The Magazine of Elon, Winter 2011

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TIME LAPSE

First-year students Lauren Wilkins and Torrance Winder participate in the annual Beloved Community Candlelight Vigil on Jan. 16.

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

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he Elon community united in January to commemorate the life and achievements of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Ronald L. Carter, president of Johnson C. Smith University in Charlo e, N.C., delivered the keynote address at Elon’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Program Jan. 13 in Whitley Auditorium. Carter argued that Americans need to push for greater equality, particularly in education, for all people of color, who will become the nation’s “new majorityâ€? by 2050. “In the coming years, as the United States faces unprecedented challenges, we need everyone – men, women, black, white, yellow, brown, young, old, gay, straight, Jew, Protestant, Catholic, Hindu – everyone to hold up the magniďŹ cent vision of this country,â€? he said.

On Jan. 16, more than 50 students, faculty, sta and local community leaders participated in the annual Beloved Community Peace Journey and Candlelight Vigil. Led by members of the Black Cultural Society and Gospel Choir, the marchers sang hymns as they circled campus before stopping at the Academic Village amphitheatre for the vigil. “Today I celebrate Dr. King and his accomplishments, but I will not forget there’s still work to be done,â€? said senior Eugene Daniel. “There’s still freedom to be had.â€?

“We focus so much on our disadvantages and seeming impossibility of the journey, we lose hope and oppress ourselves. ... Dr. King preached a Assistant Dean of Students Jodean Schmiederer (left) and son, and Eugene Daniel (right)

message that if you focus on your character more than you focus on the plot

Ronald L. Carter

of the story, then there's hope that the story has no choice but to change.� – senior eugene daniel

winter 2011

vol. 73, no. 1

EDITOR

Kristin M. Simone i ’05 DESIGNER

Christopher Eyl

features

the magazine of elon

SPECIAL REPORT

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NEWS EDITOR

Eric Townsend PHOTOGRAPHER

Kim Walker COPY EDITOR

Keren Rivas ’04 CLASS NOTES

Holley Berry STUDENT WRITERS

Sarah Beth Costello ’11 Caitlin O’Donnell ’13

construction zone ahead

moment of truth

President Leo M. Lambert oers his insights on new facilities that will support the goals of the Elon Commitment.

by eric townsend Students in a senior seminar course experience ďŹ rsthand the cold, hard facts of food production.

DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

Daniel J. Anderson

The Magazine of Elon is published quarterly for alumni, parents and friends by the OďŹƒce of University Relations.

336-278-7415 EDITORIAL OFFICES

COVER STORY

FACULTY PROFILE

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The Magazine of Elon 2030 Campus Box Elon, NC 27244-2020 Class Notes Elon OďŹƒce of University Relations 2030 Campus Box Elon, NC 27244 E-mail: alumniclassnotes@elon.edu Elon website www.elon.edu Magazine website www.elon.edu/magazine

a valued voice

flashbacks

by eric townsend When Jean Ra igan-Rohr’s son started struggling in school, she found her calling.

by kim walker As Elon’s campus prepares for another signiďŹ cant transformation, see how far it’s already come in this photo essay.

ALUMNI PROFILE BOARD OF TRUSTEES, CHAIR

Mark T. Mahaey, St. Petersburg, Fla.

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ELON ALUMNI BOARD, PRESIDENT

Kelli Palmer ’98, Charlo esville, Va. YOUNG ALUMNI COUNCIL, PRESIDENT

Christian Wiggins ’03, Charlo e, N.C. PARENTS COUNCIL, CO-PRESIDENTS

Robert and Kay Norris p’11, Charlo e, N.C. BOARD OF VISITORS, CHAIR

Cliord B. Hardy Jr. ’62, Tampa, Fla. SCHOOL OF LAW ADVISORY BOARD, CHAIR

David Gergen, Cambridge, Mass.

captain of industry by kristin m. simonetti ’05 Each time opportunity knocked at Steve Schuckenbrock’s door, the 1982 alumnus made sure to answer.

LOVE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADVISORY BOARD, CHAIR

William S. Creekmuir p’09 p’10, Atlanta, Ga. PHOENIX CLUB ADVISORY BOARD, CHAIR

departments

Mike Cross, Burlington, N.C. DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

Sallie Hu on ’92 DIRECTOR OF PARENT PROGRAMS

Maggie Byerly

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Elon News Phoenix Sports Alumni Action Class Notes Making a Dierence

on the cover This photo features the September 1964 cover of a predecessor to The Magazine of Elon called Elon College Alumni News.

No photo credit is included, so the photographer’s identity is a mystery.

Yet, the scene is a familiar one: looking through the colonnades toward Alamance’s west-facing entrance, with Carlton Building to the le and Whitley Auditorium to the right. The 1964 caption notes the scene as the beginning of fall semester, a er what was then a three-week break between the close of summer session and the beginning of the next academic year.

Elon’s alumni publication has gone through several incarnations, beginning in February 1928, when it was called The Elon Alumni Voice. In October 1948, the publication assumed its current glossy magazine format, and in July 1974, it adopted The Magazine of Elon as its name.

Special Report

CONSTRUCTION ZONE AHEAD

Leo M. Lambert

New facilities support goals of the Elon Commitment This is the ďŹ rst of an occasional series of updates from President Leo M. Lambert about the Elon Commitment strategic plan.

Following the approval of the Elon Commitment by the board of trustees in December 2009, we immediately went to work turning vision into reality. Strategic planning without thoughtful execution is pointless, so we have spent the past year hiring talented architectural teams, charging campus commi ees, pu ing search commi ees in place for new key leadership positions and developing speciďŹ c goals to support the eight broad themes of the Elon Commitment.

For this ďŹ rst update, I would like to share with you the exciting changes the campus will undergo beginning this spring and continuing over the course of the next three years. The Elon Commitment is about much more than bricks and mortar, however, so as I walk you through how the physical campus will evolve, I want to emphasize the ideas and ideals behind the construction that will lead to a be er Elon.

Global Neighborhood Moseley Center west entrance

New dining hall

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Special Report

Global Neighborhood

Premier living and learning environments As you read in the last issue of The Magazine of Elon, we are reimagining the residential experience at Elon. More undergraduate students should be afforded the opportunity to live on campus, and our goal is to have 75 percent of our students in campus housing. This is important for many reasons. Studies show that students living on campus earn higher grades, have higher rates of retention and develop a strong affinity for their university. A strong residential experience allows students to remain connected to Elon’s vibrant academic and student life programs and contributes to a more intellectual campus climate.

In two phases over three years, the 600bed Story and Harper centers along Lake Mary Nell, including Harden Dining Hall, will be razed. Replacing those facilities will be the Global Neighborhood, housing the same number of students with double the square footage of the previous complexes.

At the heart of the neighborhood will be the Isabella Cannon International Centre, which will move from its current location in Carlton Building; an international cafe and

theater; classrooms; faculty offices; and ample and opportunities to interact with facultystudy rooms, kitchens and large gathering in-residence. One feature of this complex spaces. Students will reside on themed floors, that we are particularly proud of is that the with first-year students enrolled in Global five residence halls surrounding this new Experience courses taught in the neighbor- quadrangle will be heated and cooled by a hood. Older students will serve as mentors geothermal system. Nearby, five new houses and lead the house governance system. in Loy Center will open this fall to provide Immediately following Commencement additional housing and meeting space for so2011, construction of the replacement for rorities and fraternities.

