering connections and learning about developing systems comes from multiple points throughout my life where the system didn’t work,” Sheehan says. “I saw those challenges as a 7-year-old, as an 8-year-old, as a 12-year-old, and in college chose not to ignore obstacles, but to question why they exist. I was able to explore parts of myself and parts of the world around me in a more critical way.” At the end of seventh grade, Sheehan moved in with his maternal grandparents in Cary, N.C. Their constant support and love helped him thrive in high school, where he discovered a passion for advocacy that he brought with him to Elon as an Odyssey Scholar and Leadership Fellow. Once in college, Sheehan studied in Costa Rica; performed with the Vital Signs a cappella group at Carnegie Hall; worked for Live Oak, a student-run public relations agency; volunteered with ElonTHON; and helped launch Elon’s chapter of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. That type of determination was something his faculty and staff mentors immediately noticed. It took many discussions with professors and administrators to narrow his academic interests. It’s not that Sheehan didn’t know what he wanted to do. He simply didn’t know the best path to take. “He’s got incredible perseverance,” says Associate Professor Judy Esposito, Sheehan’s adviser in the Department of Human Service Studies. “He can be met with all kinds of obstacles, and he views them as challenges instead of barriers.” Sheehan’s mother, Susan, didn’t live to see him graduate in May. She died in April 2014 from multiple sclerosis, after a battle spanning nearly two decades. Seated Under the Oaks, however, were those closest to him: his brother, Matthew; his grandparents, Russell and Virginia Parasiliti; and his father, Michael, who works for the federal Bureau of Land Management. “Elon gave me the resources and the platform for free reign, to take everything I had and was before college, which was limited in many ways, and learn as though all of those limitations didn’t exist,” Sheehan says. “I could be on a corporate sponsorship committee for ElonTHON, and I could help start a fraternity and an a cappella group. That motivation comes from passion but a little bit of fear as well, a fear of not capitalizing on—or making the most of—the great opportunities I’ve been given. “I went in with the mindset that I was going to have a transformative experience and I know I’ll continue connecting back to my Elon experience through the rest of my professional career.” fall 2015 21

COVER STORY

RISING INFLUENCE BY DAN ANDERSON AND KEREN RIVAS ’04

Alumni across the country and around the globe are expanding the university’s influence and impact. Elon’s expanding enrollment reach Massachusetts Connecticut Illinois California Texas Colorado

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2005 2015 202 587 168 407 26 138 11 125 34 72 13 46

n the past decade, Elon has become a university of national scope, drawing large numbers of students from states that previously weren’t even on the recruiting radar. This year, 73 percent of Elon students are from outside North Carolina. In fact, this fall, Elon finally achieved the long-sought-after distinction of drawing students from all 50 states, when Laurie Heggedal from North Dakota enrolled as a member of the Class of 2019. “I liked the idea of going away to college and seeing new things,” Heggedal says. “I’m talking about Elon with my friends who are seniors in high school in Fargo, and I’m posting lots of Instagram pictures.” Elon’s continued expansion of its student recruitment territories coincides with the university’s upward trajectory in quality and academic reputation. Admissions staff members are finding strong interest in Midwestern and Western states where Elon was previously unknown. Elon staff regularly meet with prospective students in cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco and Los Angeles. And expanded international recruiting staff are focused on working with students in China, India and Brazil, among other countries. “All Elon students benefit when our community is more reflective of our nation and our world,” says Greg Zaiser ’90 G’95, vice president for admissions and financial planning. “Each student brings to Elon a unique set of experiences and perspectives and this creates a very vibrant learning environment.” Zaiser and others attribute the tremendous growth in awareness of Elon to the thousands of alumni and parents who are spreading the word and demonstrating the powerful advantages of an Elon education. “Our alumni network now stretches around the world, and that is a big advantage in our emerging admissions markets,” says Brian Feeley ’03, Elon’s director of alumni engagement. “We have 36 alumni chapters worldwide. No matter where you go, you will find smart, hardworking and inspiring Elon alumni who are doing amazing things and making our world a brighter place.” The influence of alumni will be a key factor in the continued growth of Elon’s reputation. The stories on the following pages demonstrate the ways Elon graduates are serving as the ethical leaders and creative problem-solvers our world needs.

{ Mitch Pittman ’09 is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist at KOMO-TV in Seattle. }

fall 2015 23

Elon’s emerging admissions markets Chicago Denver San Francisco-Oakland St. Louis Los Angeles Houston-Sugarland Dallas-Ft. Worth

Kansas City Indianapolis Seattle-Tacoma Minneapolis-St. Paul Phoenix Austin

COLORADO A LEADER ON AND OFF THE PITCH

“Thanks to Elon, I’m a better leader because I can synthesize wide-ranging perspectives and unite them into focused action.” —Clint Irwin ’11, professional soccer player

Photo: Chris Humphreys/USA TODAY Sports

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lint Irwin ’11 grew up watching some of the greatest soccer stars in the English Premier League. Little did he know that one day he would be sharing the pitch with some of them. Irwin is goalkeeper for the Colorado Rapids Major League Soccer team and one of the rising stars in a sport that is steadily gaining traction in the consciousness of American fans. A headline-maker since joining the team in 2013, he was named to the MLS all-star team earlier this season and won the club’s Fan Favorite Award in 2013 and 2015. But Irwin’s accomplishments don’t end after the final whistle blows. As a representative for the MLS Players Union, he represents his team in meetings with ownership and the league. This past season, he took part in the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations that resulted in free agency for the

“Why are students coming

~President Leo M. Lambert during his annual address opening the 2015-16 academic year

TEXAS

first time in the league’s history and significant salary increases for the players. He credits the critical-thinking skills and pre-law courses he took at Elon for his successes in that role. “The educational experiences gained at Elon have come in use nearly every day of life after college,” Irwin says. Playing for the U.S. National Team and eventually joining a European club are among his dreams, and while these are not easy tasks, they are not unattainable for Irwin. “The university instills a humbleness but also an intellectual steel to its graduates that serves us well in whatever we pursue,” he says. “It’s a feeling of, ‘Yeah, this is difficult’ or ‘I’ve never done it before,’ but also ‘I believe I can do it—and I’m going to do it.’”

MERGING PASSIONS “Beyond academics, Elon instilled in me strong personal values that have helped me sustain a long-term vision.”—Amanda Brown Marusiak ’10, epidemiologist consultant with ExxonMobil

manda Brown Marusiak ’10 was always good at math and passionate about service, but it wasn’t until she came to Elon that her interests and skills merged, leading her to a career in a field she didn’t even know existed. Her interest in global development led her to become a Periclean Scholar. Her cohort’s project was to sustainably support the construction of a health center in rural Ghana, which inspired her undergraduate research in mathematically modeling the spread of malaria. Thanks to faculty mentors, study abroad and research experiences, as well as the Periclean and Lumen Prize programs, she found her calling in public health. After graduation, Marusiak obtained a master’s degree in epidemiology at the University of Texas at Houston and went on to work with infectious disease programs in the oil and gas industry. She recently returned from two years living in South Korea, where she worked with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak. She is proud of her alma mater’s increased presence in the Houston area and hopes to continue connecting with the alumni network there. “My first couple of years in Texas, there wasn’t a real good sense of the Elon community,” she says. “Now when you talk to people, you’ll find someone who has some sort of connection with Elon. It’s obvious the university is trying to put a stake here.” She looks back at her time at Elon with appreciation to the mentors who supported her in both a research capacity as well as academic advising. “Interpersonal relationships, particularly with faculty mentors, are one of the highlights of an Elon experience, and mine is no exception,” she says.

CONNECTING THE DOTS

LOS ANGELES

to Elon increasingly from all over the nation and the globe? I believe it is about a big idea that animates and energizes this extraordinary place and the principle reason for our success. That idea—that construct—is human relationships. Elon is about human relationships. And strong communities are networks of vibrant and meaningful human relationships.”

RISING INFLUENCE

“That Elon community that was so valuable to me [as a student] is still valuable to me today.” —Amy Reitnouer ’09, executive director of The Bluegrass Situation

my Reitnouer ’09 never imagined that an outing as a student to hear a progressive bluegrass band at a Chapel Hill, N.C., club was going to change her life. “It opened my ears and my mind to this incredible sound and community that I’m now directly involved with and know very well,” she says. That experience, and others that followed, inspired her to launch a blog in 2011 to share her passion for bluegrass music in the Los Angeles area. The blog caught the attention of actor Ed Helms, who joined forces with Reitnouer in 2012 to launch The Bluegrass Situation, the country’s most popular roots music website. As executive director, Reitnouer divides her time between Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and everywhere in between. She recently co-produced the 2015 International Bluegrass Music Awards show in Raleigh, N.C., and two days later produced BGS’ annual festival, the LA Bluegrass Situation, at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. She spent her four years at Elon immersed in the film and television suites in the School of Communications, but also took classes outside of her major that challenged her worldview and allowed her to explore. The lessons she learned informs much of what she does today. For instance, when she is introduced to musicians she is not familiar with, she doesn’t just listen to their music; she looks at them with a critical eye—how they influence others, who they are connected with. “That’s what makes what I do valuable and what has made me successful, and it all comes from my training at Elon,” she says. “A lot of what I did at Elon really forced me to connect dots that people didn’t necessarily see.”

fall 2015 25

EGYPT ANALYZING SOCIAL COMPLEXITIES

“A lot of what Elon was for me was the people who cared about opening up the perspectives of young students.”—Iris Boutros ’97, senior program specialist with the International Development Research Centre

FACILITATING SUCCESS

NEW YORK

“Elon graduates distinguish themselves in the marketplace because they are eager to learn.” —Shane Powers ’99, director with Credit Suisse

or the past 16 years, Shane Powers ’99 has helped Credit Suisse recruit more than 20 Elon alumni and student interns, advancing their careers and strengthening the Elon network. He is a big reason why Elon now has more than 50 alumni working at the company in both New York and Raleigh, and why the firm travels to Elon every year to recruit more students. “We have found that many of the Elon candidates we interview for internships can go toe-to-toe with some of the core target Ivy schools from which we traditionally recruit,” he says. “The amount of leadership opportunities available on campus now really helps students prepare for the real world.” It’s something that doesn’t surprise Powers, who cherishes his own Elon experience. The small class sizes allowed him to easily build relationships with professors and classmates, leading to a stronger dialogue both inside and outside of the classroom. “As a result, I’m a better collaborator, not only from the teamoriented environment that Elon fostered while I was in school,” he says, “but also from the many opportunities that Elon has provided to work with other alumni on various boards and committees post-graduation.” He has witnessed how Elon’s reputation in the Northeast has soared since he first moved to New York after graduation. “When work colleagues are starting the application process for their kids, Elon always seems to be on their radar,” he says. “Year after year, it is great to hear the other peer schools that Elon is being stacked up against. It really has turned into an impressive list.”

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ris Boutros ’97 always thought of herself as a global citizen, but it wasn’t until she spent a summer in a rural hospital in India during her first year at Elon that she was able to turn that worldview into a career path. “During that trip, I realized the social problems people face are more complex than the problems of the body,” says Boutros, who was planning to become a doctor. After seeing extreme poverty and social inequalities, she decided to continue studying biology and later obtain a master’s degree in public health and a doctorate in applied economics at Harvard University. A development economist, Boutros worked with the World Bank and lived in South Africa until the 2011 social upheavals in her native Egypt were too tempting to pass up. “It was so interesting to see a population speak so loudly with one voice,” she says. “What motivates me is the inequalities and opportunities that women and people face around the world,” she says, adding that she wants to continue analyzing how theories about development and equality of opportunity intersect with real life in the public sphere. She is thankful for her Elon education—her biology background gives an extra depth to her analysis—and the relationships she formed that have shaped her path. “A lot of what Elon was for me was the people who cared about opening up the perspectives of young students and showing them how to be better citizens of the world and understand the people around them,” she says. “They taught me how to be a well-rounded person.”

RISING INFLUENCE

Top international locations our alumni call home United Kingdom Japan Spain Canada Australia, Germany, South Africa, Thailand

ITALY

CREATING HIS OWN PATH

“Borders are lines on a map; humans connect with humans. You don’t need to travel to be a global citizen.” —Matthew Jenks ’11, director of international relations with Accademia Europea di Firenze

ince first visiting the Accademia Europea di Firenze in Florence his junior year, Matthew Jenks ’11 was determined to return to Italy and work for the private school— even if it meant creating his own position. “Sometimes you need to plow your own ground,” he says. Now an administrator at the school, the creative writing graduate manages a range of responsibilities for the liberal arts school that takes pride in its academic excellence, cultural immersion and experiential learning. While living abroad has its challenges—he is the only native English speaker in his office— the lessons he is learning make it worthwhile. “Within a small private school, I see how a diverse international organization can succeed,” he says, adding that his time at Elon prepared him for much of the journey. Creative writing workshops taught him to embrace constructive criticism, while philosophy classes stimulated his mind and allowed him to grow as a thinker, and taught him to get out of his comfort zone and embrace his own ignorance. “The person

who knows how much they don’t know is always the most enlightened in the room,” he says. Above all, he learned about the concept of global citizenship. “Borders are lines on a map; humans connect with humans,” he says. “You don’t need to travel to be a global citizen. Everyone is a citizen of the globe, whether they realize it or not. Humility and curiosity can empower anyone to experience the world through a new perspective in which you realize people are wonderfully strange and different, but completely connected.”

CHINA AN INSTRUMENT OF DIVERSITY

“The best gift we can give as potential and current students, alumni, faculty, partners and investors, is our diverse backgrounds.” —Phil Collins ’08, regional account director with Imagination

he career path Phil Collins ’08 has taken is anything but conventional—and he wouldn’t have it any other way. Born and raised in Tennessee, he traveled abroad to Brazil his junior year before moving to Asia in 2009, where he has been working for almost seven years as an international marketer and communications specialist. Now a regional account director with the British marketing and communications firm, Imagination, Collins has

worked with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Ford, Lincoln, GE, adidas, UBS and Suntech, and in some of the world’s fastest moving and most dynamic markets in Asia and the Middle East. Along the way, the business administration graduate has visited fascinating places and learned valuable lessons that complement the broad and well-balanced experience he had at Elon. “Thanks to Elon, I’m better at challenging the status quo because I now understand there’s more to see, do and achieve than what society presents,” he says. He is a firm believer in the power of diversity as an asset for personal and professional growth and supports the university’s commitment to diversity as part of its strategic plan. “We need a diverse set of investments in the types of students, partners, academics, internships and experiences at Elon,” he says. “The investment of diversity brings new people and skills with different and bold ways of thinking that actually have value for students. Once they go into the workforce, they become instruments of diversity.” fall 2015 27

A Thoughtful Leader A fixture in North Carolina’s public education, Todd Wirt ’98 is not afraid to tackle challenges head-on, with compassion and determination.

BY JONATHAN BLACK ’15

f there’s been a common thread in Todd Wirt’s role as an educator and administrator in North Carolina for nearly 16 years, it’s one-on-one interactions with students. When he was principal at Mooresville High School, he made it a point to meet with each graduating class. After giving advice and encouragement, he told the students to keep in touch whenever they reached an important milestone. He now gets weekly Facebook messages from those former students. Personal connections are a reminder that despite the challenges and difficulties that come with being an educator, he chose the right profession. Not that he always knew that. When Wirt arrived at Elon in 1994, he was planning to major in sports medicine. He grew up in and around schools in the Newport News area of Virginia. His father volunteered as a high school baseball coach and his mother worked as a teaching assistant. An education elective led him to explore education as a career and shifted his focus to middle school education. “The beauty of Elon’s School of Education is you are required to spend quite a bit of time in schools,” Wirt says. “I was given the opportunity to get in front of kids, of all age levels, and had a great student-teaching experience.” Wirt’s career trajectory took off from the moment he walked across the stage Under the Oaks in 1998, and eventually led him in July to his position as superintendent of Orange County Schools in North Carolina. He is now a fixture in North Carolina education, a respected leader who doesn’t shy away from the problems that plague public education. “He’s really one of our bright stars in public education today,” says

28 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Mark Edwards, superintendent of Mooresville Graded School District. “He’s a people person, highly motivated, with strong knowledge of school leadership. He’s a guy who puts children first. Parents and community members like that.”

The road to the top shortly after graduating from elon, Wirt joined Woodlawn Middle School in Burlington, N.C., as a special education teacher. After teaching a year and a half, he was promoted to assistant principal by the school’s principal, Lynn Briggs. “It was a very quick jump, but he had the skills and qualities to be a good administrator, to be a good teacher,” Briggs says. “He had a good relationship with the kids and was an excellent role model.” When Briggs became principal of Graham High School, Wirt followed, retaining his title of assistant principal. During this time, he received a master’s degree in school administration from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He would later become principal at Mebane’s Hawfields Middle School, Graham High School

and Mooresville High School. During his time at the latter, he earned his doctorate from Wingate University. Wirt continued to move forward, becoming executive director of secondary education in the Mooresville School District and, later, assistant superintendent for academics at Wake County Public School System—the 15th largest school district in the country. It was only natural that Wirt’s next step was the top job. “I was interested in being superintendent,” Wirt says. “I’ve worked with some exceptional ones and knew you can make a huge impact.”

Adapting the learning process since wirt arrived in orange county, he has seen a newly developed strategic plan— created by elected officials, employees, parents and other community members—come to fruition. Their plans include creating engaging experiences for students in a project-based setting, a teaching method that allows students to gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period on an complex question, problem or challenge. Such experiences allow students to collaborate and demonstrate mastery of a subject in many ways, be it through technology, writing, artistic ability or a presentation. “[These experiences] shouldn’t be events that happen once in a while,” Wirt says. “When you’re strategic and teachers are well trained, it becomes part of the fabric in what you do.” Making sure these experiences are effective means all 7,500 students under Wirt’s supervision have access to the same resources, with a specific focus on technology. In Orange County, every student between third and 12th grade has access to a laptop. To see how students are best using the technology available to them, Wirt just has to head home. There, his two kids, sixthgrader Mary Moss and third-grader Gib, with the help of wife Kelly White Wirt ’98, can show him how they learn. This easy access to technology has revolutionized how information is delivered in the classroom. With so many resources available for students to learn today, teaching goes beyond communicating information. The focus is on creating an experience in which they learn how to validate and present information. From the perspective of an educator, technology shows teachers where students excel and where they struggle. Wirt went through the digital transition as a principal in Mooresville. Changes meant not only guiding students, but parents as well. Briggs says Wirt has a knack for building and maintaining relationships, something that has helped him along the way. “You’ve got to be a cheerleader for people and to believe in people and to get them to believe in you,” she says. “He has those qualities that make you want to strive to be better.”