Harden Dining Hall will begin as an addiThis summer we will break ground on the tion to Moseley Center, effectively doubling first phase of the new senior class village, to the size of the building. The new dining hall be constructed on the playing fields across will offer views of Lake Mary Nell and feature from the Elon fire station on Williamson a second-floor facility similar to McKinnon Avenue. Designed to meet the needs of juHall that will provide additional space for niors and seniors, these two-story residences campus programs. Harden will not be razed will have balconies and two to four apartment until January 2013, when the Moseley addi- units per building, with each unit featuring tion is complete. single rooms for greater privacy. This 14-acre The Colonnades residential quadrangle site will have village-style architecture on a will be completed behind the Ernest A. Koury scale designed to integrate well with the Town Sr. Business Center in fall 2011. These new of Elon and will include amenities to promote facilities will house 300 students and feature bonding among classmates, including recresingle rooms and four-person suites, infor- ational facilities, an amphitheatre, gardens and mal gathering places, common kitchens and other outdoor gathering places. study rooms, more themed housing choices,

Honoring a campus leader Last year, Elon acquired property adjoin- professor, dean, vice president and provost. 17,000 square feet of space to be repurposed ing Danieley Center, including 9½ acres of He has loyally and effectively served with two for much needed undergraduate science land and the 150,000-square-foot former Elon presidents. expansion. We also plan to develop new intraSmithfield Foods building, which boasts The Francis Center will be the new home mural and club sports playing fields adjacent more than double the square footage of the of the doctor of physical therapy program and to the Francis Center and connect them with Koury Business Center. Much as we did when the new master of physician assistant studies a new road to Danieley Center. we renovated the former Greensboro Public program, which will open January 2013, and While Elon will remain principally focused Library to house the School of Law, we plan it will provide new labs for the exercise sci- on providing top-quality undergraduate edua complete interior demolition and repurpos- ence undergraduate program. There is much cation, the Elon Commitment plan calls us to ing of the facility. The renovated facility will more space available in the Francis Center for carefully and selectively consider new gradube named the Gerald L. Francis Center to later development to meet on-going campus ate programs, particularly when their presence honor Executive Vice President Gerry Francis, needs. Ideas that have been offered include enhances undergraduate education at Elon. who has dedicated his entire academic career centralizing Elon’s technology operations and This certainly promises to be the case with to Elon. Francis began as an assistant pro- increasing library storage. DPT’s relocation the PA program. fessor of mathematics and later became full from McMichael Science Center will allow CONTINUED the magazine of elon

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Special Report

The multi-faith center

The multi-faith center Later this year, we will break ground for a new multi-faith center to be located in the Academic Village adjacent to Phi Beta Kappa Plaza. While Elon was founded by the Protestant Christian Church, the university welcomes students from every faith tradition. Roman Catholics comprise the largest religious denomination on campus today, and growing numbers of Jewish, Muslim and Hindu students have joined the campus community.

We envision a multi-faith center that is a place for prayer, meditation and reflection in the heart of campus, respecting the differing customs of students’ religious and spiritual traditions. The center will encourage a robust dialogue about religion on campus, exploring what unites us in our common humanity and promoting the values served by deeper interfaith collaboration. The new center will house the staff of the Vera Richardson Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and

provide space to support scholarly activity, interdisciplinary seminars and distinguished visiting faculty. A large multi-purpose room and kitchen will provide student organizations with space for weekly observances, and programs and meals. Besides serving as a resource to encourage Elon students to grow spiritually, I see the multi-faith center as a resource that will allow Elon to contribute to creating peace and global understanding.

Building a more vibrant downtown Elon Beginning this winter, a three-story building will be constructed by a private developer on university-owned land on Williamson Avenue, the site occupied by a former bank building (most recently used to house The Pendulum) and the patio adjacent to the Acorn Coffee Shop. The new building, to be called Elon Town Center, will house mixed-use retail, including greatly expanded space for Elon’s bookstore operated by Barnes & Noble. We hope this building will serve as a catalyst for more investment in downtown Elon, encourage entrepreneurship and privately-owned business, and provide students with needed retail services and social opportunities convenient to campus.

Following the bookstore’s move from Moseley Center, we will renovate the space to house premier career services and employer relations offices. Finding rewarding employment in these challenging economic times requires 4

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considerable student planning, forethought, patience and networking. Successful performance during an internship is often the key to landing a permanent position following graduation. Elon will begin staffing its employer relations program this spring to expand our

network of alumni, parents and friends who are eager to assist Elon students and alumni in realizing their internship and career goals.

New facilities in Moseley will provide quality space for employers, interview rooms and offices for an expanded staff.

Elon Town Center on Williamson Avenue will include the Campus Shop and other retail businesses.

Special Report

New digs for the Phoenix The Elon Commitment strategic plan recognizes how important Phoenix athletics is to Elon’s national visibility. Elon has competed at the NCAA Division I level for a little more than a decade—just a short time. We have made much progress upgrading our athletics facilities during that period, most notably the construction of Rhodes Stadium, renovation of Latham Park and addition of Belk Track.

In January, we celebrated the opening of Alumni Field House at the north end of Rhodes Stadium, which houses the Horace Hendrickson Football Center; new athletics training and weight training facilities for all sports; offices for the athletics director, his staff and all coaches with facilities in the North Athletics Complex; and the Walker Room and Terrace for special events. While Alumni Field House won’t be formally dedicated until later this spring, we welcome you to come by and see this marvelous new building.

A huge transformation of Alumni Gym has taken place thanks to a generous gift from Trustee Jeanne Robertson and Jerry Robertson.

Old bleacher seats have been replaced with comfortable theater-style seats in a horseshoeshaped arena, new video boards have replaced the old scoreboard, and new lighting focuses fans’ attention on the action on the court.

Phase two of the Alumni Gym renovation, slated to begin this summer, includes plans for new locker rooms, team meeting rooms, and

Alumni Field House

office space for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. Also, the student fitness center in Koury Center will be greatly expanded this year in space vacated by athletics.

While Elon plans to build a new convocation center later this decade, the changes to Alumni Gym have given the Phoenix an immediate boost, and we are grateful to the many people who have helped upgrade this historic structure.

Next on the drawing board for the Phoenix is the construction of a new softball facility

across Williamson Avenue from Latham Park.

The move from the current field near East Gym will provide an adjacent parking lot that will serve softball, baseball and football fans.

Students, alumni, parents, friends and community members will obviously see many construction fences, bulldozers and cranes on campus over the next several years. We hope you will be patient with new traffic patterns and inevitable minor disruptions but also take pride in these great advancements in our facilities and programs.

In future columns, I will focus on other elements of the strategic plan that are well under way, including » updating Elon’s innovative general studies curriculum, the foundation for each undergraduate’s program at Elon, which is now undergoing an intensive two-year review by the faculty that is planned to be completed in May

» the search for a new chaplain to lead our religious and spiritual life programs

» our first recruiting class for the new International Fellows program

» progress we are achieving through the Ever Elon Campaign to provide more scholarship aid to keep the gates of this great university open to deserving young people of modest financial means

Keeping you up to date on developments at your university is essential. I look forward to conversations with many of you in the months ahead about the Elon Commitment and your personal interest in helping to keep Elon moving forward.

Leo M. Lambert President

» and much more!

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Elon News

The Gerald L. Francis Center

Trustees approve PA program site The board of trustees voted in January to locate Elon’s new physician assistant graduate program in what was once the Smithfield Foods building on Haggard Avenue, where it will be joined by the doctor of physical therapy program after renovations are complete.

Purchased by the university last spring, the new complex will be named the Gerald L. Francis Center in honor of Gerry Francis, Elon’s executive vice president and former provost.

“As we developed plans to launch the PA program, the synergies with our existing graduate and undergraduate health-related programs became apparent,” said Elon President Leo M. Lambert. “The Francis Center is also being renovated as the new home for our doctor of physical therapy program, and the two programs will be able to share some classroom and lab facilities.”

Lambert said the PA program will be a tremendous asset on the main campus as planning continues for a School of Health Sciences. Trustees considered locating the PA program in downtown Greensboro, N.C., but instead decided to negotiate the purchase of property near the law school that would support its plans for enrollment growth, and its expanding legal clinics and student organizations.

Elon donors have committed more than 1.5 million to support the PA program (see story on page 12).

Elon Provost Steven House also announced that Mark Archambault, currently vice chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, will serve as the founding director of the PA program.

legal services to low-income refugees and asylum seekers in North Carolina.

The clinic fills an urgent need in the Triad region, which annually receives more than 500 refugees assigned to North Carolina by the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement.

Lutheran Family Services in Greensboro provided similar services for refugees and asylum seekers in the region until the organization closed its local services office there in September 2010.

Under the supervision of law faculty, Elon Law students manage all aspects of refugee and asylee cases, meeting with clients, performing intake interviews, analyzing cases for legal remedy, gathering evidence, drafting and filing applications and briefs, and maintaining client correspondence. Students also observe and participate in hearings before federal administrative agencies and courts.

“Because the outcomes in each case handled through the clinic have enormous significance for clients and their families, students not only gain valuable legal training, they will also experience firsthand the impact their work as lawyers will have in the lives of the people they serve,” says Helen Grant, professor of law and director of the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic.

University remains #1 in study abroad ranking

The Institute of International Education again placed Elon at the top of its rankings of premier college study abroad programs.

The 2010 Open Doors Report named Elon 1 among master’s-level universities in the toElon expands downtown for the future growth of the law school’s en- tal number of students studying abroad. Elon Greensboro campus rollment and its expanding legal clinics and sent 1,092 students abroad during the 2008–09 Elon has signed a purchase agreement on student organizations. academic year, over 200 more students than three properties in downtown Greensboro, Elon’s law school opened in 2006 in the Villanova, James Madison University and N.C., about one-half block north of the Elon former Greensboro Public Library building on California State University – Long Beach.

University School of Law. North Greene Street. In 2009, Elon acquired Elon led the nation in short-term study The three warehouse/office buildings, built property adjacent to the law school building abroad experiences, sending more than 700 in the 1920s and 1930s, are currently vacant. on West Friendly Avenue, which now houses students on Winter Term programs, and was Elon also has agreed to an option to purchase the law school’s legal clinics. ranked 2 among master’s-level universities in additional parcels of land on the same downmid-length experiences. town block in the future.

Elon and Davidson College were the only The property acquisition supports Elon’s Elon Law adds clinic North Carolina institutions listed in the Open continued development of its downtown Elon University School of Law established Doors report among the 29 colleges and uniGreensboro campus. Long-range plans are to the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic versities that reported at least 70 percent study use the property to provide facilities needed in January, allowing students to provide free abroad participation.

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Elon News

Alumni Field House opens Athletics staff and coaches relocated on Jan. 14 from Koury Center to Alumni Field House. The 30,000-square-foot facility at the north end of Rhodes Stadium in the North Athletics Complex is the new headquarters for Phoenix athletics.

Alumni Field House includes the Hendrickson Football Center, named in recognition of a gift from alumni Jay ’71 and Amy ’69 Hendrickson of Raleigh, N.C., who made a 1 million gift in honor of Jay’s father, Horace J. Hendrickson, one of Elon’s all-time great coaches. It includes a spacious locker room with cherry wood cabinets, a state-of-the-art training room with a hydrotherapy room, and a large strength and conditioning room.

The second floor of the building includes the Walker Room and Terrace overlooking Rhodes Stadium, named in recognition of a gift from alumnus and trustee Zac Walker ’60 and his wife, Dot, of Raleigh, N.C. The couple made a gift in honor of Zac’s father, Zachary T. Walker Jr., a member of Elon’s Sports Hall of Fame, and Zac’s uncle, D.C. “Peahead” Walker, another of Elon’s all-time great coaches.

Alumni Field House includes a large team meeting room, conference rooms and space for student athletes to study. It also provides offices for the athletics director and coaches in the football, baseball, soccer, cross country, and track and field programs, as well as other athletics staff.

The building will be formally dedicated at ceremonies before the annual spring football game on Saturday, April 16.

Among the amenities in Alumni Field House are a hydrotherapy room, above, and a football locker room featuring cherry wood cabinets.

NBC’s Brian Williams, distinguished panelists to discuss global challenges Elon will devote its annual spring Convocation for Honors on April 7 Williams will lead a panel that includes: to an in-depth examination of five great problems facing humanity. » David Gergen, senior political analyst ana naly lyst st for or CNN, CNN,, adviser advise ad ser Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, will to four U.S. presidents and director tor of the Center for moderate a panel discussion titled “We can be better: Courageous Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School; voices confront our greatest challenges.” Distinguished panelists » David Walker, former U.S. Comptroller ptroller General and will explore tough choices that must be made to respond to threats to president and chief executive officer er of the Comeback our democracy, economies, public education, the environment and America Initiative; civil stability around the world. » Shirley Ann Jackson, president dent of Rensselaer “Brian Williams and our panelists will bring their unique per- Polytechnic Institute and a member er of the President’s spectives to bear on global issues that often seem intractable,” said Council of Advisors on Science and d Technology; President Leo M. Lambert. “I am confident we will find inspiration in » Eboo Patel, an American Muslim uslim of their ideas, and I’m thrilled that our community will have a rare oppor- Indian heritage who is an author, uthor, tunity to hold a dialogue with these dynamic leaders.” journalist and member of President ent Williams is the most decorated network evening news anchor of Barack Obama’s Advisory Council cil the modern era. A former NBC News chief White House correspondent, on Faith-Based Neighborhood d Williams has covered numerous nominating conventions, presiden- Partnerships; and tial campaigns and elections, and has moderated seven presidential » David Levin, co-founder of the debates. For his outstanding work, Williams has received the Walter “Knowledge is Power Program” Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism and the industry’s high- (KIPP), a network of high-achievest honor, the George Foster Peabody Award, among many others. ing charter schools.

Brian Williams

Elon News

Vice Adm. William E. Gortney ’77 to deliver Commencement address

Royall Spence Jr. ’4 2

Trustee emeritus Royall Spence Jr. ’42 dies

Vice Adm. William E. Gortney ’77 will deliver Elon’s 121st Commencement address May 21 Under the Oaks in front of West residence hall.