Challenges ahead the plight of public education has been well documented in North Carolina. WalletHub, a personal finance website, ranked North Carolina as the second worst state in the country for teacher pay, just beating out West Virginia. The state ranked 40th in average starting salary and 49th in 10-year salary change for teachers. Wirt is well aware of these challenges and has made an effort to support his staff and students despite a shrinking budget. Professional development, support for understanding a new curriculum and celebrations can keep morale up. “Teachers feel undervalued and underappreciated,” Wirt says. “The way to combat that locally is providing an exceptional level of support. Celebrate teachers’ successes and make them feel valued.” On the student level, it’s still about keeping the focus on the individual. At the core of what Wirt does, is building relationships with students, some of whom have little time left to decide their academic career. “Often the students’ environment puts them on a specific

path,” he says. “You have opportunities to enrich a student on a good projection or change the projection of a student on a bad one.” He still remembers one such student he met while he was at Mooresville High School. “It was clear he was a very bright young man, but without somebody reaching out and encouraging him to be a great student-athlete, he could have followed in the same footsteps as some family members,” Wirt says. He met with the student regularly, discussing personal, historical and environmental challenges and helped schedule him into advanced placement classes on top of his football schedule. The student graduated on time with multiple advanced classes under his belt. He even managed to receive a football scholarship and is now playing for the Elon Phoenix. Wirt looks forward to the day when he walks Under the Oaks. “If you love a kid, you can turn it into action and make sure they reach that spot you believe they can,” Wirt says. “For me, that’s what it’s about.” fall 2015 29

From the ARCHIVES

A recipe for success For decades, Elon students learned “the practical and theoretical knowledge of the principles governing cookery” as part of the home economics program. BY ROSELEE PAPANDREA

hen Edith Brannock ’39 was a student at Elon, it was not unusual for women to pick a major that would teach them how to manage a household on a budget, host tea parties, design and sew clothes, and care for the sick. Brannock, a descendant of the Rev. James O’Kelly, founder of the Christian Church that established Elon College, learned that and more as vice president of Elon’s Home Economics club, which was open to home economics and art students. She hosted many social events, including several for her sorority, Tau Zeta Phi. Home economics, or domestic sciences, ultimately became her life’s work, and after graduation in 1939, Brannock began her career as a vocational home economics teacher in Alamance County, North Carolina. She taught younger students for 20 years before following in the footsteps of her father, Ned Faucette Brannock, an 1899 graduate of Elon, and a much-loved chemistry professor who taught at Elon for more than 50 years. In 1962, almost half a century after Elon’s first home economics department was organized by Bessie Urquhart, Edith Brannock joined Elon’s faculty as an assistant professor of home economics. She also briefly taught child psychology courses. The first mention of the domestic sciences was in the 1914-15 Bulletin of Elon College. The two-year course of studies focused on providing “practical and theoretical knowledge of the principles governing cookery.” The description of the course of study indicates it was designed for women. “It is essential that every homemaker know how to prepare wholesome food,” the bulletin states. “This she is better qualified to do after she understands food values and can prepare a well-balanced meal.” The home economics department was located in a few different places on campus while the program existed, including the basement of the gymnasium-dormitory (where the Caroline E. Powell building now stands), the ground floor of the Young Ladies’ Cooperative Hall (now Sloan Hall) and the third floor of Alamance building. In the early 1960s, women majoring in home economics received handson experience by living in a practice house on West College Avenue for six weeks. The house was formerly the Elon College Community Church parsonage and was moved when a new church was built on South Williamson Avenue. The house was used for the first time during fall 1960, and Mary G. Butler was the faculty member in charge. Students lived in the residence with a housemother and took turns as cook, housekeeper and hostess. One of the requirements was inviting guests over for weekly meals. They were not allowed to exceed a budget of 75 cents per day per person during the

30 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Holiday Style Potatoes 3 cups mashed potatoes ½ cup hot milk 4 tbsp. butter 2 tbsp. each chopped parsley, pimiento 1 tsp. grated onion Green pepper rings Beat potatoes until light and fluffy. Add other ingredients and serve in mounds in green pepper rings. Variation: May add ½ cup grated cheese for different flavor. Pumpkin Chiffon Pie Put in top of double boiler ½ tsp. salt ½ cup sugar ½ tsp. ginger 1 ½ cup strained pumpkin ½ tsp. nutmeg 2/3 cup milk ½ tsp. cinnamon

first three weeks and not more than 95 cents per day per person the last three weeks of the course. Brannock Mix well and when hot add to 3 egg yolks slightly beaten. Return to double boiler, stir replaced Butler in 1962. The faculty decided to discontinue and cook. Measure ½ cup cold water, add the home economics major in 1968, 1 tbsp. gelatin and when soft add to hot according to faculty meeting min- pumpkin mixture. Mix thoroughly and cool. When it begins to stiffen, beat 3 egg whites utes taken Oct. 11, 1968. From that until stiff, beat in ½ cup sugar and fold into point, students were able to take the pumpkin mixture. Pour into baked pie shell. courses—six were offered—as elec- Chill in refrigerator. Cover with whipped tives only. Brannock taught many of cream for serving. those classes until May 1980, when she retired due to the phasing out of the home economics courses. But even after retirement, Brannock continued supporting Elon and offered her skills planning successful gatherings many times as an active member of the alumni association. She was responsible for getting many of her classmates together for the 60th reunion party in 1999. In September 2013, Brannock donated a collection of recipes to the Belk Library Archives and Special Collections. The recipes range from a variety of festive punches to salads, side dishes, main courses and desserts. Here are two recipes from her collection that still would make perfect accompaniments to any holiday meal.

ALUMNI ACTION

Worthy of celebration Dear Elon alumni,

all is the season to celebrate the things I love— crisp weather, falling leaves, cozy sweaters, fireplaces and even my birthday. This festive spirit seems to visit Elon in the fall, too, and the list of things to celebrate is long. We are once again named a #1 master’s-level university in the South by U.S. News & World Report. We have the #1 “best administered” MBA program. We lead the nation in “Academic Programs to Look For” ahead of Stanford, Duke, Yale and Butler. We are thriving, and we are in good company. Homecoming gave us another vibrant display of our Elon community. We welcomed more than 2,000 alumni back to campus, and for the first time, your Elon Alumni Board held its fall meeting in conjunction with Homecoming. Our day was packed with work group reports, university updates and brainstorming sessions. We even spent some time celebrating a few achievements, including the first Homecoming where logistics were managed by a user-friendly app called “Elon Guides.” The app allowed attendees to quickly set their personal Homecoming schedule, find locations for events, connect with friends in attendance and even post to social media. The use of this app was the result of several years of work by your alumni board and staff. It seemed to be a huge hit and saved

all of those paper packets at registration. We also were pleased to welcome four new members to the board: Steve Ross ’73, Kathie Sink Niven ’89, Scott Warner ’97 and Heather Middleton Ellersick ’99. The Welcome Home Reception & Opening Ceremony allowed us to celebrate our reunion classes and the significant achievements of five outstanding alumni. Class and affinity reunions contributed nearly $882,500 to the university. What an achievement! And alumni award winners Igor Pavlov ’94, Tracey Nugent ’84 P’15, Matt Belanger ’05, Melissa Taylor Duncan ’06 L’09 and Darryl Smith ’86 each gave us a reason to feel proud of their service, professional accomplishments and engagements with Elon. They are further examples that Elon alumni are making a difference. I hope you have a little internal celebration each time you read a headline about another award or achievement by Elon, its alumni or students. I also hope that twinge of pride urges you to engage with your alma mater. A few weeks ago, I attended an Elon football game in Richmond where I met an alumnus from the Class of 1997. It was the first Elon event he had attended since he graduated. It’s never too late. We need you to help us stay at the top of national rankings and to give us even more reasons to celebrate. Shannon Moody ’94 Elon Alumni Board President

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE #ELONHOME Thousands of Elon alumni, students and friends enjoyed a weekend full of activities Oct. 16-18 as part of Homecoming 2015.

he celebration included programs and awards for alumni of all generations, including a kickoff Welcome Home Reception & Opening Ceremony Friday night featuring the presentation of this year’s alumni awards (read more on page 34). Saturday events included service projects led by the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, the inaugural 5K Brick Run, open houses and alumni brunches, the Class of 1965 induction as Golden Alumni, an afternoon of reunion tailgating along Bank of America Drive, and football under a crystal blue autumn sky. “There’s no place like home” served as this year’s theme. Indeed, there isn’t a home like Elon. For more photos from the weekend, see this issue’s inside back cover.

fall 2015 31

ALUMNI ACTION

on the town

NEW YORK CITY

An evening to remember O

ne of the biggest alumni events of the year took place in New York City on Sept. 10 as more than 800 Elon alumni, parents and friends filled the Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan for the annual Evening for Elon event. For the sixth consecutive year, Elon parents Ed and Joan Doherty P’07 hosted the event. They have been generous supporters of the university and served as Elon Parents Council members before Ed joined the Board of Trustees in 2006. They also serve as chairs of the Comprehensive Campaign Planning Committee. The program, which included remarks from President Leo M. Lambert, focused on the strength of the alumni network in New York and beyond. It highlighted the stories of alumni and parents whose engagement with the university is impacting programs on campus and advancing alumni careers. “Our alumni network has never been more vibrant and now stretches all across the world, including our emerging markets in Chicago, Denver, Dallas, San Francisco and now in London,” said Brian Feeley ’03, director of alumni engagement, during his opening remarks. Evenings for Elon build strong connections between the university and alumni, parents and friends in cities around the country. The New York event was one of several Evenings for Elon scheduled for the 2015-16 academic year. Upcoming events include:

32 the MAGAZINE of ELON

ՔՔ Tampa – Dec. 2

ՔՔ Los Angeles – March 16

ՔՔ Richmond – Dec. 8

ՔՔ San Francisco – March 17

ՔՔ Atlanta – Feb. 9

ՔՔ Charlotte – May 4

ՔՔ Dallas– Feb. 17

ՔՔ Raleigh – May 5

ALUMNI ACTION

CONNECTING ALUMNI AROUND THE COUNTRY

MEET JOE WARD ’15

hirty-three cities—from New York and Los Angeles to Hartford and Denver— hosted events as part of Elon’s annual Welcome to the City & Alumni Network Event Series. Chapters and clubs host these events each year to welcome the newest class to the alumni family, and connect them to other Elon alumni in their city. Thanks to the 800-plus participants who made this series such a success! ✪✪More than 100 Charlotte alumni gathered at The Blind Pig for a Welcome

to the City event, meeting each other through a fun bingo activity facilitated by chapter volunteers

✪✪New and relocated alumni got a taste of San Francisco at Rock Wall Winery

on Sept. 26

✪✪Seattle alumni got together for a Mariners game to welcome new graduates

to the area

✪✪More than 40 members of the Class of 2015 joined the Washington, D.C.

alumni chapter at The Front Page in Dupont Circle on Sept. 16.

The Office of Alumni Engagement welcomes Joe Ward ’15 as coordinator of regional alumni engagement. Ward will be working closely with alumni clubs to bring more opportunities for alumni to engage with the university. He can be reached at jward18@elon.edu or 336-278-7424.

TO FIND A CHAPTER NEAR YOU, GO TO elon.edu/alumni.

{ Washington, D.C. }

{ Seattle } { Charlotte }

{ San Francisco }

IT’S TIME TO UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION Elon has 35 alumni chapters and clubs spread across the country and the Office of Alumni Engagement wants you to stay connected. To make sure you receive emails about upcoming events in your area, make sure your address and other information is updated at elon.edu/alumniupdate. If you are interested in becoming a chapter or club volunteer, contact Jennifer Boozer, assistant director of regional alumni engagement, at jboozer@elon.edu to find out how you can get involved. fall 2015 33

ALUMNI ACTION

Honored with the 2015 Elon LGBT Community Enrichment Awards were: ✪ Rodney L. Parks, registrar, Elon University ✪ Jana Lynn Patterson, associate vice president for student life and dean of student health and wellness, Elon University ✪ Christian Adam Wiggins ’03, chief executive officer, Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity ✪ Shelby Lewis ’16, student (in absentia).

Alumni Excellence Celebrated Praised for their service, professional acumen, strong leadership and contributions to their alma mater, five Elon graduates were honored Oct. 16 with Alumni Awards during the Welcome Home Reception & Opening Ceremony, which kicked off the Homecoming 2015 festivities. From left: ✪✪ Matt Belanger ’05, Young Alumnus of the Year ✪✪ Melissa Taylor Duncan ’06 L’09, Young Alumna

of the Year

✪✪ Darryl Smith ’86, Distinguished Service to

✪✪ Igor Pavlov ’94, Distinguished Alumnus

of the Year

✪✪ Tracey Walser Nugent ’84 P’15, Distinguished

Alumna of the Year (in absentia)

Elon Award

Honored with the 2015 Elon Black Alumni Network Awards were: ✪ Torrance Winder ’14, EBAN Distinguished Alumnus Award ✪ Kebbler McGhee Williams ’98, Gail Fonville Parker ’70 Distinguished Alumna Award ✪ Yasmine Alexandra Arrington ’15, EBAN Distinguished Alumna Award ✪ Elon University Faculty Administrative Fellow, Assistant to the President, Director of the Center for Access & Success & Associate Professor Jean P. Rattigan-Rohr, Dr. Wilhelmina Boyd Outstanding Service to Students Award ✪ Dan Ridley ’93, Eugene Perry ’69 Distinguished Alumnus Award. 34 the MAGAZINE of ELON

BE A LIGHT SO THAT THEY MAY SHINE BRIGHTER. Alumni support makes so much possible at Elon—including empowering today’s students to make a difference in our world. In gratitude, Elon will honor current alumni donors by placing their names on the luminaries that signal the holiday season’s return to campus. Alumni who support Elon by Dec. 1 (#GivingTuesday), will be honored with a luminary Dec. 3 at the Festival of Holiday Lights. Visit elon.edu/giving to make a gift to the area of Elon that means the most to you, and help Elon’s students continue to shine. More information about the event’s livestream will be shared via email and social media (#ElonLuminary).

CLASS NOTES

CLASS 66| NOTES

Bill Ruth and wife Mary participated in

the Hydrocephalus Association Walk in Charlotte, N.C., on 9/26/15. Bill and Ruth took their granddaughter, Ashley, who is the daughter of Christy Chappell Ruth ’95. The event, which featured hundreds of walkers and many children, raised $50,000 for hydrocephalus research and education and support for families dealing with the daily effects of the disease.

84|

Donna Davis Westbrooks

was promoted to director of teacher recruitment and induction in the AlamanceBurlington (N.C.) School System. Donna taught math for 20 years and after obtaining a master’s degree in school administration, she served as an assistant principal for nine years. She lives in Burlington. ALUMNI ALBUM

88|

was installed as conference minister of the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ in September during a ceremony at the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Pierre. He lives in Sioux Falls.

89|

David Hibbard was

named director of communications and marketing at Louisburg College in North Carolina. He lives in Wake Forest, N.C., and continues to serve as the play-by-play radio announcer of Elon football.

91|

Evey Wooten was named

the 2015 Mid-Atlantic Region Line Officer of the Year. The award is presented annually to honor officers for their significant contributions and outstanding service. Evey is a 24-year veteran with the U.S. Probation Office in the Middle District of North Carolina. She and her husband, Marty Weems ’89, live in Hillsborough.

92|

95| Melisha Hartman Chamra ’03 & Jennifer McCumber Curtin ’98

Julie Dyke Ford recently

Melinda Bryant McDaries

99| 00|

competed in the Sierra Vista 50K trail race in Las Cruces, N.M. She broke the women’s course record, placing first overall female and 10th overall runner. Julie and her husband, Ephraim, live in Socorro. • James McCarthy {mba’04} was named vice president of sales, North America at Digital Guardian. His responsibilities include leading the North American sales teams across the United States and Canada. He and wife Kristin ’99 live in Burlington, N.C.

97|

has opened a chiropractic practice, East Nashville Chiropractic, in Nashville, Tenn., where she lives with husband Mac.

Todd Richardson ’01, Mark Vonasek & friends

98|

70|

Thomas Short received the Orange County Education Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his long-time support, service and leadership to education. In his 35 years as an educator, Thomas has served the Orange County Public Schools in Virginia as an elementary and middle school teacher, as well as a principal at multiple schools. He lives with his wife, Cleo, in Rapidan.

Hot Mamas team in December. The race is one of the longest in the United States, running through the Blue Ridge and Black Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina, spanning 209.2 miles. • Colin Rackley is working on a children’s book for children who may have fears about starting a new school. He lives in Cary, N.C. • Rwany Sibaja recently accepted a faculty position at Appalachian State University as an assistant professor of history. His responsibilities include working with students seeking a career as secondary social studies teachers and working as the director of history/social studies education. He is also continuing his research on mass culture in Argentina and digital history in the classroom. Rwany lives in Deep Gap, N.C.

Trevor Moon received

his master’s degree in education and teacher leadership at the University of Phoenix through a full scholarship program. Trevor works at William Monroe Middle School as a sixth grade language arts teacher. He lives in Charlottesville, Va.

Bill Ruth ’66, Mary Ruth ’66 & granddaughter Ashley

Thomas Kremer ’00

The Rev. Gordon Rankin

Jennifer McCumber Curtin and Melisha Hartman Chamra ’03 completed

the Blue Ridge Relay with the Red

Calvin Stanley and Joanna Li welcomed son Declan Jack on 6/26/15. The family lives in Braintree, Mass. Thomas Kremer was

named a tax partner for Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP in Raleigh, N.C. He has more than 15 years of experience in the tax and accounting business. Tom lives in Holly Springs, N.C., with his wife, Courtney Dale, and three children. fall 2015 35

CLASS NOTES

TURN YOURSELF IN!

elon.edu/classnotes

Help us keep you in touch with your classmates at Elon.

01|

Todd Richardson and Mark Vonasek were married 7/11/15 in Jamesport, N.Y. Alumni in attendance included Megan O’Donnell ’00, Ann Batchelor, Nancy Brisson, Jason Brothers, Justin Caldro, Jessica Mitchell Freer, Jennifer Frentzel Liljegren, Erin Miller, Rebecca Morton, Erin Book Mullen and Erin Hagee Brothers ’02. Todd is assistant director of finance at The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel in New York City, where they live.

CLASS 03| NOTES

Brad Pinkerton and Emily Walker Pinkerton ’06

welcomed daughter Nora Kate on 7/3/15. The family lives in Charlotte, N.C. • Stacy Stock Schmidt recently took a position in the retail training department of M&T Bank. She is responsible for training new transactional employees for the entire bank. Stacy and husband Nick Schmidt reside in Baltimore, Md.

04|

Sally Lynch and Matthew Zabel were married 6/20/15 in Pawleys Island, S.C. Alumni in attendance included Emily Coons Reynolds ’02, Chuck Lynch ’03, Jenn Chewning Schmidt ’03, Ashley Regan Burke ’03, Summur Shaikh ’03, Rachel Bocchino, Katie Rutter Cummins, Carrie Nicholas Moss, Julie Smith, Lauren Andrews Szvetitz and Thomas Duncan ’11. Sally

works as the manager of outreach and partnerships for the Thomas Jefferson School of Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va. They live in Chevy Chase, Md. • Katie Sherman and Will Hughes welcomed daughter Penelope Ann Hughes on 11/8/14. The family lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., where Katie works as a freelance writer for publications including Vogue, Vice and Vanity Fair.

05|

Ada Adele Arbuckle and

Taylor Furst were married 6/20/15 in Greensboro, ALUMNI ALBUM

N.C. Alumni who participated in the wedding included Cassie Mansbach ’03, Nicole Pfaff ’03, Emily Norman Richards ’04, Rikki Nimmo Dalton, Jennifer Quast Nowakowski, Victoria Windsor and Sarah Reister Worland. Other alumni in attendance included Rebecca Ragans ’02, Lauren Hoffmann ’03, Buffy Jackewincz Neace ’03, Jeremy Mason ’03, Zak Debusk ’04, Prudence Lyon Scott, Brad Trawick, Erin Andrews ’06 and Kim Griffith Trawick ’06. Ada Adele and Taylor live in Raleigh, N.C. • Jocelyn Kaleita and Kevin Kaleita welcomed daughter Liesl Caroline on 4/26/15. The family lives in Centereach, N.Y. • John Penniman was hired as an assistant professor of religious studies at Bucknell University. He will teach courses on the New Testament, history of Christianity and theories of religion, among others. He lives in Lewisburg, Pa. • Courtney Tomaini Ryerson and Stephen Ryerson welcomed son Stephen James III on 7/10/15. He joins big sister Casey. The family lives in Rockville Centre, N.Y.

06|

Ann Gregson and Sean Crilley ’07 were married

3/21/15. Ann is a technology facilitator at Knollwood Elementary and Sean is a software developer for Duke Energy. They live in Charlotte, N.C. • Bridget Holmstrom and Ilya Lipin were married 5/30/15. Brad Pinkerton ’03, Emily Walker Sally Lynch Zabel ’04, Matthew Zabel & friends Ada Adele Arbuckle Furst ’05, Taylor Furst & friends Alumni in attendance included Pinkerton ‘06 & daughter Nora Kate Colleen Holly Fulling and Colt Higgins ’07. Bridget and Ilya live in Haverford, Pa. • Bobby McAleer and Kacey ’07 welcomed son Wells Robert on 11/4/14. The family lives in Reston, Va. • Kelly McDonald and Matt DeAntonio were married 4/11/15. Kelly works as a school counselor for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. They live in Charlotte, N.C. • James Rill and Emily Ward were married Jocelyn Kaleita ’05, Kevin Kaleita Bridget Holmstrom Lipin ’06, Ilya Lipin & friends 5/23/15 in Colombia, Md. Alumni in & daughter Liesl Caroline attendance included Zach Parker ’03, Brad Austin ’05, Mallie Colavita ’05, Andy Fitzgerald ’05, Natalie Fitzgerald ’05, Lindsey Hillebrand ’05, Steve Hillebrand ’05, Christopher Ahlgrim, Benjamin Ezrine, Christine Fenn, Charles Keenan III, Lauren Austin ’07, Caity Cardano ’07, Elliott Cardano ’07 and Austin Fenn ’07. Bobby McAleer ’06, Kacey McAleer ’07 Ann Gregson Crilley ’06 & Sean Crilley ’07 Kelly McDonald DeAntonio ’06 & Matt DeAntonio James and Emily live in Towson, Md.

& son Wells Robert

36 the MAGAZINE of ELON

CLASS NOTES

CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES CAN PROVIDE INCOME FOR LIFE { Vincent Suozzi ’82 and Dottie Simons, co-owner of Dodds & Eder in Oyster Bay, Long Island, showing a display of The Ring Weeder. }

An out-of-the-box solution BY SHAKORI FLETCHER ’16

incent Suozzi ’82 has always had an affinity for gardening. Seven years ago, while helping a friend with an outdoor project, he discovered a problem that others have likely shared. “I was working with a buddy of mine weeding flower beds, and he told me to use a long screwdriver tool to weed the plants since larger tools would not be able to do the job,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘There has to be a better way. If I had a tool attached to my hand it would be a natural way to weed.’” Fast-forward five years. While Suozzi’s son and college roommate were home for Thanksgiving break, they convinced Suozzi to commit to his idea and focus on the invention. Several visits to a welder and a mechanical engineer, and various prototypes later, The Ring Weeder was born. “When people see it—they’re going to want it,” he says. “It’s not expensive and it’s something new.” It’s also easy to use. The tool, which fits over gardeners’ gloves, makes it easy to loosen and remove roots with little effort. Suozzi generated significant buzz for the tool after a July 2013 Yahoo! Homes story featured it during an online, 40-day Kickstarter campaign to fund the project. The page went from 2,500 to 150,000 views in a 24-hour period. Views turned into financial backing and Suozzi ended the campaign far exceeding his goal of $8,500, raising more than $21,000. To date, Suozzi has sold about 4,000 units of The Ring Weeder, and he is now working with an entrepreneurship mentor group at Drexel University to continue marketing it. “This Thanksgiving will be three years; what I’ve accomplished so far makes me feel proud,” he says. “The most rewarding aspect is that I did it. Now we’re moving forward.” Suozzi’s business success brings him full-circle with his alma mater. After all, it was there the middle school physical education teacher was first encouraged to “think out of the box” by professors in the School of Education. That way of thinking fueled his creativity, which he now credits for his invention. “I had some of the best teachers when I attended Elon,” he says, adding he also met his wife, Anna Christie ’82, there. “My memories of Elon will last a lifetime.”

a charitable gift annuity of $10,000 or more to Elon will guarantee a fixed income for the rest of your life. With market interest rates near historic lows, a gift annuity is an attractive way to increase your income and make a gift to Elon at the same time. You will receive immediate tax benefits and can defer capital gains. The payment rate of a charitable gift annuity depends on your age at the time of the gift—the older you are, the higher the rate.

rates as of april 17, 2015 ONE BENEFICIARY

T WO BENEFICIARIE S

AG E

ANNUIT Y R ATE

AG E

ANNUIT Y R ATE

60 65 70

4.4% 4.7% 5.1%

60/65 67/67 71/73

4.0% 4.4% 4.7%

Annuity rates are subject to change. The annuity rate remains fixed once your gift is made.

To calculate a gift annuity for you, your spouse or a family member, visit elon.plannedgiving.org.

Talk with us today about how you may benefit from a life income gift to Elon and other gift planning opportunities. please contact: Carolyn DeFrancesco, Director of Planned Giving 336-278-7454 ■ cdefrancesco@elon.edu ■ elon.plannedgiving.org

{ A typical band practice during the 1960s and 1970s. }

fall 2015 37

CLASS NOTES

07|

Latwoia Abbott was recently

promoted to assistant director of academic advising and student services for the adult and graduate studies program at Montreat College’s Charlotte, N.C., campus. In her new role, Latwoia oversees advising of all undergraduate adult students at the Charlotte campus and serves as the main student services contact. • Lee Corey and Justine von Runnen were married 9/5/15. Lee works as an accountant for Direct Connect and Justine works as a toxicologist for Syracuse Research Corporation. They live in Delavan, Wis. • Catherine Colvard Grable and Scott Grable ’11 welcomed daughter Reese on 10/3/14. The family lives in Apex, N.C. • Brian Formica was named sports director for WXII-TV. He anchors

nightly sportscasts, covers live events and reports from the biggest sports stories around the country. He lives in Winston-Salem, N.C. • Heather McGuire and Sam McGuire welcomed daughter Daisy Eleanor on 2/2/15. Sam recently ran the Boston Marathon and received his doctorate in history from the University of Georgia. He also accepted the position of assistant professor in the history department at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens, Tenn. The family lives in Athens, Ga.

08|

Karen Clark Holmes and Jeff Holmes welcomed daughter Annie Lyn on 5/27/15. The family resides in Charlotte, N.C. • Caitlin Magidson was named assistant director of coaching and education and career ALUMNI ALBUM

James Rill ’06, Emily Ward & friends

Catherine Colvard Grable ’07, Heather McGuire ’07, Sam McGuire ’07 Scott Grable ’11 & daughter Reese & daughter Daisy Eleanor

Karen Clark Holmes ’08, Jeff Holmes & daughter Annie Lyn Alex Sewell ’08, Katie Bigarel Sewell ’09 & friends

Scott Wajda ’08, Sara Butters Wajda ’10 & friends 38 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Brittany Werts Slaughter ’09, Mike Slaughter & friends

coach at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. Some of her responsibilities include coaching undergraduate and master’s level students on topics of self-exploration, branding, networking, interviewing and career management. Caitlin lives in Bethesda, Md. • Cameron Rudder and Scott Sobanski were married 7/18/15 in South Boston, Va. Alumni in attendance included Nathan Copeland ’07, Adam Pierson ’07, Chris Bayly, Sally Braeuer, Mike Carnicelli, Brittany Dawson, Rachel Cruise Dorton, Mark McHugh, Patrick McNeely, Buck Russell, Rebecca Porter-Orr Russell, Dan Rossi, John Washington, Martha Lester Allen ’09, Matt Allen ’09, Brad Dorton ’09, Lauren Limerick Duffy ’09, Patrick Duffy ’09, Chris Eydt ’09, Jonathan Isley ’09, Anna Lamback ’09, Heather Wilson Montgomery ’09, Graham Rountree ’09 and Grace Trilling ’10.

Cameron and Scott live in Charlotte, N.C. • Alex Sewell and Katie Bigarel ’09 were married 3/21/15. Alumni in attendance included Liz Padgette ’06, Bryan Padgette ’07, Jason King ’07, Jon Pharr ’07, Sarah Rixey Pharr ’07, Shepherd Smith ’07, Zach Thomas, Katie Whitmore, Whit Winslow, Caylin Campbell Boisvert ’09, Allison Carney ’09, Lauren Duffy ’09, Patrick Duffy ’09, Brady Herman ’09, Chris Irvin ’09, Christina Mackenzie ’09, Scott Mackenzie ’09, Heather Montgomery ’09, Brie Owen Munnelly ’09, Kelly Murtagh ’09, Cullen Pitler ’09, Mack Sims ’09, Rob Smeaton ’09, Allison Lozon Wilder ’09, Andrew Wilder ’09, Ryan Cooke ’10, Lindsey Crane ’10, Ashley Day ’10 and Austin Scott ’12. Alex works as an attorney and city manager and Katie is a physical therapist. They live in Wadesboro, N.C. • Scott Wajda and Sara Butters ’10 were married 4/25/15 in Pittsboro, N.C. Alumni in attendance included R.J. Fenn ’07, Brandon Nickerson ’07, Armella Gilbert, Ashwin Rayasam, Jordan Bacharach ’09, Tim Graham ’09, Christopher Milano ’09, Eryn Gradwell ’10, Jamie Hawkins ’10, Andrew Johnson ’10 and Kate Sachs ’10. Scott works as a project management associate at inVentiv and Sara is the director of the Duke Cancer Fund for the Duke Cancer Institute. They live in Raleigh. • Dwayne Waite Jr. was appointed to serve on the National DECA Competitive Events Taskforce. A high school teacher, Dwayne will

CLASS NOTES

JOY BY KYLE LUBINSKY ’17

PHOTO: KATHERINE LEE ’09

eptember 11, 2001, is a day that unquestionably changed the course of history. For Abigail Santamaria ’00, that day changed her life in unexpected ways. The Manhattan native watched the attacks happen from the roof of her apartment, and she spent the following days volunteering at Chelsea Piers, a sports complex along the Hudson River that served as a disaster relief center. By the morning of Sept. 12, many people came to the center, asking about loved ones. “They begged me to find their fathers, uncles, sisters, wives,” Santamaria recalls. Watching the pain of those around her affected her profoundly. An English graduate, she was pursuing a master’s degree in nonfiction writing at Columbia University and simply could not comprehend how such a thing could happen. “I didn’t personally lose anyone, but the second-hand grief I absorbed during the aftermath plagued my days and stalked my dreams,” she says. “In my quest to comprehend the incomprehensible, I reached for C.S. Lewis’ A Grief Observed.” What she found, though, surprised her. Lewis, a famed theologian and author known for the Chronicles of Narnia series and Mere Christianity, seemed completely lost and in disbelief that God could let events such as this one take place. Santamaria took solace in the fact that a man of such faith was also questioning God in times of despair. But it led to big questions for Santamaria: What had caused Lewis’ suffering? The answer, it turned out, was the death of Joy Davidman, Lewis’ wife. Davidman’s life had only been explored twice before, most notably in the 1993 film Shadowlands, which introduced the poet to mass audiences but did not fully document her life. Santamaria quickly found parallels between her life and Davidman’s—both were born in Manhattan, and both attended Columbia for graduate school. As she learned more, Santamaria began to realize that she had found an excellent opportunity to profile the little-known wife of one of history’s most prolific theologians. Nearly a year after 9/11, she began work on what would

become Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C. S. Lewis, her first book and the first full biography written on Davidman. “A biographer chooses a subject who takes her where she wants to go,” says Santamaria. “At the age of 24 in 2002, I was in part searching for myself refracted through Joy’s life.” Santamaria’s quest to document Davidman’s life spanned over a decade, filled with many unexpected twists and turns that included a trip to Malta, where she met with Davidman’s son, Douglas Gresham. He was instrumental in getting her access to many of his mother’s personal documents, manuscript drafts and letters. For most of her four days in Malta, Santamaria was in the backroom of an office supply shop, photocopying more than 1,500 pages from Davidman’s personal records. Among them was her marriage certificate to Lewis and her checkbook from her dying days, with the word “Help!” written on one of the memo lines. At first, Santamaria didn’t pause to read anything; she was intent on making sure she copied as much information as possible. Then during one sleepless night, she found a poem that stunned her. Davidman wrote of a woman who was in her bed freezing, hoping her words could keep her warm. In that moment, it described what Santamaria had worked so tirelessly to find. “I had not set out to unearth the particular realities I discovered behind the Shadowlands tale; they were imparted to me, first in the memories of those I interviewed, and finally in Joy’s own words,” she says. “She left them to be found: she was giving me her blessing.” Joy is available on Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and IndieBound.org. For more information about Santamaria, visit abigailsantamaria.com. fall 2015 39

CLASS NOTES assist the task force in reviewing market trends in the industry and the classroom in order to review DECA’s competitive events. He and wife Mackenzie live in Charlotte, N.C.

09|

Earlier this year, Mackenzie Ames became a patient

advocate for awareness with the FH Foundation, a nonprofit that raises awareness about familial hypercholesterolemia. In that role, Mackenzie is involved in an array of activities such as speaking at medical meetings and writing articles for medical journals about issues related to the genetic disorder that leads to extremely high levels of cholesterol starting at a very young age. In September she participated in the foundation’s 2015 Global Summit and led a two-hour forum where patients discussed their concerns and the

foundation’s role moving forward. She also sat on a panel during the FH Awareness Day Tweet-a-thon that reached 24 million people in 32 countries. • Leigh Lesniak won an Emmy Award for “Beyond the Lens.” The documentary follows the careers and achievements of the photojournalist team for WTTG-TV. Leigh was responsible for writing and producing the documentary. She lives in Washington, D.C. • Mital Patel {Law’09} was recognized by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly as a 2015 “Leader in the Law” at a Sept. 25 luncheon in Charlotte. Mital is an attorney with Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP, where he focuses on technology and corporate transactions, including venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property protection and licensing, and general

LIVING OUT

NUMEN LUMEN BY REBECCA SMITH ’12

How one alumna visited 11 countries in 11 months to share her faith with others.

he first year after graduation is always an adventure. For Katy Steele ’14, that’s an understatement: She traveled to 11 countries as part of The World Race before returning to Elon University this fall to serve as communications coordinator for the Office of Admissions. Steele first learned about the Christian organization when she was a sophomore and her friend, Mary B. Safrit ’12, joined. “I remember that I admired her boldness, her courage and her faith,” she says. “I thought she was cool, but honestly, I kind of thought she was crazy.” According to the organization’s website, participants visit 11 countries in 11 months to “serve the ‘least of these’ while amongst real and raw community.” The World Race stayed in her mind the next two years. As her faith grew, she decided to apply. Once accepted, she traveled as part of a group to Guatemala, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, Swaziland,

40 the MAGAZINE of ELON

corporate matters. • Brittany Werts and Mike Slaughter were married 10/4/14 in Temecula, Calif. Alumni in attendance included Greg Zaiser ’90 {MBA’95}, Hillary Waugh Bruce ’08, Jen Hill Nelson and Chelsea Peabody. Brittany works as the regional associate director of admissions for Elon University. They live in San Diego.

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Robert “Bobby” Joseph Hobbs and Megan Schneider were married 06/27/15. Hallie

Kilmer served as maid of honor and Brian Pollio was the best man. Other alumni in attendance included Will Black ’08, Chelsea Anderson, Phil Bartholomew, Daniel Bell, Jenny Black, Daniel Browne, Brett Duffy, Lauren Ellis, Alex Florio, Turner Green, Jeff Greene, Chris Peele, Casey Pickler, Rae Pickler, Abigail

Botswana, Albania and Ukraine. Along the way, Steele had to adjust to sleeping on the floor, hand washing all of her clothes, dealing with strange bathrooms, constantly packing and moving, battling food poisoning in foreign countries, and sticking to the allotted daily food budget of $5. She also had to deal with homesickness. The worst day was Valentine’s Day, the halfway mark of the program. But, that same month, after climbing a Himalayan mountain in Nepal for 10 hours and meeting and praying for a blind woman, she also felt a sense of purpose, of being exactly where she was supposed to be. As her trip came to an end, she knew she would be headed back to Elon—her actual interview occurred while she was in a dark hut in Botswana during a power outage. “Something I’m thankful for is that Elon is a university that acknowledges the significant role faith can play in an individual’s life,” Steele says. “Elon’s motto, Numen Lumen, embodies this idea for the university well: intellectual and spiritual light.” Her friends would tell you Steele,too, has lived out that motto well. “You would think that because she was traveling to a new country each month that she would be out of touch,” says Cate LeSourd ’15, one of the first people to see Steele when she returned to Elon. “The exact opposite happened. As I was going through the ups and downs of my senior year of college, she was there through it all. She knew about almost every opportunity I applied for and cheered me on from the other side of the world.” Though she is happy to be back home, Steele keeps a picture book from her year working with The World Race in her new office. “Each day, I turn the page to a different photo of a friend from around the world,” she says. “This is a small way to acknowledge and remember all the people who impacted me.”