In July 2010, President Barack Obama nominated Gortney to serve as director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon. After his confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Gortney assumed his post, which assists in managing the Joint Staff and reports directly to Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Before his appointment to the Joint Staff, Gortney served as commander of the U.S. Naval Forces in Central Command, and as commander of the 5th Fleet in Bahrain. The post was his third command tour in the U.S. Central Command area of operations, which supports maritime security and combat operations for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Following his graduation from Elon, Gortney entered the Navy as an aviation officer candidate. He received his commission in the United States Vice Adm. William E. Gortney ’77 Naval Reserve in September 1977 and earned his wings of gold in December 1978. During his noteworthy career as a Navy pilot, Gortney flew more than 5,360 mishap-free flight hours and 1,265 carrier-assisted landings, primarily in the A-7E Corsair II and the FA-18 Hornet. He has received the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star and three Meritorious Service Medals, among other awards, for his outstanding service to the U.S. military.

Gortney is a 1996 graduate of the Naval War College, where he earned a master of arts in international security affairs.

Trustee Emeritus Royall Spence Jr. ’42, a generous supporter of Elon and member of the university’s board of trustees for more than two decades, died Dec. 22.

Spence graduated from Elon in 1942 and embarked on a successful business career, serving as president of Canada Dry Bottling in Greensboro, N.C., for several years. He served as a university trustee for 22 years, including tenure as vice chair (1974–89) and chair (1989–91). Spence and his wife, the late Luvene Holmes Spence ’43, made several gifts to Elon, including an endowment for the former McEwen Library and naming gifts for Colclough Residence Hall and the Luvene Holmes and Royall H. Spence Jr. Pavilion in the Academic Village.

Elon named Royall Spence the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 1977 and awarded him an honorary doctorate in commercial science in 1982. His peers on the board of trustees elected him a trustee emeritus in 1991, and in 2002, President Leo M. Lambert awarded Spence the Elon Medallion, the university’s highest honor, Ethics, takes a close, critical look at a central in recognition of his service to his alma mater. concept in feminist theory: objectification.

While acknowledging the role objectification plays in the analysis of social practices, Ann J. Cahill authors book Cahill argues that the idea has outlived its about objectification philosophical usefulness. She concludes the Routledge recently published a book written problem in our culture’s treatment of women

by Ann J. Cahill, professor and chair of the is not that women are treated as objects, but Department of Philosophy at Elon, as part of rather they are viewed wholly as a mere reits Research in Gender and Society series. The flection or projection of male subjectivity book, Overcoming Objectification: A Carnal and sexuality.

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Ann J. Cahill

Elon News

Elon Law hosts annual symposium

Several of the nation’s top scholars in intellectual property law, technology and the Internet gathered Oct. 29 at Elon University School of Law to explore how the Internet impacts public access to information and how society balances the desire for increased access to information with the need for secrecy, privacy and control.

Ten scholars participated in three panel discussions about topics that included Internet architecture and data flow, privacy issues associated with Twitter and Facebook, and effective models of Internet governance.

“The primary importance of the symposium was initiating thought and discussion about this new legal frontier, and helping the public, practitioners and scholars see the various facets of Internet transparency and how much work there is to be done,” says William Aycock, a third-year law student and editor-in-chief of the Elon Law Review.

The annual symposium was presented by the Elon Law Review, which advances legal education and scholarship through the contribution of intelligent discussion and analysis of the law.

Business students shine in competitions

Students in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business earned top honors at national and international competitions in the fall.

In October, senior Charley Costa and junior Stephen Azar took first place in the 2010 Eller Ethics Case Competition, a national contest hosted by the University of Arizona that features many of the nation’s top undergraduate business schools. It marked the second time in two years Elon students took top honors in the competition. Costa and Azar were coached by business school faculty Christy Benson and Gary Tsarsis.

Two weeks later, four Elon students were named the top school team at the Russ Berrie Institute National Sales Challenge at William Paterson University in New Jersey.

Senior Meg Anderson won the championship round of the contest and Costa finished third overall. The other team members were Cody Lance and Lauren Fredrickson. Michael

David Copeland receives lifetime achievement honor The American Journalism Historians Association this fall honored David Copeland, the A.J. Fletcher Professor in the School of Communications, with its Sidney Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism History.

Established in 1986, the award is the highest honor given to members of the AJHA and recognizes individuals with an exemplary record of sustained achievement in journalism history through teaching, research and professional activities.

Copeland, a past president of the AJHA, has written 10 books, 21 journal articles and 15 book chapters about the history of mass media. He has served as series editor for 26 books, including the eight-volume Greenwood Library of American War Reporting and the Mediating David Copeland American History book series. In addition, he’s the editor of Media History Monographs, an online media history journal.

“It’s a tremendous honor because it validates the work I’ve done,” Copeland says. “When I got this award, the man who gave it to me said it’s exciting to give the award to someone whose work you read in class as a student. That’s humbling.”

“David Copeland is known as a dynamic classroom teacher who can bring history alive for his students,” says Mike Conway, chair of the AJHA Awards Committee.

“In terms of service, he’s been an important part of AJHA since he started going to the conference as a graduate student in 1991.”

Copeland’s most recent book, The Media’s Role in Defining the Nation: The Active Voice, released in 2010, explores how media and society intersect. Currently, he’s finishing a chapter for the Oxford Handbook of Religion in the News. He’s also working on a book about journalism and news with a colleague at the University of Alabama scheduled for release in 2011, and a book about visual theory and practice that he’s writing with Elon communications faculty members Brooke Barnett, Harlen Makemson and Phillip Motley.

Rodriguez, assistant professor of marketing, coached the team.

Two more Elon seniors, Carl Hairston and Tyler Reynolds, took home cash awards from the World Collegiate Sales Competition at Northern Illinois University. Hairston was named the competition’s overall champion and Reynolds won first and second place in two of the contest’s challenges. Rodriguez coached the Elon students competing in the event.

Stephen Azar (l) and Charley Costa

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Elon News

Former Elon coaches chosen for N.C. Sports Hall of Fame

Tom Parham

Jerry Tolley

Elon coaches Tom Parham and Jerry Tolley will be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame at a May ceremony in Raleigh.

Parham led Elon’s men’s tennis program for nearly two decades and briefly coached the women’s team, and Tolley guided Elon football to consecutive naia Division I national championships in 1980 and 1981.

Parham retired from Elon in 2004 after coaching the men’s tennis team for 19 years (1986–2004) and the women’s squad for four campaigns (2001–04). His men’s teams compiled a 278–114 record, earning 11 consecutive conference titles, advancing to the naia Division 1 tournament in each of those seasons and winning the overall title in 1990. From 1987 to 1991, Parham’s teams did not drop a conference

match, posting a 34–0 record. He was honored as National Coach of the Year four times.

Elon awarded Parham the Elon Medallion, the university’s highest honor, in 2004. Parham has taught tennis to thousands of North Carolinians and has been a supporter of junior and college tennis throughout his career. He has been recognized with three national community service awards and was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by the state in 1979.