CLASS NOTES

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Kara Cowdrick was among 10 Atlanta educators recognized in August as the 2015 Atlanta Families’ Awards for Excellence in Education winners. The award, which includes a $7,500 prize, recognizes educators who demonstrate excellence in raising student achievement, enhancing students’ self-esteem and collaboration with community stakeholders. Kara, a fifth grade teacher at Chesney Elementary School, plans to create a mobile book library to encourage reading habits during the summer m0nths.

company. Her responsibilities include growing usage of the world’s smallest implantable heart monitor, training physicians on implantation and collaborating with various departments within hospitals to improve patient outcomes. The family lives in Charlotte, N.C.

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Kelly Bednarski and Tony Krech were married 7/11/15. Alumni in attendance included Alexandra Coffman ’10, Marcus Lockamy ’10, Elizabeth Rymer ’10, Kevin Swett ’10, Ally Whitecavage ’10, Kim Campbell, Gina Giuricich, Luke O’Rourke, Allie Stolte, Helen Turner, Caitlyn Yuschak, Sarah Alexander ’12, Ally Norell ’12, Sam Speicher ’12, Amanda Stancil ’12, Kelly Troianello ’12,

Hannah Wachtmeister ’12, Jill Hollis ’13, Kristen Ignaszewski ’13, Perri Kritz ’13, Katie Bowman ’14 and Maddie Sills ’14.

Kelly works as a communications contractor for Bridgestone. They live in Brentwood, Tenn. • Nneka Enurah was recently promoted to director of digital and communications at Authentic Entertainment. In her new role, Nneka researches and develops original and network-ordered programming for the production company. Her responsibilities include interviewing potential talent, field producing, overseeing edits and leading development meetings. She lives in Los Angeles. • Joanna French and Matt Mitchell were married 8/1/15 in Middleburg,Va. Alumni in attendance included Ryan Capinski ’10, Jess Duffy ’10, Ryan

Duffy ’10, Kerri Brown, Trevor Carter, Kendra Cirillo, Meg Cusick, Nina Dagbjartsson, Brook Everts, Katie Frisch, Brent Gallagher, Danielle Goodrick, Walker Harris, Matt Jones, Stephanie Laurine, Sarah Lindsey, Taylor Lindsey, William Mebane, Stephen Morris, Hannah Parker, Lee Proctor, Anna Simpson, Matt Taylor, JD Verniero and Colleen Wood.

Joanna and Matt live in WinstonSalem, N.C. • Manisha Patel {Law’11} is now an associate attorney at Ward Black Law in Greensboro, N.C. She focuses on family law. • Joanna Rabiej Wayton was recently appointed administrative assistant to the vice president/executive associate to the president at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. She lives in Southington.

ALUMNI ALBUM

Remain, Jeremy Williams, Clayton Winkelvoss, Brycen Fischer ’11, Hampton Thomas ’11 and Chris Markwood ’11. Megan is dean of

sophomores at Washington & Lee University and Bobby is a commercial loan officer with CornerStone Bank. They live in Lexington, Va. • This past April, Devin Darrell, Lauren Darrell, Max Harnett and Lauren Harnett visited Sam Montgomery ’09 in China, where she lives. They rocked some Elon pride while climbing the Great Wall. • Class of 2010 alumnae Caroline Denning, Alisha Richardson, Danaka Walker Williams and Lyllian Wimberly travelled to Greensboro, N.C., to host a Breakfast at Tiffany’s-themed bridal shower in honor of classmate Shana Simpson. • Danaka Walker and Demetrice Williams were married 4/18/15. Alumni in attendance included Corey Weaver ’09, Caroline Denning, Alisha Richardson, Shana Simpson, Lyllian Wimberly and Shante Barnwell ’11. Danaka works in internal communications for IBM. She and Demetrice live in Cary, N.C. • Jacqueline Wright Corino welcomed daughter Stella Mae on 8/7/14. Jacqueline was recently promoted to senior sales representative in the cardiac rhythm disease management division of Medtronic, the world’s largest medical device

Leigh Lesniak ’09

Shana Simpson ’10 & friends

Sam Montgomery ’09 & friends

Megan Schneider Hobbs ’10, Bobby Hobbs ’10 & friends

Kelly Bednarski Krech ’11, Tony Krech & friends

Danaka Walker Williams ’10, Demetrice Williams & friends

Nneka Enurah ’11

Joanna French Mitchell ’11, Matt Mitchell ’11 & friends fall 2015 41

CLASS NOTES

TURN YOURSELF IN! Elon.edu/classnotes

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Ashley Jobe and Cody

Strahm were married 6/27/15 near Asheville, N.C. Alumni in attendance included Anna Johnson, Brittany Moore, Diane Simeon ’13 and Brittney Williams ’13. Ashley and Cody live in Durham. • Brooke Kassner and Andrew Matz were married 5/9/15. Alumni participating in the wedding party included David Matz ’08, Anna Cornacchio ’11, Lindsey Taylor ’11, Stefan Brod, Harrison Krieger, Cambridge Lestienne and Skylar Stump. Other alumni in attendance included Daniel Bell ’10, Alesandra Abramoski ’11, Scott Glickman ’11, Chris Markwood ’11, Kevin Montgomery ’11, Emily Banks, Katie Boringa, Brandon Gurney, Katie Jordan, Julia Nelson, Dylan Raila, Oliver Reed, Lauren Sessoms, Laura McCabe Stump, Steph Waldt, Kevin Woolley, Anthony Cipollaro ’13, Phil Feldman ’13 and

Nathan Fisher ’14. Brooke and Andrew live in Roanoke, Va.

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Katie Hadobas and Doug Arms were married 6/20/15. Katie works as a campus minister for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. They live in Greensboro, N.C.

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Natalie Brubaker and Ryan Goldsmith were married 8/14/15 in Lancaster, Pa. Natalie’s college roommate, Sarah Hoppe ’16, was the maid of honor. Natalie is a marketing generalist at Anne Arundel Medical Center. They live in Annapolis, Md. • Julie Dogan {Law’15} attended the U.S. State Department Advisory Committee meeting on Private International Law in Washington, D.C., Sept. 25 as an invited guest. During her visit, she ran into Elon Law Professor

Henry Gabriel, who has served as an appointed member of the committee since 2002. Prior to graduation, Julie served in a full-time placement at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, in The Hague, Netherlands. • Jenny Maresca {Law’15} was sworn in Sept. 30 as a Legal Aid of North Carolina attorney in Richmond County (N.C.) District Court. In her new role, Jenny will be assisting low-income clients who would otherwise not have access to legal representation. • Morgan Mayer and other members of Elon’s Kappa Zeta chapter of Sigma Kappa came from Washington, D.C., New Jersey and surrounding New York City areas for summer brunch in Manhattan. Alumnae at the reunion included Elizabeth Chang, Emily Drago, Chelsea Larsen, Alex Savino and Leanne Stone. ALUMNI ALBUM

Manisha Patel G’11

Katie Hadobas Arms ’14 & Doug Arms 42 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Brooke Kassner ’12, Andrew Matz ’12 & friends

Natalie Brubaker Goldsmith ’15 & Ryan Goldsmith

Ashley Jobe Strahm ’12 & Cody Strahm

Morgan Mayer ’15 & her Sigma Kappa sisters

CLASS NOTES

Crafting his own

SUCCESS

BY SARAH MULNICK ’17

Daniel Marin ’06 is not new to the spotlight. But his latest movie role has the potential to open new doors for the acting graduate.

arin is one of the lead actors in the Costa Rican film “Presos” (Prisoners), which is among the more than 81 titles that have been nominated for “Best Foreign Language Film” at the 88th Academy Awards this year. Voting for the Oscar nominations begins Dec. 30, and Marin will find out if “Presos” will continue in the process in January. “Competing for an Oscar is a long shot for any film,” he says. “But it’s amazing to be in the running for it.” Whatever the outcome, Marin will continue to forge his own path. Prior to his arrival at Elon, he was on his way to playing professional soccer in Brazil. After an injury, he decided to fully commit himself to acting and began taking acting workshops. “I’ve been interested in acting my entire life,” he says. “I was always the clown in the family; I always wanted to perform.” At Elon, he pursued different interests. A quote by James Dean inspired him to be as well-rounded a person as possible in order to be a better actor, and he still uses the lessons learned from classes in and outside

{ Daniel Marin ’06, left, during the premiere of “Presos” (Prisoners) in Costa Rica. }

of his program. “I wanted to learn something, not just how to perform in front of people,” Marin says. “If you’re just doing acting, that’s very limiting. To be a good actor, you have to live your life.” What he learned at Elon was the foundation of who he is as an actor. “I don’t think I’d be as good as I am if I hadn’t [gone to college]. Having gone to Elon was the beginning of who I am.” After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2006, Marin began his career with a recurring role on “The Bold and the Beautiful.” He found success in commercials, and is also the official voice in Spanish for a fast-food company. His film career was launched when he starred in the 2008 award winning film, “El Primo” (The Cousin). Despite his many accomplishments, Marin says he doesn’t think he would consider himself a “success.” “I think success in this industry is what you make of it,” Marin says. “Do I feel successful? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. But I think that’s part of the fun, and I know if I keep walking down this path, eventually I’ll be able to call myself ‘successful.’” Marin lives in New York City, where he will direct his first film in 2016 and hopes to focus on writing his own pieces.

IN MEMORIAM

Edith McDade Bowden ’43 P’70,

Ruth Williams Smith ’55,

Owen Nelson Shields ’66,

Frances Hayes Hook ’45,

Elizabeth “Liz” B. Overman ’57,

Wanda Edwards King ’68,

Marian Griffin Law ’47,

Brantley Marvin Ray, Sr. ’57,

Greensboro, N.C., 7/18/15. Elon, N.C., 7/5/15.

Pembroke, Va., 8/12/15.

James A. Lassiter ’49, Florence, S.C., 7/24/15.

Nina Wilson Patterson ’50, Burlington, N.C., 6/24/15.

Howard “Holt” Thornton ’50, Zebulon, N.C., 9/25/15.

Laverne Russell Compton ’51, Graham, N.C., 7/14/15.

Annie Kate Kernodle Hill ’53, Elon, N.C., 7/8/15.

David Glen Starr ’53, Columbia, S.C., 8/4/15.

Robert Thomas Cashion ’55, Cornelius, N.C., 10/13/14.

Burlington, N.C., 6/25/15.

Peterborough, N.H., 9/10/15. Winder, Ga., 7/15/15.

Harold Gene Hayes ’58, Burlington, N.C., 9/19/15.

The Rev. Joseph Simone ’58, North Andover, Mass., 8/4/15.

James Mack Tillman, Sr. ’58, Greensboro, N.C., 8/12/15.

Harold Murphy Smith ’59, Elon, N.C., 8/4/15.

Michael “Mickey” Edmond Little ’63, Frackville, Pa., 4/1/15.

John Paul Whited, Sr. ’63, Mebane, N.C., 7/24/15.

Donald L. Amos ’64, Graham, N.C., 3/4/15.

William “Rex” Harrison, Jr. ’66,

Dry Fork, Va., 5/10/14. Raleigh, N.C., 9/9/15.

Robert John Monacelli ’69, Portsmouth, Va., 8/22/15.

Robert Ray Voyles ’72,

Thomasville, N.C., 9/26/15.

Larry Clifton Colson ’81, Mount Olive, N.C., 7/26/15.

Alyssa Marie Lovell ’83,

Colonial Heights, Va., 7/28/15.

Todd David Fogleman ’87, Mebane, N.C., 6/5/15.

Eric Robert Rider ’89, Roanoke, Va., 7/17/15.

Brenda Bovara Allen G’94, Southern Pines, N.C., 8/12/15.

Beth Ponstein Hurley ’03, Aberdeen, N.C., 12/6/12.

FRIENDS Robert G. Blake, an English professor who held

the William S. Long professorship at Elon for 40 years, died on July 24. He was an active scholar before retiring in 2008, and served as chair of Elon’s English department and a member of the curriculum committee from 1968 to 1977. Russell Cruse Lewis GP’12, an accomplished businessman and Burlington, N.C., resident since 1967, died on July 27. He received the Citizen’s Service Award from Elon in 2000 and established the Cruise Lewis/Master Pool Endowment for the Love School of Business. He also gave several annual partial scholarships to deserving business school students. Donald “Don” E. Scott P’10, a nationally renowned trial lawyer, died on July 18. He and his former wife, Ellen, helped to fund Scott Studios, the university’s performing arts facility that opened in September 2014.

Frisco, Texas, 7/13/15.

fall 2015 43

UNDER THE OAKS HONOR ROLL

▶ from the OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

HONOR ROLL of Donors

ne of the things that warms my heart is watching the Elon community come together to achieve ambitious goals, the kind that help advance Elon as an unparalleled environment for learning that prepares the courageous, ethical leaders the world urgently needs. As I introduce our 2014-2015 Elon Society Honor Roll of Donors, I ask you to join me in paying tribute to many members of our community who helped make last year’s ambitious { Leo M. Lambert } goals a reality and whose generosity demonstrated the ever-increasing role of philanthropy at Elon. Donors contributed more than $21 million in gifts to the university during 2014-2015, setting a new high for philanthropy in a single year. Our community—alumni, parents, students, friends, and faculty and staff—elevated their commitment to supporting key institutional priorities, including scholarships and student aid, capital projects, undergraduate research, internships, faculty initiatives, Phoenix athletics, and more. While the dollars donated reached new levels, so too did the number of those who participated. Graduating seniors, grateful to the donors who supported their Elon education, set an all-time marker for giving, with 53 percent of the Class of 2015 making a gift before they graduated. Faculty and staff giving reached a new high of 72 percent participation. Twentyeight percent of parents of currently enrolled students made a gift last year, up slightly from the year prior. Alumni giving has jumped from 16 percent to 22 percent in the past five years, bucking the national trend. While pleased with our progress, I firmly believe that 22 percent does not reflect the deep love that alumni have for their university. Together, we will continue to move the needle on this important measure of institutional support, both because alumni support makes a meaningful difference in the life of today’s university and because it signals the enduring value alumni place on their Elon education. In one of our campus highlights last year, a record number of donors responded to our call for support during #ElonDay in March. Thanks to inspiring matching gifts by Chris ’78 and Nicolette Martin P’13, Doug and Kerrii ’79 Anderson, and Rob and Cindy Citrone P’17, Elon received more than 2,800 gifts totaling $750,000 in one day. The spirit of the day was one of undeniable excitement for Elon’s future, and—thanks to social media— could be felt across campus, throughout our 36 alumni chapters and clubs, and all over the world as the Elon family joined together for a “global College Coffee.” The special $15 million campaign to expand Elon’s top-tier School of Communications was completed six months ahead of schedule thanks

44 the MAGAZINE of ELON

2014 2015

to generous gifts from 43 Elon families. We began construction in June 2015, and by next fall the School of Communications will have moved into its new home of nearly three times the size of its current footprint. The expanded facilities will provide modern spaces designed specifically to support student-faculty collaboration and to promote the kind of innovation, creativity, and bold ideas that will change the way we see the world. One of our community’s most important long-term objectives is to continue growing the endowment to keep Elon affordable and accessible. Our endowment has climbed to $215 million, more than doubling since 2010, but there is more work to be done. Each time a donor chooses to establish an endowed scholarship, Elon’s ability to shape the incoming class is greatly strengthened. As we advance our national and international position, we must deepen our pool of endowed aid to attract topperforming students to our Fellows programs, students who raise the bar for excellence across the entire campus. Another priority is to continue to strengthen support for students with significant financial need who demonstrate tremendous talent and promise and want nothing more than to join the Elon community. Equally important are scholarships for middle-class families, where the key difference in a student accepting Elon’s offer of admission may be a $5,000 annual grant. While we celebrate a historic year in philanthropy, we must always remember that the real power of philanthropy is in how it changes lives. Consider the journey of Stacey Crutchfield ’14, a first-generation college student from Alamance County. Stacey was introduced to Elon as a high school sophomore enrolled in the Elon Academy. Brimming with potential, Stacey courageously accepted the challenges of the program as her teachers and mentors at the Academy developed within her a “college-is-possible” spirit. She enrolled as an Honorable Thad Eure Scholar in Elon’s Odyssey program, excelled in her studies while becoming a campus leader, and eventually landed a spot in the university’s coveted executive intern program. After graduation, Stacey moved to Boston to work with City Year, helping to improve educational outcomes for the underprivileged. Last month, she relocated to New York City, ready to tackle new professional challenges as she charts a new course for herself and her family. Stacey is where she is today because of inspired philanthropy, and she, too, is now a proud donor to Elon. Just as they are for Stacey and all our graduates, ambitious goals will continue to be a way of life at Elon. I am grateful for this loyal and generous support of the remarkable Elon community that allows us to reach those goals. Leo M. Lambert President

HONOR HONOR ROLLROLL

Elon Society founder’s circle $50,000+

Kerrii B. Anderson ’79‡ & Douglas T. Anderson◆ Anonymous Anonymous Anonymous Dr. James H. & Jane M. Baird BB&T Corporation◆ Michael S. & Margaret Bruno The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation Julius H. Caplan Charity Foundation Robert K. & Cynthia Citrone◆ Robert A. Clohan III ’67‡ Louis DeJoy & Dr. Aldona Z. Wos Edward W. & Joan K. Doherty Wes & Cathy Elingburg◆ Estate of M. William Grant Estate of Elmon T. Gray Estate of Theresa S. Greene James A. Hendrickson ’71‡ & Amy T. Hendrickson ’69‡ ◆ Estate of Jessie T. Hook ’46 Ernest C. Hunt, Jr. Sam & Vicky Hunt◆ William J. & Patricia Inman William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust Maurice J. & Ann Koury◆ LabCorp Gail & Beau Lane Estate of Isabella Leister Estate of Margaret A. Leister ’67 Ikey Tarleton Little ’59‡ Robert E. Long, Jr. & Kathryn Long Estate of C. Vincent Long, Jr. ’47 Martha & Spencer Love Foundation Thomas P. & Sarah Mac Mahon Estate of E. Boyce Maness ’63 The Hon. Bonnie McElveen-Hunter & Bynum M. Hunter Michael McGee & Olga Castellanos Sanjeev K. & Karen P. Mehra Edmond N. Moriarty III & Jill Moriarty◆ Tracey Nugent ’84‡ & James R. Nugent, Jr. Estate of Margaret Mebane Parker ’54 The Riversville Foundation Dr. William S. & Amy H. Roberts *deceased

‡ the

1889 society

Jerry & Jeanne Robertson◆ James K. & Beth H. Sankey◆ Bruce M. Satalof & Marie O’Donnell Dwight C. & Martha M. Schar◆ Estate of J. Dale Shepherd ’59 James C. Showalter, Jr. & Jane V. Showalter Estate of Sylvia E. Sims ’59 Roger L. Sims ’70‡ & Celia T. Sims◆ Lori & Eric Sklut/ The Levine-Sklut Family Foundation Robert H. & Lauren J. Steers Student Government Association Brian & Lisa Thebault Garrett A. Turner ’08‡ J. Parker Turner IV ’06‡ James P. Turner III & Toni L. Turner Estate of Sherley M. White Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, Inc.

chairman’s circle $25,000–$49,999

Howard F. Arner ’63‡ & Beverly F. Arner ’66‡ ◆ John R. & Lynne M. Bolton Reid T. & Suzanne C. Campbell◆ Jin S. & Abigail Chung Robert J. Crimmins, Jr. & Doreen Crimmins Michael S. & Mary Ellen B. Cross◆ Ralph & Mary Margaret Darling David V. & Beth D. Drubner◆ Jeffrey P. Dufficy, Sr. & Pam Dufficy John & Robin Fox◆ Charles A. Frueauff Foundation, Inc. Ken Gill◆ Myles D. & Kimberly A. Gillespie Herbert & Anne Gullquist Dr. Scott D. & Melissa M. Gullquist Edgar B. Hamilton, Jr. & Susan M. Hamilton Eric & Joellyn Helman John R. & Christine Humphrey Robert & Dilek Koenigsberger Dr. W. Bryan & Janet M. Latham◆ Robert G. & Jacqueline E. Leonard Mark & Marianne Mahaffey◆ Mark & Janelle Mariani◆ William B. & Catherine A. O’Keefe ◆ phoenix club

Victoria Mars & David Spina Warner P. Mason, Sr. & Cary S. Mason The Rev. Joyce B. Myers-Brown ’59‡ C. Ashton Newhall ’98‡ & Rebecca Newhall◆ Igor V. Pavlov ’94‡ & Mia D. Pavlov David C. & Jennifer M. Porter Estate of Peter Dewitt Pruden, Jr. ’38 John B. & Kristin Replogle Dr. Tricia Ryan & Jack Ryan, Jr.◆ Estate of Maple M. Sanders Richard H. Shirley, Jr.◆ Bill & Sue Smith Marshall F. & Carlota Taylor Demus L. Thompson ’64‡ & Carolyn Thompson◆ Cordelia Thompson Mikal & Lynn Thomsen Brad A. & Susan Trimble Twin Lakes Community Rear Adm. Edward K. Walker, Jr.◆ Katherine S. & H. Michael Weaver

president’s circle $10,000–$24,999

Mark & Elizabeth Allsteadt Anonymous Joshua & Jill Baker R. H. Barringer Distributing Co./ Mark Craig◆ Raymond L. Beck ’75‡ & Dr. Deborah D. Hatton Beck◆ Cary Bernstein & Alan Kronovet David K. & Margaret G. Blakelock Donald K. Blalock ’60‡ & Glenda F. Blalock ’61‡ ◆ James A. & Sandra K. Bollenbacher Brad W. & Michelle M. Brinegar Samuel L. Burke, Sr. ’89‡ & Kelly D. Burke◆ David W. Byron III & Elizabeth T. Byron Dr. Robert M. & Lydia C. Califf Thomas E. & Lynn B. Chandler◆ Richard N. & Ellen Chassin John P. & Deborah K. Clark Charles R. Clohan ’98‡ & Brittany K. Clohan

James L. Correll, Jr. ’72‡ & Lizabeth Z. Correll◆ Soraya H. Cricenti ’95‡ & William A. Collins Daniel & Lisa Diehl◆ Brian C. & Debra A. Domeck Malcolm & Deborah V. Donley James A. Drummond ’50‡ & Joan S. Drummond ’52‡ ◆ Jeffrey R. Eisenstadt◆ Mary Vaden Eisenstadt◆ Kimberly S. Emerson ’08‡ & Martin J. Emerson ’08‡ Laurence S. & Michelle Forte H. Andrew Fox & Stacy K. Fox◆ Jameson S. & Priscilla S. French◆ John & Shirley Gaither William & Denise Garrigan◆ Steven M. Glazer Annie Bennett Glenn Fund Jeffrey C. & Victoria A. Hadden Shelly S. Hazel ’78‡ & Jack Hazel◆ Dr. Jennifer E. & Russell H. Herndon John R. Hill ’76‡ & Lesley W. Hill Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) Christopher C. & Alice B. Holbrook Dr. Steven House & Dr. Patricia House Lisa Huntting Robert E. Hutchinson, Jr. & Catherine Hutchinson The Hon. Jeanette W. Hyde Susan Shepherd Ittner Thomas A. & Donna C. Jarecki Richard S. Johnson ’87‡ & Laurie L. Johnson◆ Peter C. & Pamela Kelly Geoffrey R. & Sidney A. Kenyon John C. & Eleanor H. Ketcham Walter C. & Linda J. King Christopher T. Kraus & Darcy A. Stacom Dr. Leo M. & Laurie F. Lambert◆ A. Michelle LaRose & Nathan Sowden Marc B. & Joy H. Lautenbach Kimberly C. Leith ’88‡ & Christopher Leith◆ The Leon Levine Foundation/ Sandra & Leon Levine Richard S. & Janet B. Livingston Carol Marrion fall 2015 45

HONOR ROLL Christopher P. Martin ’78‡ & Nicolette Martin The Rev. Dr. Robert Martin & Carol Thrane James W. & Jo Anne A. Maynard John A. McCrary III & Dr. Ellen G. Piwoz James C. McGill, Sr. & Gail S. McGill◆ Dr. Kristen Moffitt & P. Scott Moffitt◆ Dr. Wayne T. Moore ’49‡ James Mullery, Jr. & Cheryl Mullery Richard W. & Helen S. Parker Dr. Paul & Mary Helen Parsons◆ Robert Pash & Susan LaMonica◆ Donald S. Pennington ’54‡ & Helen H. Pennington ’52‡ Edward T. Perkins* & Nan P. Perkins◆ Brian W. Pike & Sharon R. Graves Robert N. & Laurel L. Pokelwaldt David M. Powell ’86‡ & Pilar Powell Dr. James B. & Anne E. Powell Dr. Thomas E. Powell III Premier Sport and Event Society David H. & Marjorie Priebe Bruce B. & Kristin S. Proctor G. Alan & Susan Rafte Geoffrey S. Rehnert, Sr. & Laura A. Rehnert Louis M. Riccio, Jr. ’85‡ & Penny T. Riccio ’85‡ Kathryn F. Richardson ’91‡ & Mark S. Richardson◆ Patrick Rudd Milton T. Schaeffer, Jr. & Anne C. Schaeffer Steve J. & Tara L. Schneider◆ Donald E. Scott* Ellen Scott Jay B. & Daphne H. Shipowitz Richard E. Shore, Jr. & Sally H. Shore Estate of J. Lowry Sinclair III ’65 Andrew & Jane Smith◆ David B. Snow, Jr. & Lynette Snow Edward & Laurel D. Stack◆ Hattie M. Strong Foundation Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation David & Jane Y. Tabor Richard D. & Donna G. Tadler Nancy M. Taylor Kevin A. Tedeschi R. Christopher & Frances J. Teter James M. & Laurie A. Theiss 46 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Dr. Robert D. & Karen H. Thomas Larry & Theresa Tinker William T. & Susan V. Tucker United Way of Alamance County◆ H. Michael Vinson, Jr. ’07‡ & Kyle Dore Pamela B. Vinson Roger A. Waesche, Jr. & Alexandra Waesche Zachary T. Walker III ’60‡ & Dorothy Walker◆ John & Sally Walters Winston & Brooke Weinmann Wells Fargo◆ Russell & Rosella Wilson◆ Spencer W. Woolfolk ’17◆ William J. & Kristen F. Woolfolk◆ Ernest K. & Katharine J. Yenke Alan J. Young David & Kelly Young Dr. Fred & Phyllis J. Young

provost’s circle $5,000–$9,999

Thomas & Melanie K. Aebischer Steven C. & Dayna M. Anderson◆ Anonymous◆ Andrew J. Armstrong, Jr. & Brenda Armstrong Heather K. Athey ’02‡ & Clifford Athey Jeffrey W. Bacciocco & Karena Zakhour-Bacciocco Geoffrey A. & Leslie E. Ballotti◆ Gregory G. & Shelley J. Bausch Even Berntsen & Krysten Ericson John W. Blanchard ’50‡ Eric H. & Joyce A. Bloom David M. & Amy T. Blumberg Billie Faye J. Bolden ’56‡ & Donald E. Bolden◆ Bruce Brown & Susan D. Benfield-Brown Joel E. Brown ’75‡ & Beverly W. Brown Michael L. & Deborah S. Bunder Burlington/Alamance County Convention & Visitors Bureau◆ Andrew M. & Deborah D. Cable Jay & Patricia Caler◆ Gregg K. & Jennifer C. Carpenter John D. & Patricia Chadwick Wallace L. Chandler ’49‡ ◆

Dr. Paul H. & Ruth L. Cheek Chip & Meg Clark Matthew & Mary Ellen Clark◆ Adminta E. Coeyman Stephen M. & Carol F. Cohen John R. Congdon, Jr. & Leslie Congdon Charles E. Cooper, Jr. ’01‡ & Casondra Cooper Dr. Donald V. Covington ’75‡ & Ellen R. Covington ’73‡ ◆ William S. & Frances Creekmuir Alan H. & Connie D. Crouch◆ Julia M. Cullen Foundation Dr. Lawrence D’Angelo & Dr. Dolores D’Angelo Gregory & Beverly Deavens Keith N. & Christine L. DiGrazio◆ M. Kevin & Margaret I. Dugan◆ Gregory L. Ebel Stephen & Deborah C. Ellick Steven L. Ellington ’80‡ & Cynthia A. Ellington Cameron Elliott Robert T. & Michele L. Fitzsimmons Peter B. & Kimberly B. Fox Louis F. Foy III ’96‡ & Emilie Foy◆ Michael G. & Deborah M. Franklin John Fukunaga & Cheryl Shojinaga◆ Robert J. Gallagher, Jr. & Jena Gallagher◆ Roger Gant III & Susan Gant◆ Thomas & Lori Gilder Kelly K. Graves, Jr. & Meredith R. Graves◆ Ellen M. Gregg & Michael W. Lebo J. Thad Gulliford ’94‡ & Kristina K. Gulliford◆ Jeffrey & Judy Harris Harold W. Hawkey, Jr. & Jackie M. Hawkey Dr. Richard W. Hawkins & Trena Griffith-Hawkins Dr. Robert B. Heaton, Jr. & Lisa R. Heaton James D. Henderson, Jr. & Cynthia J. Henderson◆ Dr. William N. P. Herbert ’68‡ & Marsha Herbert Scott & Christy Hill Harold W. Hill, Jr. ’83‡ & Michelle F. Hill ’83‡ ◆ Peter A. & Susan S. Hinrichs M. Rex & Vae Hudgins Robert E. & Kathy Hykes◆ Interfaith Youth Core

Dr. G. Smith & René Jackson Timothy W. & Kathleen A. Jay◆ Maurice Jennings, Jr. ’87‡ & Dina B. Jennings ’87‡ ◆ Jay & Karen Johnson◆ Richard & Kristen Z. Kane Randall Kaplan & Kathy Manning Peter M. & Christine I. Keaveney Neil E. & Carol A. Kelley Christopher L. & Pamela Kelley John D. & Gloria Kilmartin Robert V. & Helen S. Kirchen Gary D. & Roberta E. Kleiman William E. & Pamela C. Koffel◆ Eric A. & Christine M. Kraus Mark & Laura Kundla Steven & Francine S. Kyriakos David A. & Susan R. Landahl Gail H. LaRose ’64‡ Learning by Giving Foundation, Inc. Robert D. & Margaret LeBlanc◆ David A. Levy & Judith Butler Agnes Lilly Christopher & Katherine Linneman Mark D. & Rebecca A. Linsz Kurt A. & Anne S. Locher Robert S. & Sara B. Long◆ Frank R. Lyon ’71‡ & Natalie Lyon Dr. Vincent A. & Joanne Margherita James D. McCauley ’59‡ & Donna G. McCauley ’96‡ ◆ James G. McClure, Jr. ’68* & Michaelyn P. McClure John J. & Mary T. McCombe John & Emily R. McDonald◆ A. W. McGee ’66‡ & Sandra McGee◆ Dalton L. McMichael, Jr. & Susan McMichael Michael Merchant & Kim E. Covey◆ Joseph & Tracy Merrill William S. Miller III & Georgina R. Miller Skip Moore ’77‡ & Victoria Moore◆ Don L. Morrison ’68‡ & Barbara I. Morrison ’68‡ ◆ Ocie F. Murray, Jr. ’64‡ & Deborah Murray◆ Bill L. Nall ’51‡ ◆ Robert C. & Merideth M. Newman Timothy J. & Maureen K. O’Connor G. Daniel O’Donnell John & Nancy Oglesby William A. Oglesby ’17 Dr. Patrick M. O’Malley ’96‡ & Kelly M. O’Malley

HONOR HONOR ROLLROLL David J. Onorato & Mary C. McGovern David P. & Sara K. Osborn Warren K. & Jane F. Overman Carol A. Park Caroline M. Plyler ’12‡ David B. & Johannah B. Plyler Dr. Jeffrey C. Pugh & Dr. Janice M. Rivero T. Scott Quakenbush ’53‡ & Jenny Quakenbush◆ T. Kevin Queen & Anne H. Pipkin Elias S. & Susan Rauch Fairfax C. & Ann F. Reynolds◆ Donald & Jenifer Reynolds Wesley B. Reynolds, Sr. ’59‡ & Betty F. Reynolds ’58‡ ◆ David K. Rich ’87‡ & Sue H. Rich ’85‡ ◆ James E. Robertson ’50‡ & Gloria A. Robertson Lawrence J. & Anne Rubenstein Charitable Foundation William G. Rudd, Jr. ’50‡ Howard M. & Julie W. Sakin SAS Institute, Inc. The Select Group LLC Kirk A. & Tamara O. Shaw◆ Anthony & Diane Sirabella Dr. Paul Slota & Dr. Geralyn Slota◆ William G. & Kathy Smart James B. & Michele Smith James H. Smith, Jr. & Christine G. Smith Richard C. Sneed, Jr. ’60‡ & Eva B. Sneed◆ Evan & Heather A. Solender Howard & Cynthia Steinberg William M. Stewart, Jr. ’40‡ ◆ Dr. Raghuram Tadepalli & Rekha Tadepalli Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, Inc. Ray H. Taylor III & Shawn Taylor Doris G. Teter Robb & Mia K. Thomson◆ John F. & Margaret Z. Treseler John A. Tricoli III & Joy T. Tricoli Dolores H. Truitt ’53‡ ◆ Arthur T. Ward III & Elizabeth Ward Arthur T. Ward IV ’05‡ Charles E. Ward ’14‡ Christopher V. Ward ’08‡ Cynthia F. Ward◆ Dorothy M. Ward *deceased

‡ the

1889 society

Nancy J. Watson ’66‡ William & Christine Westendorf C. Grayson Whitt ’79‡ & Connie R. Whitt◆ Norbert M. & Suzanne Williamson Martin R. & Annie Wise Alan D. Woodlief, Jr. & Wendy B. Woodlief Ralph & Susan Yarwood Youths’ Friends Association Donald F. Zimmer, Jr. & Susan Zimmer◆

leadership circle $2,500–$4,999

Wayne E. & Stephanie A. Ackerman Alamance Foundation Paul H. Amundsen ’69‡ & Jean Amundsen◆ Daniel J. & Janna Quitney Anderson◆ Dr. Paul V. & Margie Anderson Peter R. & Shawn E. Anderson◆ Ben & Caroline Ansbacher Mark R. & Debbie B. Antonelli◆ Tom L. & Karen Armstrong Dwight I. & Bonnie E. Arnesen Robert P. & Kalliope D. Badavas A. Christine Baker G’88‡ ◆ Rick Barnes ’87‡ & Lummy Barnes◆ Dr. Brooke Barnett & Dr. Thomas Mould The Hon. Charles F. & Lisa Bass Walter H. Bass III ’62‡ & Barbara D. Bass ’61‡ ◆ David J. & Deirdre E. Beck William & Pamela E. Bell◆ Luke Bierman Paul Bijou & Donnalee A. DeMaio-Bijou David W. & Lizanne Thomas Greg & Kathryn Blanchard David L. & Leslie A. Blank◆ Barry A. Bradberry ’75‡ & Martha F. Bradberry◆ Brian K. Branson ’87‡ & Sally L. Branson◆ Larry J. Brooks ’66‡ & Bonnie D. Brooks ’66‡ ◆ Dr. Geoffrey H. Browne ’86‡ & Marsha R. Browne John T. & Nan Bryan William E. Burke, Jr. & Lillian Burke Burlington Industries Foundation

◆ phoenix club

Christopher P. Cady ’05‡ Philip B. Cady, Jr. & Candace P. Cady Joseph P. & Carolyn J. Campanelli Camp-Younts Foundation Capital Bank Charitable Foundation◆ Eric J. & Kerian L. Carlstrom Robert B. & Amy Chandler◆ John A. Chavis ’89‡ & Toni T. Chavis◆ Mike Chisholm◆ Lawrence S. & Anne M. Clark William S. Coffman ’86 G’88‡ & Emily Coffman David A. & Robyn Cole Thomas G. Conally ’67‡ & Faye D. Conally ’61‡ ◆ Jeffrey D. & Julie A. Cristal James B. Crouch, Jr. & Janie R. Crouch◆ Michael F. & Margaret Croxson Darlene M. Daggett Dr. J. Earl Danieley ’46‡ ◆ Robert A. de la Fé ’81‡ ◆ Stephen J. & Deborah T. DeAngelis Zachary T. DeBusk ’04‡ ◆ John Lilley & Patricia Degen-Lilley William & Patricia DePuy James K. Dorsett III & Wynn G. Dorsett John E. & Pamela Doubek◆ James M. & Robin Driskill◆ Owen H. Dugan, Jr. & Elizabeth M. Dugan Catherine R. & Jeff Dunham Peter R. & Jennifer D. Dunne Dr. James P. Elder, Jr. ’60‡ Jeffrey & Saralyn Elkin Dr. Eric H. Elowitz & Dr. Barbara L. Elowitz Richard C. & Rebecca G. Flower Dr. Gerald L. & Laine Francis◆ Barry S. Frank & Eugenia H. Leggett-Frank Terry G. & Marilyn M. Friddle Khalil M. & Carrie L. Ganim◆ Michael T. & Susan A. Gannaway Peter J. & Toby I. Ganz Marvin D. & Marilyn R. Genzer Thomas & Catherine Giegerich Bruce & Kristine Ginsberg Elizabeth M. Goldstein ’82‡ & Douglas R. Goldstein James S. & Stephanie M. Grant Thomas J. Grathwohl & Dorothy Jordan