Tolley came to Elon in 1967 as defensive coordinator and later became an assistant head coach under Shirley “Red” Wilson. After Wilson departed Elon in 1977, Tolley became head football coach. Over the next five years, Elon’s teams tallied a 49–11–2 record, winning four South Atlantic Conference

championships and three district titles. Tolley’s teams also advanced to the naia Division I playoffs on three occasions, claiming national titles in 1980 and 1981. He retired from coaching after the 1981 season.

Tolley received several conference, district, state, regional, area and national coach of the year accolades. In 2002, he received the Laurel Wreath Award, the highest award for athletic excellence given by the state of North Carolina.

In 2003, the American Football Coaches Association honored Tolley with its Lifetime Membership Award, and in 2004, he received the All-American Football Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a member of the naia Hall of Fame, the South Atlantic Conference Hall of Fame and the Elon Sports Hall of Fame.

Former astronaut honored for entrepreneurship Venture capitalist and former astronaut Bernard A. Harris Jr. received the Elon University Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership last fall in a ceremony sponsored by the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership.

In Harris’ keynote address, the first African-American to walk in space implored students to keep pushing themselves and to always be looking for a dream worth pursuing.

“If you’re living and breathing, there’s always something else to accomplish, there is always something else to contribute to this world,” he said.

Harris served at NASA for 10 years, during which he logged more than 438 hours and 7.2 million miles in space and conducted the first telemedicine conference from space with the Mayo Clinic. He has also served as vice president and chief scientist of SPACEHAB, Inc., an innovative space commercialization company where he directed the company’s space science business. Today, Harris is the managing partner and chief executive officer of Vesalius Ventures and founder of The Harris Foundation, a Houston-based nonprofit that supports math/science education and crime prevention programs for America’s youth.

Harris is the second recipient of the Elon University Medal for Entrepreneurial Leadership, which recognizes an entrepreneur who is a leader in his or her industry and who exemplifies the values of Elon University, including integrity, innovation and creativity, passion for lifelong learning, and a commitment to building a dynamic community. The first recipient of the award, Jim Goodnight, CEO of Raleigh, N.C.-based software company SAS, accepted the award in spring 2009.

Bernard A. Harris Jr.

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Elon News

L-R, Chuck Collard, Carole Ann Barnett Collard, Kebbler McGhee Williams, Michelle Pautz and Jack Lindley

Elon recognizes outstanding alumni “Stop trying to figure out who you are or what is more important in your multiplicities of identity. Instead, celebrate that multiplicity, recognize that every aspect – from who you are, to the movies you watch, to your sexual orientation, to your religion or citizenship – is equally important, equally valid and equally a part of the experience that we are to have here as members of a global community.”

Reza Aslan, an internationally acclaimed writer and religious scholar who serves as a contributing editor for “The Daily Beast,” speaking at College Chapel on Nov. 11. Aslan’s bestseller, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam, was named one of the 100 most important books of the past decade.

The Elon Alumni Association celebrated the achievements of six remarkable Elon graduates at Homecoming 2010.

Jack R. Lindley Sr. ’56 P’83 received the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award in honor of his tireless efforts to foster economic vitality and community growth in Alamance County for more than half a century. Following a 28-year career in the property and casualty insurance industry, he took the reins of a local firm, Industrial Paper Products, which since has flourished to become a key asset to the regional economy. He has been an Elon trustee since 2001 and previously served the board of visitors from 1988 to 2001.

Kebbler McGhee Williams ’98 received the Distinguished Alumna of the Year Award. Currently pursuing a doctoral degree in educational leadership at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, McGhee has guided her schools to unprecedented levels of excellence and recently was appointed principal of Franklinville (N.C.) Elementary School. She served as an Elon youth trustee for two years following her graduation and rejoined the board as a trustee in 2008.

Michelle C. Pautz ’03, an assistant professor in the University of Dayton’s Department of Political Science, was named Young Alumna of the Year. A gifted scholar, Pautz received master’s and doctoral degrees from Virginia Tech and has

displayed a unique ability to produce rigorous scholarship with mainstream appeal, including a recent article she wrote with Elon professor Laura Roselle, which was published in Public Voices, a leading journal in the field of political science.

Charles “Chuck” and Carole Ann Barnett Collard ’89 received the Alumni Service Award. After their adopted daughter, Carly, died of cancer in 2002, the couple founded Carly’s Club, a nonprofit organization that supports nearly 300 pediatric cancer patients in the greater Buffalo, N.Y., area. The couple has played an integral role in raising more than 3 million for cancer research at Buffalo’s Roswell Park Cancer Institute, where Carly received her treatments.

Steve R. Schuckenbrock ’82, unable to be on campus for Homecoming, received the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award during a Nov. 12 visit to Elon. As president of Dell Global Large Enterprise, Schuckenbrock manages about a third of Dell’s worldwide business and has played a critical role in transforming the company from a hardware producer to a business solutions provider. A dynamic and influential executive, he has provided visionary leadership at EDS, The Feld Group, PepsiCo, Frito-Lay and IBM. To learn more about Schuckenbrock’s life and career, see page 24.

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Update

BY JALEH HAGIGH

EVER ELON REACHES $87 MILLION Major gifts from alumni, parents and friends have continued to fuel the momentum of Ever Elon: The Campaign for the Future of Our University. As of late January, donors had contributed $87 million in cash, pledges and planned gifts toward the $100 million campaign goal.

labcorp strengthens elon academy Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings has made a major gift to support endowment for the Elon Academy, a university-run college-access and academic enrichment program that encourages Alamance County high school students with significant financial need to earn college degrees and serve their communities.

The company’s gift will create the LabCorp Endowment for Opportunity, which will provide a permanent funding source for Elon Academy operations. Private gifts are vital to the Elon Academy because students do not pay tuition to attend the program.

“LabCorp is pleased to support an initiative

Elon Academy students perform experiments in McMichael Science Center.

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attendance. The program, which opened in 2007, combines three intensive four-week summer residential experiences at Elon with a variety of academic activities throughout the school year.

Based in Burlington, N.C., LabCorp is one of the world’s largest clinical laboratories and a pioneer in genomic testing and the that makes opportunities available to young commercialization of new diagnostic technolpeople in our community,” says David P. ogies. LabCorp has a history of supporting King, chairman and chief executive officer education in Alamance County and at Elon, of LabCorp. including making generous gifts to the uni“Th is generous gift from LabCorp dem- versity’s Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center onstrates the company’s commitment to our and establishing a summer internship procommunity and to the critical role educa- gram for Elon Academy scholars. tion plays in shaping our future,” says Elon President Leo M. Lambert. “Through this gift, LabCorp is making a major statement, tell- support continues for ing the young men and women of the Elon physician assistant program Academy that they have bright futures and More than $1.5 million has been committed to deserve our full support.” support Elon’s new graduate program in phyThe Elon Academy is a three-year, year- sician assistant studies. round program for students in the AlamanceMajor gifts to the pa program inBurlington School System with high clude $900,000 from a partnership among financial need or no family history of college Alamance Regional Medical Center (armc), Moses Cone Health System and the Duke Endowment. armc has made a second commitment to the program, bringing its total support to nearly $500,000. The Cannon Foundation of Concord, N.C., made a $100,000 grant, while Glen Raven, Chandler Concrete, the Alamance County Economic Development Foundation and the Alamance County Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau have also made generous gifts.