Jonathan G. & Nina P. Graves Theodore A. Grell, Jr. & Debra J. Grell Laura A. Guzewicz ’06 D. Keith Hall ’72‡ Peggy L. Hall ’77* ◆ Sherrill G. Hall ’55‡ & Martha Hall ’56‡ ◆ Marc D. & Elizabeth C. Hallberg◆ Dr. Nancy E. Harris & Dr. Joseph K. Harris Dr. Ted S. Henson◆ Alan & Sandy S. Horowitz Keith E. & Denise J. Hudson Bernard Hvozdovic, Jr. & Susan Hvozdovic◆ W. Daryl Ingold ’76‡ & Kimberly L. Ingold ’83‡ ◆ Kasimier & DonnaMarie Jarosz Dr. John J. & Patricia Jasper Charles & Claudia Jepsen Mark S. Jetton, Jr. ’06 L’09‡ ◆ Barbara A. Johnson◆ Dr. David S. & Becky H. Johnson◆ George R. Johnson, Jr. & Dr. Linda Morris James F. Johnson, Sr. & Alliene H. Johnson◆ Dr. Randy Kansky & Dr. Beverly Kansky George J. Kilroy ’73‡ & Peggy Kilroy◆ Mary Ann Barnes Kimball ’67‡ & R. David Kimball John W. Kincaid, Jr. ’78‡ & Barbara S. Kincaid◆ Mark R. & Janet M. Kindy Barry S. & Wendy J. Kitley◆ Ernest A. Koury, Sr. & Marie C. Koury◆ Ernest A. Koury, Jr. & Tami T. Koury◆ Dr. David C. & Jeanette J. Kowalski William E. LaCoste, Sr. ’62‡ & Patricia R. LaCoste◆ Michael & Amy Lamb George & Heidi Laub Peter A. Lembo, Jr. & Jenifer Lembo◆ Jack R. Lindley, Sr. ’56‡ & Dorothy C. Lindley◆ J. Neil Lindley ’93‡ & Amy Lindley◆ William H. Mann, Jr. ’67‡ & Earline D. Mann◆ Anthony G. & Kristin V. Marken Bridge D. & Ann P. McDowell fall 2015 47

HONOR ROLL R. Tyrone McDuffie ’66‡ & Carolyn W. McDuffie ’64‡ ◆ David L. & Denise L. McKissock Joseph J. McLaughlin, Jr. & Ellen B. McLaughlin DeWitt T. Methvin IV ’10‡ & Caitlin S. Methvin ’09‡ Dr. Nancy S. Midgette◆ Robert & Janice M. Mintz◆ Robert D. & Stacy Mitgang David R. Moore ’72‡ & Cathy W. Moore◆ David N. & Elizabeth L. Morrison Arthur E. Morrissette IV Bryan W. Moylan, Jr. & Elizabeth P. Moylan Dr. Whitney P. Mullen* George T. Nall ’56‡ & Jerolene K. Nall ’60‡ ◆ Michael R. Neal◆ Brian O’Shea ’04‡ Arthur & Nadine Oudmayer Phi Kappa Phi Literacy Foundation James B. Piatt, Jr. & Amy E. Piatt◆ Dr. Luis & Diane Pineda Dr. Richard C. Pipan & Dr. Barbara A. Israel Dr. Gerald Plovsky & Dr. Deborah Schoenhoff Andrew S. Pou ’09‡ Paul & Carmen Powell◆ B. Clyde Preslar ’76‡ & Carol R. Preslar The Presser Foundation Kelly O. Provenzano ’92‡ & Steven J. Provenzano Zachary E. Pund ’05‡ & Britten L. Pund ’06‡ ◆ Robert S. & Joy G. Rangel John N. & Rebecca B. Richardson Ramona Rishi George M. Riter, Sr. & Nicole M. Riter Thomas D. & Rose Marie H. Robson

Dr. Elizabeth A. Rogers The Hon. Steven M. Ross ’73‡ & Tammy Ross◆ John S. & Kelley D. Russell John J. Ryan III & Virginia L. Ryan Norman & Sylvia Samet Patricia Sanderson Paul J. Sansone, Sr. & Enilda D. Sansone Bennett B. & Adelaide R. Sapp◆ John H. Sellers ’66‡ & Faye T. Sellers◆ Estate of Lillian M. Sharpe ’64 Thaddeus R. Shelly III & Helen T. Shelly Norman H. & Marjorie Shindler Kelly Shirley◆ Peter & Jane A. Skinner Dr. Kerry & Cynthia A. Solomon◆ The Hon. James C. Spencer, Jr. & Jane Spencer Dr. David & Stephanie Srour Katherine G. Stern David A. Stevens ’81‡ & Beth G. Stevens Paul & Jane Stewart Dr. William F. Stiles ’67‡ & Merlene H. Stiles Clay & Terri Stober M. Kent Strosnider ’91‡ & Laura Strosnider◆ Christopher & Peggy Sullivan Lydia Tart◆ Mark B. & Nancy E. Taylor◆ R. Alston Team III ’07‡ & Courtney R. Team ’07‡ Dr. Richard L. Thompson ’64‡ & Dr. Peggy H. Thompson◆ Arthur Tildesley, Jr. & Susan Tildesley W. Campbell Tims ’00‡ Dr. Jerry R. Tolley & Joanie M. Tolley◆ Dr. Michael J. Touloupas & Dr. Cynthia K. Touloupas◆

Samuel P. Troy ’67‡ Steve Van Pelt Dr. William L. & Jill M. Vantine Dr. Thomas S. Vates III & Molly J. Vates Mark W. & Karyn L. Wagner Dr. Joel W. Walker ’60‡ & Phyllis F. Walker◆ Stephen W. & Joann M. Webster◆ James W. White ’40‡ Stephen K. & Nancy Whitfield◆ Gerald O. & Roberta Whittington◆ Thomas E. Williams, Jr. & Bonnie I. Williams The Rev. David & Sarah Williams Jonathan D. & Christine S. Williams The Rev. Edward C. Wilson ’60‡ & Nancy H. Wilson ’60‡ Jon R. Yenor & Caroline L. Brecker Richard H. Young ’86‡ & Paula Young Dr. Deborah A. Yow-Bowden ’74‡ & Dr. William W. Yow-Bowden◆ Rene Zakhour William I. & Deborah Zanker Paul & Jeanne Zaykowski

elon society $1,500–$2,499

Lisa A. Afshar ’87‡ & Dr. John K. Afshar Alamance Regional Medical Center◆ Reginald R. Allen ’67‡ & Lorraine M. Allen ’79‡ ◆ Clifford & Lee Allen Brian N. Allen ’92, G’08‡ & Suzanne Allen ’94‡ Edward J. & Deborah D. Amorosso William T. & Jill K. Anderson◆ Dewey V. Andrew ’63‡ & Susan M. Andrew◆ Christopher R. Anstatt ’96‡ ◆

The 1889 Society: Elon’s Most Loyal Alumni The 1889 Society recognizes the university’s most loyal alumni. Named for the year the university was founded, The 1889 Society celebrates alumni who proudly support their alma mater every year with gifts of all sizes and designations. More than 6,000 alumni made gifts to Elon in 2014-2015, too many to include in this issue of The Magazine of Elon. For a complete list of 1889 Society alumni donors, visit elon.edu/honorroll.

48 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Tait P. Arend ’96, G’00‡ & Elsa M. Arend◆ Christopher D. & Kathy Armstrong◆ Edwin B. Armstrong Paul E. & Suzanne M. Avery Lindsey Baker ’04‡ & Matthew L. Baker◆ R. Brian & Kathryn M. Baker◆ Joseph M. Barkley, Sr. & Denyse H. Barkley John H. Barnhill ’92‡ & Amy Barnhill Scott S. & Deborah S. Barnum James A. Barnwell, Jr. & Diane G. Barnwell◆ Stephanie S. Basirico ’89‡ & Dr. Laurence A. Basirico Joseph A. & Emma S. Battle Tim & Lisa Bauguess◆ Ted M. Beal, Jr. ’91‡ & Jana E. Beal ’91‡ ◆ Christopher J. Bell ’92‡ & Mason H. Bell Anne R. Bell ’72‡ & Ron Bell◆ Dr. Rhonda A. Belton ’87, G’92‡ ◆ Lindsey G. Benfield ’15‡ J. Davis Benfield ’14‡ Jeffrey D. Bennett ’98‡ & Wendy A. Bennett◆ Christina C. & Michael Benson Clement M. Best III ’94‡ & Angela Best◆ Munroe Best, Jr. & Ellen Best◆ Mary Hope Best-Crocker ’92‡ & Blain Crocker◆ William A. Black, Jr. & Dawnmarie E. Black Dr. Constance Ledoux Book & Dr. R. Dwayne Book Major H. & Mary S. Bowes The Hon. J. Fred. Bowman ’51‡ Mitchell L. & Carolyn K. Breen Dr. Michael J. Brennan & Dr. Marjorie P. Brennan Frederick W. Bright ’67‡ & Sandra S. Bright◆ Thomas M. & Susan Brinkley Gilbert C. Brittle, Jr. ’55‡ & Dale Brittle Dr. Andrea F. & Jennifer J. Broggini Dr. Chalmers S. Brumbaugh III & Pamela P. Brumbaugh J. Stephen & Sue Buckley◆ Dr. Scott H. & Sara Buechler◆ Dr. George M. Bullard, Jr. ’75‡ Loura M. Burnette◆ Dr. William J. Burpitt, Jr. & Martha E. Burpitt Jeanne M. Busse ’49‡

HONOR HONOR ROLLROLL Dr. Arthur D. Cassill◆ Joshua A. Chappell ’99‡ & Kelly R. Chappell◆ Dr. Jim Clark◆ Jeffrey D. & Diane Clark◆ Richard & Mary O. Clement Larry D. Coats, Jr. & Suzanne B. Coats Dr. David A. Copeland Country Inn & Suites Hotel◆ Douglas H. Cox ’78‡ Estate of Charles G. Crews, Jr. ’55 Mark & Marie Crissman Marvin L. Crowder, Jr. ’62‡ & Betty T. Crowder◆ Dell & Sonya Curry◆ Timothy M. Czyzak ’02‡ Thomas G. & Lee A. Dagger Donald R. & Lucy M. Dancer James W. Daniel ’69‡ & Resa Daniel ’70‡ ◆ Nader Dareshori Dr. Jayoti Das & John F. Clark R. Scott Davis ’93‡ & Amy Davis ’95‡ ◆ F. Leary Davis, Jr. & Joy B. Davis◆ Joseph N. Davis ’93‡ & Rebekah Davis ’95‡ O’Neill & Irene D’Cruz Dirk De Roo◆ Carolyn K. DeFrancesco & Dr. Martin A. DeFrancesco◆ Dominick D. Desarro ’58‡ & Doris H. Desarro◆ Roxann Dillon◆ Douglas M. & Maureen Dimitri Christopher G. Dockrill ’86‡ & Theresa A. Dockrill ’87‡ ◆ Peter J. & Claudia G. Dolphin Douglas J. Dooley Dr. Jonathan C. & Stacie Dooley◆ Raymond J. Dorado & Kathryn L. Carson Donald M. Doster ’86 & Lenore L. Doster Timothy E. & Jean H. Duffy Damon T. Duncan ’06, L’09‡ & Melissa A. Duncan ’06, L’09‡ Reid & Cathy Dusenberry John J. Duval, Jr. ’93 & Meghan B. Duval◆ Dr. Robert N. & Helen A. Ellington◆ Martin J. & Ellen Elowitz David E. Eng ’10 Charles W. Euler Trudy R. Evans Dr. Benjamin A. Evans & Dr. Elizabeth S. Evans *deceased

‡ the

1889 society

Arthur W. Fadde IV & Shelley Fadde◆ Douglas M. & Patricia L. Faris Brian T. Feeley ’03‡ & Lauren B. Feeley ’04‡ ◆ Dr. Peter G. Felten & Sara Walker◆ Jane C. Ferguson Dr. Richard N. Fisher, Sr. & Linda Fisher◆ Hugh R. & Serena P. Fisher Clifford N. Fleming, Jr. & Ann Maragret Fleming Jeffrey Y. & Rebecca M. Flynn Brian D. Ford ’03‡ Waite T. Fowler ’61‡ & Jane T. Fowler◆ B. Graeme Frazier IV & Elizabeth S. Frazier Robert E. & Diane H. Fried Christopher & Kimberly B. Fulkerson◆ Christian A. Funkhouser ’10‡ Hope A. Fuss ’98‡ & David M. Fuss Henry D. Gabriel* & Patricia G. Gabriel Dr. Neal & Yvonne Galinko Dr. Kathleen K. Gallucci & James E. Gallucci Elizabeth Gant C. John Gardner, Jr. ’01‡ & Anderson W. Gardner◆ Bruce & Shelley Gaynes Dr. Russell B. & Diane B. Gill Frederick K. Gilliam, Jr. & Jane C. Gilliam ’73‡ William R. Gilliam ’63‡ & Polly N. Gilliam Dr. Kerry J. Gilliland ’72‡ Glenn & Gina Giordano Douglas & Tracy Glass Mark W. & Kim S. Goldberg John D. & Margaret N. Gottwald Bobby L. Green ’57‡ ◆ Dr. Thomas D. Green & Catherine H. McNeela Suzanne Grimes Jamie A. Grosso Dr. Leslie Gruss Richard W. Gunn, Jr. & Gayle C. Gunn◆ Jaleh M. Hagigh◆ Mark A. Hale Clifford B. Hardy, Jr. ’62‡ & Judy Morris Hardy Capt. Thomas J. & Sandra E. Harper◆ Dr. Kenneth L. Harper ’65‡ & Lou F. Harper◆ Liz Harper June S. Harris Charles H. & Sylvia S. Harris◆ ◆ phoenix club

Charles & Diane A. Hayes Thomas J. Hedrick ’71‡ & Phyllis W. Hedrick Marie-Claire Heller Dr. Thomas S. & Judy S. Henricks John R. Hill, Jr. & Eileen K. Hill M. Clayton Hollis, Jr. & Beverly D. Hollis David S. Hornaday ’82 F. D. Hornaday III & Mary Zeta Hornaday Linda Hornaday David C. & Ann R. Hunsucker◆ Steven W. & Annetta J. Igou Mary Lee L. Ingold◆ Stephen H. & Nina V. Israel Geoffrey H. & Dorothy B. Jenkins Gage & Ann Johnson Margaret R. & Robert C. Kantlehner Ellen C. Kay John J. Keegan III ’96‡ & Lisa P. Keegan ’03‡ ◆ Joseph T. Keener ’02‡ & Kristina A. Keener ’03‡ ◆ Roy E. Keeny, Jr. & Sharon L. Keeny Linda C. Kelley ’63‡ ◆ Michael D. Kennedy ’91‡ & Lizbeth A. Kennedy◆ Trent M. Kernodle ’74‡ & Carol Ann Kernodle◆ Ronald A. & Sally H. Klepcyk◆ Peter & Susan C. Klopman◆ The Rev. Robert & Jean Knox A. Randall Kornegay G’90‡ & Janice H. Kornegay◆ Thomas J. Kremer ’00‡ & Courtney Kremer ’00‡ Richard G. & Stacey L. Kyle◆ James E. Ladd, Jr. & Laura S. Ladd Thomas & Gade Lander◆ Dr. Richard I. Landesberg & Dr. Ginette Archinal Robert H. Lanham ’97‡ & Jill Lanham◆ Thomas & Jean Larson Charles D. & Susan K. Levine◆ Dr. Deborah T. Long & Dr. Eugene M. Long◆ John H. & Kim Love◆ Harmon L. Loy, Jr. ’71‡ & Amy V. Loy ’74‡ Stephen Luparello & Laurie Drysdale Dennis S. & Jean W. Lutes◆ Robert K. & Susan Maloney The Maner Family◆ Michael & Carol Maoz

Noble G. Marshall, Jr. ’70‡ & Sarah H. Marshall ’72‡ ◆ Robert W. & Maralyn E. Marsteller Brian W. Martindale ’95‡ & Brianne Martindale◆ Matthew & Jennifer Matheny◆ William M. & Jean Matthews Dr. Theodore D. Mauro ’89‡ Howard A. & Karla S. Mavity Bob McCloskey Insurance◆ Gerard & Genevieve Ford McDermott Reiley McDonald & Cricket Jiranek Robert E. & Kathleen A. McEntee Thomas D. McGowen, Jr. & Gail L. McGowen Daniel J. McNulty & Melanie A. Bloom Donna Medlin DeWitt Methvin III & Stacy Methvin Jeff S. Michel ’83‡ & Laura O. Michel◆ Willard L. Mills, Jr. ’69 & Mary Mills Dr. Emmett F. Montgomery ’83 & Dr. Rebecca P. Montgomery Dr. Jessie L. Moore◆ The Rev. Dr. Marvin L. Morgan ’71‡ & Dr. Mae T. Morgan Buell E. Moser, Sr.◆ James D. Moser, Jr. ’61‡ & Brenda W. Moser◆ William D. Moser, Jr. & Evelyn W. Moser Norris P. & Ann W. Moses F. Brad Myers, Jr. ’73‡ & Leigh Myers C. Lynn Newcomb ’58‡ & Donna T. Newcomb◆ C. Todd Nichols ’91‡ & Nicole C. Nichols ◆ Richard K. Nowalk ’97‡ & Jennifer B. Nowalk ’99‡ ◆ David M. Oakley ’91‡ & Carman F. Oakley◆ Dr. Kevin J. & Cheryl O’Mara◆ Janet M. Osborn Salvatore & Catherine Paone◆ Elizabeth J. Parker Richard A. Parker ’80‡ ◆ Jessica V. Pasion ’05‡ & Dayson J. Pasion Clark B. Patterson ’65‡ & Lila W. Patterson ’67‡ ◆ Dr. Jana Lynn F. Patterson & John M. Patterson◆ Christopher I. & Eugenie Pavelic Alfred M. Payne ’70‡ & Phyllis J. Payne◆ August L. Payne ’78‡ & Roberta L. Payne ’78‡ ◆ James D. Peeler ’50‡ ◆ fall 2015 49