“We are grateful for the support and encouragement we have received from leaders in health care, and most notably John Currin of Alamance Regional Medical Center and Tim Rice of Moses Cone Health System,” Lambert says. “We are confident this new graduate program will contribute to the quality of life, economic health, business activity and reputation of the region.”

Lambert also commended Elon trustee martin establishes be centrally located on campus as the sixth and Glen Raven ceo Allen Gant for his lead- need-based scholarship pavilion in the Academic Village. ership in seeking financial resources for the Chris Martin ’78 has been a loyal supporter One of the center’s largest spaces and most program. of his alma mater for more than two decades, prominent naming opportunities will be the making regular annual gifts to help students chapel in which students, faculty and staff of now and putting the university in his estate various faiths will gather for worship, religious porter enhances plans to help secure its future. He has con- ceremonies or quiet reflection. The chapel will career services tinued his commitment to Elon by making be one of the most architecturally distinctive Preparing students to land top jobs in a $100,000 gift to endow the Martin Family and functional spaces on campus, featuring the business world inspired Elon parent Scholarship, which will assist David Porter to endow the Porter Family students with financial need.

Artist’s rendering of the future multi-faith center’s chapel Professional Development Center in the “I saw the great things that Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. were going on at Elon, and I The newest named center in the Love School, decided I wanted to be part the Porter Center will support student par- of that,” says Martin, presiticipation in internships as well as network- dent and ceo of Provident ing and job placement activities, among other Bank in Jersey City, N.J. career initiatives.

“Teaching and helping stuPorter, a managing partner at Baystate dents are good things that are Financial Services in Boston, says he has been worth supporting. Could I do impressed with the Elon students who have other things with my money? worked as interns at his company and wanted Sure, but I think Elon uses its to take career services in the Love School to money very wisely.” new heights.

Martin was the first member of his family a vaulted roof, high ceiling, natural light and “Elon students are focused and have an in- to earn a college degree. He received financial art that distinguishes it as sacred space. The credible work ethic,” says Porter, a member of assistance to attend Elon and worked through- chapel will feature separate entrances facing the university’s Parents Council along with out his undergraduate career to make ends Haggard Avenue and Elon’s Phi Beta Kappa his wife, Jennifer. “The basis of their educa- meet. He understands the critical role that Commons. tion is phenomenal, and I’m impressed with scholarships play in making an Elon educaElon seeks to raise $2 million for the multihow engaged the professors are and how ready tion possible for students with financial need. faith center. A full list of naming opportunistudents are to enter the business community.”

“I think it’s important to give students ties is available at tinyurl.com/27wrnjh.

Porter’s son, Tim, is a senior business from all walks of life the opportunity to go Naming opportunities also are available major and Doherty Scholar in the Doherty to Elon,” Martin says. “The university is do- for the second phase of renovations to Alumni Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, lo- ing something right because it is educating Gym, home of Phoenix basketball and volvo cated in the Love School. bright global citizens who want to make a dif- leyball. Those opportunities include the plaza za ference in the world.” outside the south entrance, men’s and wommMartin is the incoming president of the en’s basketball office suites, player’s lounge for or Elon Alumni Board. His son, Nicholas, is an men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball ofElon junior. fice suite and locker room, and d student-athathlete academic excellence center. er.

naming opportunities available for multi-faith center, alumni gym

David Porter

Fundraising continues for the multi-faith center, which will enhance religious life programming at the university, and renovations to Alumni Gym. The multi-faith center will give students an attractive, welcoming place to practice their faiths, gather for fellowship and learn about other religious traditions, affirming the university’s commitment to develop the mind, body and spirit of each student and nurture a diverse campus community. The center will

donors make planned nned gifts Order of the Oak, Elon’ss planned d gift g legacy society, welcomes new ew members membeers Jessie J Thurecht Hook ’46, of Charlottesville, harlottesv sville,, Va., and Nancy S. Midgettee and Charles C s O. Midgette, of Burlington, N.C. N.C C. Additional Additioonal gifts have been made byy Order O off the Oak members Mary S. Underwood Underwood, od, of Alexandria, Va.; Harold E. Maxwell ’41 and Jolene C. Maxwell, of Fayetteville, tteville,, N.C.; and William J. Ruth ’66 and Mary Coolidge C olidge Ruth ’66, of Pleasant Hill, Tenn. n

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Phoenix Sports

elonphoenix.com

Alberto Rojas

Frida Jansaker

BY KRISTIN M. SIMONETTI ’05

FINDING THEIR COMFORT ZONE Phoenix men’s tennis standout Alberto Rojas had played three years of international tennis before deciding to attend college in the United States and enroll at Elon in 2007. Despite his wealth of tennis experience, the senior from Cuernavaca, Mexico, remembers feeling a twinge of apprehension just before he came to campus to start his freshman year.

“One thing I was scared about was the stereotype – that people here don’t think highly of Mexico,” he says. “But at Elon, I found no stereotypes. People invite you in and they want to help you.”

Rojas’ experience isn’t unique. Over the past several years, the Elon community has served as an incubator of sorts for outstanding international student-athletes, particularly in tennis. Elon’s men’s and women’s tennis coaches, Michael Leonard and Elizabeth Anderson, have brought in the likes of Damon Gooch ’09, Elon’s first ncaa Division I singles tournament qualifier, and Anna Milian ’10, the 2010 Southern Conference Player of the Year.

“The word is out about Elon, even more than you realize,” says Anderson, who has coached at Elon since 2004. “It’s a perfect fit for many international athletes because it’s a small school.”

The word about Elon came to freshman Frida Jansaker from a friend at her hometown tennis club in Kristianstad, Sweden. That

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Phoenix tennis players Alberto Rojas and Frida Jansaker thrive far from home

friend was Sebastian Bredberg ’08, who starred for Phoenix men’s tennis during his time on campus.

“He didn’t come home much after going to Elon, so I knew he liked it. I thought, ‘it must be a good school,’” Jansaker recalls.

Despite the welcoming arms of Elon’s faculty, staff and students, however, the transition isn’t always easy, according to Rojas.

“First, there’s the language barrier and after three years of not going to school, it was hard to get back into a routine of getting up early, going to class and doing homework – plus tennis,” says Rojas, who completed his high school degree online while focusing on his game.

Additionally, Leonard says, international tennis players often find it challenging to adjust to the college game, which is very much a team-oriented sport.

“There are coaches on the court, people cheering on the court and people on the court right next to you,” says Leonard, himself an Elon tennis star from 1988 to 1991. “The players who love to compete and spend time with their teammates, it comes to them quickly.”

Rojas was one of those players. In his second season with the Phoenix, Rojas posted a perfect 10-0 record in SoCon singles play and earned a match-clinching victory over the College of Charleston that sent Elon to the 2009 SoCon Tournament finals.

Jansaker hopes to follow Rojas’ example.

“In Sweden, we wouldn’t practice more than 1½ hours a day, but here, I can play as much as I want,” she says. “In my first semester, I developed so much, and the team’s expectations make me want to work even harder.”

Off the court, Jansaker’s teammates have played a big role in helping her find her comfort zone in American culture and college life.

The team quickly gave her a circle of good friends, especially fellow first-year international players Viviana Stavreva of Italy and Andrea Pont Grau of Spain. After just one semester playing together, Jansaker has high hopes for their future with Elon tennis.