HONOR ROLL Dr. Timothy A. & Margaret Peeples◆ Bryan & Fay Peery◆ Dr. John N. Perry, Jr. & Kirsten W. Perry◆ Dr. Rebecca T. Peters & Dr. Jeffrey C. Hatcher Sara P. Peterson & The Rev. Robert E. Peterson◆ Gregory J. Pfister & Rebecca A. Brewer Brian F. Pickler ’05‡ & Kara M. Pickler ’06‡ Bennie L. Poulson, Jr. G’07‡ & Dr. Linda L. Poulson Thomas E. Powell IV ’90‡ Shane D. Powers ’99‡ & Jennifer Powers◆ Rose C. Prey ’01‡ & Kevin Prey Donald L. Proffitt ’81‡ & Gail L. Proffitt◆ Project Pericles, Inc. Robert W. Rabbitt, Jr. & Cheryl C. Rabbitt Michael N. & Kathryn K. Radutzky Dr. Patricia D. Ragan Daniel & Rhonda Ransdell Lt. Col. Manly A. Ray, Jr. ’64 & Wanda Ray ’64 Crit & Elizabeth Richardson◆ Neil M. Richie, Jr. & Rosemary B. Richie◆ Darrell & Lynda Riley Jeffrey & Susan Rimland Norman J. Rinaldi ’54*‡ & Emma Lou Rinaldi ’54‡ ◆

Michael G. Rodgers ’97 ‡ ◆ Gregory A. Roman Thomas J. Rose ’00‡ & Jill S. Rose ’00‡ Jerald & Jody Rosenberg John A. & Julie Roush Fredrick J. Rubeck Joan D. & Todd Ruelle James M. & Judith M. Russo◆ John M. Sadler ’81‡ & Miriam M. Sadler Leonard Y. & Sarah W. Safrit Brian P. Scales ’96‡ James M. Schlossnagle ’92‡ & Kami F. Schlossnagle◆ Neil A. & Anne M. Schneider◆ Mary Leighton Sellers Liisa Sestrich Sharplin Family Foundation Richard L. Shoe ’62‡ & Sandra Shoe Richard & Nancy Siewers◆ Michael & Angela Simon Dr. Richard B. Simpson ’57‡ & Tandy J. Simpson◆ Allen T. & Stephanie D. Smith Bradford T. & Shawn M. Smith Dr. Gabie E. Smith & Brian D. Angell Ross L. Smith ’41‡ Melanie R. Soles Vickie L. Somers ’89‡ ◆ Bernadette Spong ’78, G’07‡ & Rick Spong James M. & JoAnne Staten Derek B. & Julie Steed

C. Thomas Steele, Sr. ’61‡ & Barbara J. Steele ’61‡ ◆ Kimberly H. Steele ’87‡ & Charles T. Steele, Jr.◆ Jeffrey P. & Christine W. Stein◆ Jeffrey R. & Diane M. Steinhilber James L. & Catherine R. Stuart◆ Dennis & Anne Sullivan Dr. John G. & Gregg W. Sullivan Steven L. & Cheryl Suss Tim L. & Anne W. Swanson Anne H. Taylor Barbara Z. Taylor ’77‡ Dr. George A. Taylor & Dr. Rebecca A. Olive-Taylor◆ Raymond L. Thomas ’60‡ & Judy N. Thomas◆ Donald S. & Christine J. Thompson Dean Thompson ’79‡ & Janet L. Thompson ’77‡ ◆ William & Sharon Tomko◆ Dustin M. Tonkin ’95‡ & April Tonkin ’94‡ Peter E. & Deborah L. Toomey Peter & Jill D. Tourtellot Dr. George W. Troxler & Dr. Carole W. Troxler◆ UPS Foundation, Inc. Dr. Matthew & Patricia A. Valle Dr. Donna L. Van Bodegraven & Alan Van Bodegraven◆ John H. Vernon III & Vicki Vernon Eric J. Vetack ’88‡ & Rhonda L. Vetack◆

Bruce D. & Janet G. Voelker Dr. Janet L. Warman Scott P. Warner ’97‡ ◆ Christopher C. Waters ’94‡ & Susan S. Waters ’89‡ ◆ Dr. Linda T. Weavil & Robert B. Weavil Meredith L. Webster ’96‡ & Michael Dunlap Reich L. & Martha H. Welborn◆ Clyde E. Welch, Jr. ’59‡ & Faye W. Welch◆ Dr. Alan J. & Norma M. White◆ Mark White & Pamela Butterfield Christian A. Wiggins ’03‡ ◆ William C. Wilburn ’64‡ & Virginia S. Wilburn ’72‡ ◆ Bill E. Wilkinson, Jr. ’85‡ & Carolyn Hunt Dr. Jo W. Williams ’55‡ ◆ Dr. Kebbler M. Williams ’98‡ & Mark D. Williams Jocelyn S. Witt ’90‡ & Richard J. Witt Gary R. & Teresa L. Wolfe Michael A. & Nancy C. Yaffe Brady A. Yntema ’95‡ & Kristen W. Yntema ’95‡ ◆ Greg L. Zaiser ’90, G’95‡ & Michelle J. Zaiser◆ Douglas C. Zinn Dr. Jonathan B. & Renee S. Zung◆

Wes, Cathy & Nolan ’11 Elingburg Allen & Denise Gant Glen Raven, Inc. William A. Graham, Jr. ’62* Jay ’71 & Amy ’69 Hendrickson Sam & Vicky Hunt William J. & Patricia Inman James W. Johnston* & Edwina Hughes Johnston* William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust M. Camille Kivette ’41* & Florence Kivette Childress ’37* Maurice & Ann Koury, Ernest ’40 & Ann Marie Koury & Family The Kresge Foundation LabCorp

Gail & Beau Lane Gail Hettel LaRose ’64 Robert E. LaRose ’62* Lincoln Financial Group Carl H. Lindner III & Martha S. Lindner Robert Long Family Walker E. Love, Jr.* & Ann W. Love* Martha & Spencer Love Foundation John M. Lowry ’32* Thomas & Sarah Mac Mahon Family Foundation Mark & Marianne Mahaffey James W. Maynard & Jo Anne A. Maynard Bob E. McKinnon ’62 & Ray Kirbo McKinnon

Cumulative Giving Societies numen lumen society

The university’s premier cumulative giving society, the Numen Lumen Society recognizes benefactors whose cash gifts to Elon equal $1 million or more. The Latin words “numen” and “lumen,” which mean “spiritual light” and “intellectual light,” signify the highest purposes of an Elon education. Numen Lumen Society members embrace the vision of Elon’s founders, an academic community that transforms mind, body, and spirit. Alamance Regional Medical Center Kerrii B. Anderson ’79 & Douglas Anderson ARAMARK/The Newport Group Dr. James H. Baird & Jane M. Baird Bud & Suzanne Baker The Children of Roger & Bernice Barbour 50 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Irwin Belk & Carol Grotnes Belk* The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation Isabella Walton Cannon ’24* Wallace L. Chandler ’49 Marvin Clapp* & Eva Burke Clapp* Edward W. & Joan M. Doherty & Family Richard M. Drew*

HONOR HONOR ROLLROLL Dalton L. McMichael, Sr.* The McMichael Family Foundation Furman C. Moseley ’56 & Susan Reed Moseley Edna Truitt Noiles ’44 & Douglas G. Noiles James B. & Anne Ellington Powell

T. E. Powell, Jr. Biology Foundation Warren G. “Dusty” & Margaret L. “Peggy” Rhodes The Riversville Foundation Jerry & Jeanne Robertson Dwight C. & Martha M. Schar David & Lynette Snow

palladian society

“Palladian” is derived from Latin and means “pertaining to wisdom, knowledge, or study.” Members of the Palladian Society have made cumulative lifetime cash gifts to Elon totaling between $500,000 and $999,999. Bank of America/Merrill Lynch Belk Foundation Booth Ferris Foundation Cannon Foundation, Inc. Capital Bank Foundation The Cemala Foundation, Inc. Thomas E. & Lynn B. Chandler

Robert K. & Cynthia Citrone Robert A. Clohan III Louis DeJoy & Dr. Aldona Z. Wos A. J. Fletcher Foundation Michael T. Hall Shelly S. Hazel ’78 & Jack Hazel

aesculus society

“Aesculus” is an ancient Latin term for “tallest oak.” Members of the Aesculus Society have made cumulative lifetime cash gifts to Elon totaling between $100,000 and $499,999. AIG United Guaranty Alamance County Economic Development Foundation Noel L. Allen ’69 & Sandra R. Allen ’72 Philip D. & Teresa Ameen Lucile Stone Andes* Andras Foundation/David S. & Anne Andras/Cody J. Andras ’08 Andrew J. Armstrong, Jr. & Brenda E. Armstrong Howard F. Arner ’63 & Beverly F. Arner ’66 AT&T North Carolina Robert P. & Kally Badavas A. Christine Baker G’88 Adrienne Livengood-Baker & Tony Baker Bank of America Walter H. Bass III ’62 & Barbara D. Bass ’61 BB&T Charitable Foundation BB&T Corporation Beazley Foundation, Inc. Charles G. & Kathleen Berg Mary Duke Biddle Foundation *deceased

‡ the

1889 society

Donald K. Blalock ’60 & Glenda F. Blalock ’61 Boone Station North Associates Limited Partnership The Hon. J. Fred Bowman ’51 Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP Mr. & Mrs. Michael D. Brown Douglas & Carole Bruns Kathleen Price Bryan Family Fund Anita Lee Butler ’88 Dr. Robert M. Califf & Lydia Califf Bruce B. Cameron Foundation, Inc. Capital Bank Damion & Sherri Carufe John H. & Nancy Cavanaugh Cone Health John R. Congdon, Jr. & Leslie Congdon James L. Correll, Jr. ’72 & Lizabeth Z. Correll William S. & Frances Creekmuir Soraya Cricenti ’95 & William A. Collins Michael S. & Mary Ellen B. Cross Donald R. & Lucy Dancer ◆ phoenix club

Royall H. Spence, Jr. ’42* & Luvene Holmes Spence ’43* Robert H. & Lauren J. Steers Hatcher P. Story ’38* & Louise Fletcher Story *

Zac Walker ’60 & Dot Walker Leon V. Watson ’25* & Lorraine Brubeck Watson* Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation, Inc.

International Textile Group, Inc. ITG Brands, LLC Maurice N. Jennings, Sr. ’57 & Linda Jennings Leonard* & Tobee Kaplan A. Michelle LaRose R. Scott LaRose Dr. W. Bryan & Janet M. Latham William E. Loy, Jr. Frank R. Lyon ’71 & Natalie Lyon Christopher P. Martin ’78 & Nicolette Martin

Phyllis S. Pruden Donald E. Scott* Ellen Scott Eric & Lori Sklut William H. & Susan Smith Smith Family Foundation Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation H. Michael & Katherine Weaver Weaver Foundation, Inc. Brian & Jane Williams

Dr. Lawrence D’Angelo & Dr. Dolores D’Angelo Ralph & Mary Margaret Darling The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations George L. Davis ’47* John & Trish Deford The Dickson Foundation, Inc. James A. Drummond ’50 & Joan S. Drummond ’52 Duke Energy Anthony D. Duke, Jr. & Olga Duke Bruce A. & Susan Edwards Dr. Robert N. Ellington & Helen A. Ellington John G. Ellison, Jr. & Jane Ellison The Evergreens Foundation Barry S. Frank & Eugenia H. Leggett-Frank The Stanley & Dorothy Frank Family Foundation Charles A. Frueauff Foundation, Inc. John & Shirley Gaither Edmund R. & Betsy Gant Rose Anne Gant Annie Bennett Glenn Fund Golden LEAF Foundation B. Kelly Graves, Jr. & Meredith Graves Michael W. & Lynn Haley

Dr. Bernhard Hampl & Dr. Carmen Hampl William A. & Jennie Hawks The Hearst Foundations, Inc. Eric & Joellyn Helman Dr. Richard R. Henderson & Marjorie Henderson Dr. William N. P. Herbert ’68 & Marsha Herbert John R. Hill ’76 & Lesley W. Hill Hillsdale Fund, Inc. Holt Sublimation Cheryl T. Holt ’72 & George H. Holt Frank S. Holt III Dr. Steven House & Dr. Patricia House Timothy A. & Cindy Hultquist Ernest C. Hunt, Jr. The Hon. Bonnie McElveen-Hunter & Bynum Hunter Gordon P. & Carolyn Hurley The Hon. Jeanette W. Hyde ING Foundation Donald D. Jansen Maurice Jennings, Jr. ’87 & Dina B. Jennings ’87 John M. & Margaret Jordan Esther C. Kernodle ’36 George J. Kilroy ’73 & Peggy Kilroy Walter C. & Linda King fall 2015 51

HONOR ROLL The Thomas M. Kirbo & Irene B. Kirbo Charitable Trust William E. LaCoste, Sr. ’62 & Patricia LaCoste Dr. Leo M. Lambert & Laurie F. Lambert Mittie C. Landi ’96 & John N. Landi Jack R. Lindley, Sr. ’56 & Dorothy Lindley Ikey T. Little ’59 George W. Logan Jo Ann M. Madren ’60 & Frank Madren Thomas P. & Anita Maroney Carol Marrion Victoria Mars & David Spina Dr. Rose C. Mattioli/ Pocono Raceway Harold V. McCoy, Jr. Michael McGee & Olga Castellanos James C. McGill, Sr. & Gail McGill Alva S. McGovern ’72 & John F. McGovern Thomas J. & Deborah M. McInerney Della Vickers McKinnon ’62 Sanjeev K. & Karen P. Mehra Willard L. Mills, Jr. ’69 & Mary Mills Stewart P. & Ivy Mitchell Skip Moore ’77 & Victoria Moore Dr. Wayne T. Moore ’49 Edmond N. Moriarty III & Jill Moriarty William T. Morris Foundation, Inc. George T. Nall ’56 & Jerolene K. Nall ’60

C. Ashton Newhall ’98 & Rebecca Newhall News & Record, Greensboro, N.C. Tracey W. Nugent ’84 & James Nugent, Jr. Oak Foundation, USA Francis Asbury Palmer Fund David E. Pardue, Jr. & Rebecca Pardue Park Foundation, Inc. Robert & Kathleen Patrick Igor V. Pavlov ’94 & Mia Pavlov Donald S. Pennington ’54 & Helen H. Pennington ’52 John William Pope Foundation David C. & Jennifer M. Porter John Powell & Martha Hamblin Dr. Thomas E. Powell III T. Scott Quakenbush ’53 & Jenny Quakenbush G. Alan & Susan Rafte The Redwoods Group/ Kevin A. & Jennifer Trapani Geoffrey S. & Laura A. Rehnert Brad & Ash Reifler Charles H. & Diana Revson Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Inc. Neil M. Richie, Jr. & Rosemary Richie Dr. William S. Roberts & Amy H. Roberts Dr. Feliciano S. Sabates, Jr. & Carolyn Sabates Bennett B. & Raye Sapp

Sapphire Foundation/ Daniel J. & Laurel Woods Bruce M. Satalof & Marie O’Donnell Milton T. Schaeffer, Jr. & Anne Schaeffer Steve J. & Tara L. Schneider Richard H. Shirley, Jr. Linda B. Shirley James C. Showalter, Jr. & Jane V. Showalter Richard C. Sneed, Jr. ’60 & Eva Sneed Southern Conference, United Church of Christ Festus & Helen Stacy Foundation, Inc. Joan Z. Steinbrenner Katherine G. Stern William M. Stewart ’40 Dr. Elwood Stone, Jr. & Barbara Stone Mary Behrend Straub ’82 Student Government Association David & Jane Tabor Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, Inc. Teagle Foundation R. Christopher & Frances J. Teeter Brian & Lisa Thebault Times-News Publishing Company Dr. Martha Smith Trout & Jack Trout Garrett A. Turner ’08 J. Parker Turner IV ’06 James P. Turner III & Toni Turner

United Church of Christ Local Church Ministries Michael A. & Kathleen Vadini John H. Vernon III & Vicki Vernon Rear Admiral Edward K. Walker, Jr. Arthur T. Ward III & Elizabeth Ward Arthur T. Ward IV ’05 Charles E. Ward ’14 Christopher V. Ward ’08 Cynthia F. Ward Dorothy M. Ward Robert A. & Margaret Ward W. Hunt Ward, Sr. ’82 & Julia Ward Thomas C. Watkins Nancy J. Watson ’66 The Weezie Foundation Randall J. & Catherine Weisenburger Wells Fargo, Burlington, N.C. Wells Fargo Foundation Western Electric Company James O. White ’40 Shirley A. White T. Leonard White, Jr. & Judy White C. Grayson & Connie R. Whitt Dr. William E. Wilkinson, Sr. & Frankie Wilkinson Wade Williamson, Jr. ’70 Russell R. & Rosella Wilson W. Cecil Worsley III ’86 & JoAnna S. Worsley ’87 Alan J. Young David & Kelly Young Dr. Fred Young & Phyllis Young Youths’ Friends Association

Grandparent Leadership Society The Grandparent Leadership Society includes grandparents of current students and Elon alumni who contribute $5,000 or more annually to the Parents & Grandparents Fund or other Elon operating funds, whose cumulative gifts to Elon total $25,000 or more, or who have made a planned gift to the university valued at $25,000 or more. Mary Lou C. Boal ’63 & Robert L. Boal Beulah B. Cameron Wallace L. Chandler ’49 Robert A. Clohan III ’67 Francis Craig* & Jane Craig* Dr. J. Earl Danieley ’46 Roxann Dillon Patricia G. Gabriel & Henry D. Gabriel* 52 the MAGAZINE of ELON

Herbert & Anne Gullquist Sherrill G. Hall ’55 & Martha L. Hall ’56 Dr. R. Leroy Howell ’51 M. Rex & Vae Hudgins Ernest C. Hunt, Jr. Gloria Jarecki Maurice N. Jennings, Sr. ’57 & Linda Jennings

John M. & Margaret C. Jordan Leonard Kaplan* & Tobee Kaplan Esther Cole Kernodle ’36 Jean Killorin Ernest A. Koury, Sr. ’40 & Marie C. Koury Eugene M. Lang Leon & Sandra Levine R. Cruse Lewis* Dr. Eugene M. Long & Dr. Deborah T. Long Yardley M. Manfuso Dr. Rose Mattioli James W. & JoAnne Maynard James C. McGill, Sr. & Gail S. McGill

Norris P. & Ann W. Moses Edna T. Noiles ’44 & Douglas G. Noiles Robert N. & Laurel L. Pokelwaldt Clifford W. & Anne R. Sanford Richard J. Schmeelk C. Thomas Steele, Sr. ’61 & Barbara J. Steele ’61 Joan Z. Steinbrenner Katherine G. Stern Rear Admiral Edward K. Walker, Jr. Cynthia F. Ward Dorothy M. Ward William & Christine Westendorf Shirley A. White

HONOR HONOR ROLLROLL

Phoenix Club IMPACT Circle The IMPACT Circle is the premier donor recognition group for the Phoenix Club and Elon athletics. Donors who make annual contributions of $5,000 or more to athletics or have made cumulative gifts of $1 million or more exclusively designated for annual, endowment, and capital athletics purposes are members of the IMPACT Circle. Kerrii B. Anderson ’79 & Douglas Anderson Steven C. & Dayna M. Anderson Howard F. Arner ’63 & Beverly F. Arner ’66 Geoffrey A. & Leslie E. Ballotti R. H. Barringer Distributing Co./ Mark Craig BB&T Corporation Donald K. Blalock ’60 & Glenda F. Blalock ’61 Billie Faye J. Bolden ’56 & Donald Bolden Reid & Suzanne Campbell Wallace L. Chandler ’49 Robert K. & Cynthia Citrone Chip & Meg Clark James L. Correll, Jr. ’72 & Lizabeth Correll Michael S. & Mary Ellen Cross Alan H. & Connie Crouch Daniel & Lisa Diehl

Keith N. & Christine L. DiGrazio David V. & Beth D. Drubner M. Kevin & Margaret Dugan Jeffrey R. & Mary V. Eisenstadt Wesley R. & Cathy Elingburg John & Robin Fox Louis F. Foy III ’96 & Emilie Foy Robert J. Gallagher, Jr. & Jena Gallagher Roger Gant III & Susan Gant William & Denise Garrigan Ken Gill J. Thad Gulliford ’94 & Kristina Gulliford Peter & Suzette Hearn James D. Henderson, Jr. & Cynthia J. Henderson James A. Hendrickson ’71 & Amy T. Hendrickson ’69 Harold W. Hill, Jr. ’83 & Michelle F. Hill ’83 Sam & Vicky Hunt

T. Woodruff & Kathleen Jay Horace M. Johnson, Jr. & Karen Johnson George J. Kilroy ’73 & Peggy Kilroy Maurice J. & Ann Koury Dr. W. Bryan & Janet M. Latham Robert D. & Margaret LeBlanc Kimberly C. Leith ’88 & Christopher Leith Robert S. & Sara B. Long Mark T. & Marianne Mahaffey Kenneth & Jeryl Malloy Mark & Janelle Mariani Christopher P. Martin ’78 & Nicolette Martin James D. McCauley ’59 & Donna G. McCauley ’96 A. W. McGee ’66 & Sandra McGee James C. McGill, Sr. & Gail McGill Skip Moore ’77 & Victoria Moore C. Ashton Newhall ’98 & Rebecca Newhall Robert Pash & Susan LaMonica T. Scott Quakenbush ’53 & Jenny Quakenbush Wesley B. Reynolds, Sr. ’59 & Betty F. Reynolds ’58 Dusty & Peggy Rhodes David K. Rich ’87 & Sue H. Rich ’85

Kathryn Richardson ’91 & Mark S. Richardson Jeanne S. & Jerry R. Robertson Dr. Tricia Ryan & Jack Ryan, Jr. Dwight & Martha Schar Kirk A. & Tamara Shaw Richard H. Shirley, Jr. Roger L. Sims ’70 & Celia T. Sims Dr. Paul Slota Andrew & Jane Smith Richard C. Sneed, Jr. ’60 & Eva Sneed Edward & Laurel D. Stack William M. Stewart, Jr. ’40 Robb & Mia Thomson Dolores H. Truitt ’53 Zachary T. Walker, III ’60 & Dorothy Walker Rear Adm. Edward K. Walker, Jr. Cynthia F. Ward C. Grayson Whitt ’79 & Connie Whitt Russell R. & Rosella Wilson Spencer W. Woolfolk ’17 William & Kristen Woolfolk W. Cecil Worsley III ’86 & JoAnna S. Worsley ’87

School of Law Founders Society Donors who have contributed $25,000 or more to the Elon University School of Law are included in the Founders Society. AIG United Guaranty Alliance Management Anonymous BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina Margaret W. Brooks Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, LLP The Joseph M. Bryan Foundation The Cemala Foundation, Inc. Donald R. & Lucy M. Dancer F. Leary Davis, Jr. & Joy B. Davis Louis DeJoy & Dr. Aldona Z. Wos John G. B. Ellison, Jr. & Jane Ellison The Evergreens Foundation *deceased

Barry S. Frank & Eugenia H. Leggett-Frank The Stanley & Dorothy Frank Family Foundation William A. & Hughlene Frank David R. & Anne E. Gergen Flavel M. Godfrey & Dr. John M. Godfrey Greensboro Bar Association Foundation, Inc. Ellen M. Gregg & Michael W. Lebo D. H. Griffin, Sr. Michael W. & Lynn Haley Shelly S. Hazel ’78 & Jack Hazel Hillsdale Fund, Inc.

Sam & Vicky Hunt ITG Brands, LLC Maurice Jennings, Jr. ’87 & Dina B. Jennings ’87 Maurice N. Jennings, Sr. ’57 & Linda Jennings George R. Johnson, Jr. & Dr. Linda Morris Leonard* & Tobee Kaplan Gail & Beau Lane Lincoln Financial Group Mark & Dania London Robert E. Long, Jr. & Kathryn Long The Hon. Bonnie McElveen-Hunter & Bynum M. Hunter Dalton L. McMichael, Jr. & Susan McMichael The McMichael Family Foundation

E. S. & Susan Melvin Kenneth D. Miller E. A. Morris Charitable Foundation Nexsen Pruet Maureen K. & Timothy O’Connor Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, Inc. Katherine G. Stern Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, Inc. H. Michael & Katherine Weaver Weaver Foundation, Inc. T. Leonard White, Jr. & Judy White Alan D. Woodlief, Jr. & Wendy B. Woodlief

fall 2015 53

HONOR ROLL

Order of the Oak Established in 1988, the Order of the Oak recognizes donors who are securing the future of Elon University through planned gifts such as bequests, charitable gift annuities, charitable trusts, pooled income funds, and life insurance policies. The Rev. Donald J. ’71 & Carole Allen J. B. Allen, Jr. ’63 L. Carl Allen III & Peggy S. Allen L. Carl Allen, Jr. ’48* Louise C. Allen ’47 Noel Lee Allen ’69 Paul H. Amundsen ’69 Jean A F Amundsen Lucile Stone Andes* Dewey ’63 & Susan Andrew Mildred Daniels Argyle Beverly F. Arner ’66 Howard F. Arner ’63 Josh & Jill Baker L. M. Baker Robert L. Barham ’63 & Betsy C. Barham ’63 John and Anne Barry Caroline S. Baskin Thomas L. Bass, Jr. ’67 & Sandra B. Bass ’67 Walter H. Bass III ’62 & Barbara D. Bass ’61 Dr. Billy S. Batts ’56 & Emma W. Batts ’57 Barbara Bayliff ’70 C. Conway Bayliff ’70 David Beahm ’83 Barbara Lilienthal Bearce ’74 Raymond L. Beck ’75 Louise Giovane Becker Gordon S. Becker* Leota Taylor Beisinger John W. Blanchard ’50 Paul R. Bleiberg ’69 Mary Lou Chandler Boal ’63 Don & Billie Faye ’56 Bolden Elizabeth & Robert Bowater Barry A. Bradberry ’75 C. Merrill Branch Edith R. Brannock ’39 Eddie C. Bridges ’57 Frederick W. Bright ’67 & Sandra S. Bright Gilbert C. Brittle, Jr. ’55 Dr. Janie P. Brown Eloise Stephenson Brown ’41 54 the MAGAZINE of ELON

C. B. ’51 & Peggie Brown Pam & Chalmers S. Brumbaugh Judson D. Bryant ’66 James A. Buie ’63 Vincent R. Bujan ’59 Samuel L. Burke ’89 Allen Bush ’68 James D. Bush ’91 Linda B. Byrd Beulah B. Cameron Jerry D. Cameron ’66 Roy C. Campbell ’68 Marcia E. Pann Capuano Jane Aaron Carmichael ’68 Richard D. Carmichael Wallace L. Chandler ’49 Colleen Minnock Chulis ’04 Beverly A. Clement ’68 Robert A. Clohan III ’67 Faye Danieley Conally ’61 Thomas G. Conally ’67 Angel & Luther R. ’55 Conger, Jr. Vera W. Congleton John & Maxine Cookston The Rev. John R. Corbiere ’70 Dr. Joseph A. Cote ’65 Dr. Alonzo Hook Covington ’73 Dr. Donald V. Covington ’75 & Ellen R. Covington ’73 Frank E. Covington Patricia Bryan Covington Ray Covington ’86 Robert L. Covington ’79 Douglas Cox ’78 Francis Craig* & Jane Craig* Robert D. Craig ’80 Alan H. Crouch James B. Crouch, Jr. David M. Crowe Kathryn Moore Crowe James Benton Dailey ’67 Jane Marie Benton Dailey ’67 Drs. Lawrence & Dolores D’Angelo Edwin L. Daniel ’46 Earl Danieley ’46 George Davis ’47 Joy & Leary Davis

Lynne M. Davis ’71 Robert A. de la Fé ’81 Rexanne A. Domico ’87 Kathleen Niple Donohue ’05 Ken Dudley ’59 Mattie Pickett Edwards ’39 James Perry Elder, Jr. ’60 Helen A. Ellington Dr. Robert N. Ellington Gary W. Evans ’74 Patricia Russell Evans ’73 Trudy Rogers Evans J. Michael Fargis ’58 Joshua Felix ’00 Helen B. Floyd Walter L. Floyd Margaret V. Foreman Matthew H. Foreman Oscar ’67 & Margaret ’66 Fowler Henry D. Gabriel* Patricia G. Gabriel L. Alvin Garrison, Jr. ’67 A. Roger Gibbs ’52 Betty C. Gibbs Thomas B. Gold ’68   Thomas J. Grathwohl Kelly & Meredith Graves Adele J. Gray John Bowie Gray V Martha M. Grimson ’67 Bob Gwaltney ’64 Robert A. Hall Liz Harper Jeanne H. Harrell ’45 Dr. W. Kelly Harris ’78 Allison Connelly Hart ’98 Thomas R. Hart ’98 Mary Glenn Briggs Haskell ’63 Virginia Pruitt Hawks William A. Hawks Shelly Skeens Hazel ’78 Marje G. Henderson Dr. Richard Henderson Amy Thomas Hendrickson ’69 James A. Hendrickson ’71 Marsha T. Herbert Dr. William N. P. Herbert ’68 David E. Hibbard ’89 John R. ’76 & Lesley Hill Brenda D. Hogan Victor H. Hoffman ’61 Rachel Y. Holt ’64

Jessie Thurecht Hook ’46* William Andrew Hopkins ’51 Dr. Herbert W. House, Jr. Steven & Patricia House Dr. R. Leroy Howell ’51 Jack Huber ’70 George W. Hughes ’69 James E. Humphrey ’60 Faye G. Humphrey ’61 Catherine & Rob Hutchinson Robert T. Inzetta ’68 Arthur M. Ivey ’60 E. Vennecia Bynum Jackson, M.D. ’81 Donald D. Jansen Dorothy B. & Geoffrey H. Jenkins Dina ’87 & Burney ’87 Jennings, Jr. Maurice N. Jennings, Sr. ’57 Mr. & Mrs. James F. Johnson, Sr. Thomas P. Johnson, Jr. ’66 D. Watt Jones Lindley & Susan Jones John M. & Margaret C. Jordan Ellen Chapline Kay John F. Kelley* Leslie Roessler Kernodle ’99 Esther Cole Kernodle ’36 George J. Kilroy ’73 & Margaret F. Kilroy Susan C. Klopman Gregory L. Knott ’67 & Jean A. Morrison Ernest A. Koury, Sr. ’40 William E. LaCoste, Sr. ’62 Leo & Laurie Lambert Gail H. LaRose ’64 Philip E. Larrabee, Jr. Mary Anne Elder Larson Linda M. Lashendock Joe G. Lee ’68 Loyce H. Lesley John E. Lincoln* Jack R. ’56 & Dorothy C. Lindley Ikey Tarleton Little ’59 Thomas L. Lively ’72 Evelyn P. Lloyd Amy V. Loy ’74 Lee Loy ’71 William E. Loy, Jr. Yoram Lubling George C. Ludden Mark T. & Marianne D. Mahaffey Mr. & Mrs. Allen J. Martin, Jr. ’58

HONOR HONOR ROLLROLL Christopher P. Martin ’78 Mr. & Mrs. David S. Massey ’83 Sally O’Neill Mauldin ’70 Dr. Harold E. ’41 & Jolene C. Maxwell C. V. May ’67 James W. & Jo Anne A. Maynard The Rev. Richard W. McBride Donna G. McCauley ’96 James D. McCauley ’59 James G. McClure, Jr. ’68* Tim McDowell ’76 Nancy Smith Midgette Carol A. Miskelly James R. Miskelly Louise Bemis Mitchell ’56* Betty Mooney Krista H. Mooney ’94 Michael A. Mooney ’93 Dr. Wayne T. Moore ’49 Dick More ’62 Shigemi Morita ’59 Michael A. Morris ’65 Furman C. Moseley, Jr. ’56 Ann Watts Moses Dr. Whitney P. Mullen* C. S. Myers George T. ’56 & Jerolene K. ’60 Nall Janell Otis Niebuhr ’02 Dr. Beulah O’Donnell Alex W. Oliver ’68 Virginia Moorefield Ortiz ’62 Sunshine Janda Overkamp John P. Paisley, Jr. ’70 Patsy E. Palmer Joy Pamplin David E. Pardue, Jr. Dr. Richard E. & S. Diane Park Margaret Mebane Parker ’54* J. Rankin Parks ’32*

Paul & Mary Helen Parsons John K. Patterson ’59* Susan Morgan Patton ’02 Stafford R. Peebles, Jr. ’70 Donald S. Pennington ’54 Helen Hodge Pennington ’52 James Patrick Pepe ’66 Nan Phipps Perkins The Rev. & Mrs. Robert E. Peterson Dr. & Mrs. Edward F. Pinn Leroy Pittman, Jr. ’61 Anne E. & James B. Powell Ed Powell III Lacy M. Presnell, Jr. ’51 Zachary E. Pund ’05 & Britten L. Pund ’06 Rosalie I. Radcliffe ’62 Janie C. Reece Dusty Rhodes Peggy Rhodes Neil M. Richie, Jr. Rosemary B. Richie William Wynn Riley ’60 Norman J. Rinaldi ’54* Dr. William D. ’43 & Helen B. ’46 Rippy Patricia L. & Peter R. W. ’80 Roughton, Jr. M. Tyrone Rowell ’66 C. Wayne Rudisill ’59 Mary Coolidge Ruth ’66 William J. Ruth ’66 Clifford W. & Anne R. Sanford Adelaide Raye Sapp Bennett B. Sapp Brian P. Scales ’96 R. Brent Sexton ’75 Larry W. Sharpe ’69 Grace D. Shepherd Linda B. Shirley

Karen W. Small ’70 Larry K. Small ’68 D. Wayne Smart ’68 Kristin D. Smith ’07, G’12 Sarah R. Smith ’98 Richard C. ’60 & Eva B. Sneed Joanne Soliday Vickie L. Somers ’89 Charles C. Springs ’69 Mona C. Stadler ’88 Anne Dechert Staley ’74 Betsy Stevens David A. Stevens ’81 Gavin S. Stevens ’07 Scott D. Stevens ’03 Elwood E. Stone, M.D. Mary Behrend Straub ’82 Catherine & James Stuart Barbara Z. Taylor ’77 Shelby Gunter Thomas ’62 Demus L. Thompson ’64 W. Campbell Tims ’00 Dr. & Mrs. Jerry R. Tolley Martha Smith Trout Samuel P. Troy ’67 Dolores Hagan Truitt ’53 F. Davis Turnage, Jr. Garrett A. Turner ’08 Mary S. Underwood Angie Henry Utt ’42 Drew L. Van Horn ’82 John D. Vance, Jr. ’51* Alex S. Vardavas, Jr. ’72 Paul V. Varga ’51 & Joanne M. Varga Rear Admiral Edward K. Walker, Jr. Zachary T. Walker, III ’60 & Dorothy S. Walker Renà Mauldin Wall ’90 Carl E. Wallace, Jr. Diana H. Wallace

Christopher A. Walsh ’72 Judith W. Walsh Cynthia F. Ward Dorothy Mears Ward Hunt ’82 & Julia Ward Nancy H. Ward Nancy Turner Watson ’66 Dr. & Mrs. Frederic T. Watts, Jr. Odell L. Welborn ’57 Ed Welch ’59 Faye Welch Nelson A. L. & Elaine K. Weller Marie Schilling Wertz ’67 James W. White ’40 Kathryn C. White ’69 Samuel Wade White ’61 Christian Adam Wiggins ’03 Ann M. Wilkins ’53 C. Jeter Wilkins ’53 Debra S. Willard ’86 Jonathan W. Willard ’84 Shirley Willard* Jo Watts Williams ’55 Wade Williamson ’70 Edward C. Wilson ’60 Russell & Rosella Wilson Brad Rader Winstead ’03 Janet M. Winstead ’70 William C. Winstead, Jr. ’70 Delhis M. Wolf Frances D. Wood ’55 Dr. & Mrs. Fred Young Dr. Deborah A. Yow-Bowden ’71 Dr. William W. Yow-Bowden Joey Zeller ’85

›› VISIT elon.edu/honorroll to view a

searchable honor roll of everyone who made a gift to Elon University in fiscal year 2014–2015. You may search the database by donor’s name or use the drop-down menus to search by class year or donor category (parent, faculty, friend, etc.).

*deceased

fall 2015 55

ONE FOR THE AGES

Thousands of Elon alumni, students and friends enjoyed a weekend full of activities Oct. 16-18 as part of Homecoming 2015.

Office of Alumni Engagement PO Box 398 Elon, NC 27244

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Durham, NC Permit # 104

Toll Free: (877) 784-3566 elon.edu/alumni Change Service Requested

{ After working on it for three days, two Buddhist monks deconstruct a sand mandala in the Sacred Space of the Numen Lumen Pavilion. The campus community had an opportunity to view the monksâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; work prior to the ceremonial removal in September. A mandala is a spiritual symbol in Buddhism that represents the universe. Sand mandalas are made with colored sand laid in patterns using tubes, funnels and scrapers. }