“We’re a really close group,” she says. “When we’re seniors, we’re going to be fantastic!”

At the other end of the spectrum sits Rojas, who will complete his Elon career this spring.

In May, he’ll graduate with his degree in business administration and hopes to be working for a multinational company, perhaps based in the United States, at this time next year. Of course, he’d like to be playing tennis in some capacity, too. But in the long run, he’d like to return to his native Mexico – and bring a little bit of the Elon community with him.

“At Elon, people are always willing to help, always doing community service,” Rojas says.

“That’s not common in Mexico, and it makes me want to give back. I’d like to do something for my country.”

Phoenix Sports

Rising star

BY PAIGE FREDRICKSON

A gifted athlete and emerging team leader, Phoenix forward Kelsey Evans was selected to write the 2010–11 Southern Conference’s women’s basketball blog on SoConSports.com.

The sophomore spoke with Elon athletics about her experiences and newfound fame. q. How have you changed as an athlete since arriving at Elon? evans: Playing at this level takes a lot of time and dedication, and it’s com-

pletely different from what I could’ve imagined in high school. You really have to love what you’re doing to be able to put this much time and energy into it. As an athlete, my passion for the game has grown and my competitive nature has really come out. q. How did the Southern Conference blog come about? evans: When I was first approached and asked if I’d be interested in writ-

ing this blog, I didn’t know it was for the conference website. I thought it was just for Elon. Once I realized people outside Elon would be reading it, I was kind of nervous, but I love writing it. It’s mostly about stuff off the court. Anyone can see if we won a game or how many points someone scored, but they love to hear about what goes on outside the gym. I’m always keeping mental tabs on things so I can remember it for the blog.

When our bus broke down on the way back from Marshall, I said, “Well, this has got to go in the blog.” q. You’re a sophomore but already a major leader on the

team. How do you handle that responsibility? evans: I remember Coach (Karen) Barefoot telling me at the end of last year that this was going to be my role and not to think of it as something just for seniors. When this year rolled around, I was ready. It helps that the upperclassmen are very respectful but at the same time they know they can always say something to me. It’s very much a two-way street. q. How is Elon helping you achieve your goal

of becoming a physician assistant? evans: At Elon, the professors are always pushing you to levels you never

thought you could reach. They’re pushing you to become the best student and person you can be. I really admire that about this place. All the professors are very helpful and are always available to help me and explain things so I don’t get behind. I love the support in and out of athletics.

jason swepson to lead elon football Elon named veteran acc assistant football coach Jason Swepson its 20th head football coach at a Jan. 10 news conference in Alumni Gym. “We were looking for someone that’s demonstrated he’s had a positive influence and will be a positive role model for our student-athletes here at Elon University,” said Dave Blank, Elon’s director of athletics. “Jason Swepson showed me and convinced me that he was the right Jason Swepson person for the job.”

Swepson succeeds Pete Lembo, who resigned Dec. 21 a er five years as Elon’s head coach to take the same position at Ball State University.

Swepson recently completed his fourth season as running backs coach under Tom O’Brien, head coach at North Carolina State University.

He played a vital role in guiding the Wolfpack to two bowl appearances, including the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl, which nc State won in January.

Prior to his post with the Wolfpack, Swepson served as O’Brien’s running backs coach from 1999 to 2006 at Boston College, his alma mater.

He also has experience as an intern with three nfl teams and has served on the coaching staffs at Boston University, Northeastern University, the College of the Holy Cross and the University of Rhode Island.

“We will continue to build on the success and hard work that the student-athletes have achieved over the last couple years,” Swepson said. “We will be champions in the classroom. We will be champions in the community. We will be champions on the field.”

A native of Seekonk, Mass., Swepson said he is excited to join the Elon community with his wife, Tanya, and their children, Kiana, Nadia and Payton.

Join Swepson and the Phoenix football team for the annual spring game on Saturday, April 16.

Elon will dedicate the new Alumni Field House in a ceremony before the game.

Check out Evans’ SoCon blog at elon.edu/magazine

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BY ERIC TOWNSEND

Moment of truth Five days before Thanksgiving and face-to-face with a chicken, an Elon student weighs a choice that will affect how she approaches food for the rest of her life

Students watch as Corey Landry demonstrates the farm’s poultry processing operation.

A

dley Kloth and eight classmates from an Elon public administration senior seminar course gathered around a collection of metal funnels that opened over a drip pan collecting blood from chickens raised on an organic farm they were visiting.

Many in the group had never killed another living creature, except for a few houseflies and mosquitoes. But if they wanted to see how local organic farmers raise and process livestock – as opposed to the slaughterhouse methods illustrated in documentaries they watched for class – well, this was how to do it, especially since they would have an opportunity to personally process the chickens.

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There was no way around it: Processing starts with killing, and just a few minutes after the farm co-owner demonstrated the task, the students would experience engaged learning in a way they’d never imagined before the fall semester. Kloth asked herself the question she’d considered for weeks: Can I really kill a bird? She silently repeated her answer. If you can kill it, you have the right to eat it. If you can’t kill it, you don’t.

That’s exactly the thought process Betty Morgan, the course’s professor, hoped her students would discover when she designed this senior seminar.

An associate professor of political science and public administration and director of

Elon’s Center for Public Affairs, Morgan frequently leads students overseas for leadership and research opportunities. During her travels, Morgan noted differences in how people elsewhere in the world treat food. Meats and produce appear fresher, she said. They taste richer and have stronger flavor. Farmers sell food in local markets instead of preserving and shipping it elsewhere.

These observations led Morgan to organize her public administration senior seminar course around agriculture policies in the United States. The class looked not only at food processing, but also labor policies related to farming and agriculture, farm safety and health regulations, regulatory funding, and

health and nutrition issues. Students focused their studies on the food safety regulation law debated by Congress in November 2010, the first substantive federal food safety legislation passed in decades.

“I believe that 20-year-olds these days are completely disconnected from the process by which food comes to their plate,” Morgan explained shortly before the farm visit. “They have no idea who produces it, how it’s raised, and importantly for this class, what public policies condition our choices. … Our system of production is absolutely

“I want to let other people know where their food comes from. The biggest reaction I get is, ‘I don’t want to know!’ I think that’s sad.

It’s sad that people want to separate their food product from the process itself.”

– senior adley kloth

horrific, and people don’t know, particularly people at this age.”

Kloth, a Cincinnati native, is a perfect example; her mother and father loved to cook.

Sure, Kloth craved fish sticks and chicken nuggets like many children, but she also savored the vegetables that accompanied most dinners: Brussels sprouts, asparagus, green beans, Kloth ate them all. That didn’t mean she cared about, or was even aware of, the origin of those meals.

Food was simply a bonding experience that brought Kloth and her parents together each night around the kitchen table.

That changed last summer. A public administration and international studies double major, Kloth lived with her aunt outside of

Washington, D.C., and the pair would drive the table for removal of organs and preparanearly an hour to buy local produce. Questions tion for sale. bubbled in Kloth’s mind. Why? What are the The students now had an opportunity to try benefits to buying local? it themselves. Two classmates first wielded the She began exploring answers to those knives, then Kloth stepped forward. questions in Morgan’s senior seminar, which Landry picked out a chicken from a crate. took students to local farms. They saw that It made little noise as he placed it upside down Americans can make a living following healthy in the funnel, its head poking out underneath. and organic practices. They sampled grass-fed Kloth grabbed a second chicken and followed beef, milked goats and, on the Saturday before Landry’s lead.

Thanksgiving, they processed poultry.

Her classmates watched as she approached Kloth rode that morning with classmate the first bird, careful not to look it in the eye.

Jackie Seisman to the small Orange County, If I look it in the eye, I may not be able to do this, she told herself. Make it quick and painless.

Kloth swiped the knife. Again. It was harder than it looked. Barely loud enough for anyone to hear, she apologized to the bird for the pain she imagined her feathered victim felt.

“Can I help?” Landry asked.

Kloth surrendered the blade. The farmer leaned down and sliced both sides of the neck.

The bird died in seconds. Kloth stared at the second chicken.

“Let me try again,” she said.

This time, Kloth found the artery at the top of the neck on her first attempt. Moments later, she and Landry took the birds to the tank for de-feathering.

It was Morgan’s hope that, for Kloth and her classmates, the day’s experience would bring home the subjects they’d discussed all semester.

“We are now living in a world artificially contrived and so controlled by agricultural conglomerates and lobbyists that we don’t have much freedom to make good choices anymore,” Morgan explained. “What I set out to do was show them that we do have options that don’t paint us into that corner.”

The smell of chickens saturated Kloth’s clothes so much that Saturday afternoon, she nearly vomited when she returned home to N.C., organic farm where co-owner Suzanne her apartment. She refused to eat poultry for Nelson and her husband, Corey Landry, wel- two weeks but doesn’t regret her experience. If comed Morgan’s class. Nelson took the group nothing else, she said, sharing her story about on a tour while Landry prepared the process- the farm visit has opened a dialogue with faming station. ily and friends.

The metal funnels and drip pan sat beside “I want to let other people know where their a tank filled with 160-degree water, a plastic food comes from,” she said. “The biggest reaccontainer with rubber fingers and water jets, tion I get is, ‘I don’t want to know!’ I think and a stainless steel table with knives. that’s sad. It’s sad that people want to separate After the tour, Landry demonstrated for their food product from the process itself.” students how to process the chickens. Three Kloth might even be interested in running birds were placed in the funnels and had arter- her own organic farm should the opportunity ies in their necks sliced. Next, the chickens one day make itself available. were dunked several times in the water tank to And she lived up to her own ultimatum: loosen their feathers. The centrifuge detached She killed a chicken; now she can eat one. the feathers, and the chickens were placed on the magazine of elon

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a valued voice

BY ERIC TOWNSEND

Throughout the fall, Elon education majors helped the children improve their reading as part of a required literacy skills course, “Methods for Teaching Struggling Readers.”

The course paired future educators with students in the second through fifth grades each week at the May Memorial Library in Burlington, N.C. As a reward for their progress, the young pupils were invited to meet their Elon tutors that night at Barnes & Noble, where they could select up to $50 of books at no cost to families.

Jean Rattigan-Rohr, an assistant professor of education at Elon, stood amid the commotion. Parents approached Rattigan-Rohr at every turn, telling her that she had done what no other school resource had yet accomplished: boosted their child’s reading abilities.

“I’m always humbled by the turnout,” said Rattigan-Rohr, smiling as she surveyed the children’s book section. “You see fathers and mothers, you see grandparents here, and people have this notion that many parents don’t care about their children. Look around, that’s just not true!”

Rattigan-Rohr had other reasons to grin.

Last summer, the Switzerland-based Oak Foundation awarded her a $200,000 grant to expand the project, which she founded in 2008 after taking over the methods course required of Elon education majors. Starting this spring, Rattigan-Rohr’s reading program will be copied at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Concordia University in Oregon. Where it goes after that is anyone’s guess, though the professor that students and colleagues describe as “a true Renaissance woman” knows one thing is certain: “I’m constantly looking for ways to make it better.”

becoming a teacher

It was hard to tell who was having the be!er time, the children or the professor, on a mid-December evening when two dozen elementary school students and their parents visited the Barnes & Noble bookstore two miles from Elon University’s campus.

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Rattigan-Rohr grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, the daughter of a general contractor father and a homemaker mother. The middle of five children, she readily describes an upbringing that allowed her to attend the island nation’s top schools, including the Alpha Academy Convent of Mercy, where the seeds of a future teaching career were planted by a speech and drama teacher.

Teaching, however, wasn’t her first career choice. After graduating from high school, Rattigan-Rohr delivered the evening news for the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation’s television division in Kingston. Away from the

camera, she moderated “You Asked For It,” a daytime radio call-in program, and deejayed a top-20 radio hits program for the jbc.

Rattigan-Rohr moved to New York City in the 1970s, married her husband, John, and started a family. By 1981, Rattigan-Rohr was managing a desktop publishing team for Blair Television. The job required her to oversee dayto-day management and training of graphic designers who created layouts for television and advertising sales.

When the family relocated to North Carolina in 1994 for her husband’s career, Rattigan-Rohr began noticing that her son was struggling in some of his classes. Wanting to determine what hindered his learning, she enrolled at unc-g to study speech-language pathology and audiology. The problems her son experienced, she concluded based on her studies, might have been caused by ineffective teaching.

After finishing her degree, Rattigan-Rohr accepted a position in 2000 with Guilford County Schools, first as a middle school teacher for exceptional children, then as a curriculum facilitator at a nearby high school.

It was while working in the schools that she found support for her hypothesis.

A majority of classroom teachers were female, white and middle class, she observed.

They went into neighborhoods to teach, then left the neighborhoods to go home. It used to be that many teachers lived within their school’s community, Rattigan-Rohr says, but that’s just not the case anymore.

She also noted that teachers often lamented a lack of parental involvement. But from Rattigan-Rohr’s point of view, the notion that poor and minority parents aren’t interested in the education of their children is far from the truth. Parents may not be visible at school plays or for parent-teacher conferences because, she

says, by holding down two or three jobs to sup- cultures,” says Madelyn Rohleder ’09, who port the family, after-school hours just aren’t took the course in 2008 and has volunteered convenient for meeting with teachers. with Rattigan-Rohr ever since to mentor Elon students tutoring children in the class.

“Because she actually makes you culturally a road less traveled aware of students, you can better connect with them, making you a better teacher.”

Rattigan-Rohr took those observations – and many more – with her when, after four years in the school system, she enrolled in unc-g’s coming full circle doctoral program in education. She studied under two influential educators at unc-g, Sam Rattigan-Rohr’s community outreach Miller and Gerry Duff y, and later joined them involves more than the tutoring program. on the faculty in  as an assistant professor In , motivated by a lifelong interest in and coordinator of professional development the performing arts, she wrote a play based schools. In , Rattigan-Rohr moved east- on conversations her Elon students shared ward, accepting a position at Elon. with her from their student teaching. Valued One of her first tasks at Elon involved over- Voices tells the story of an African-American hauling the syllabus for “Methods for Teaching teenager with teachers, a principal and a grandStruggling Readers.” She changed the focus mother who fail to see the elements of the of the course from theory to more strongly ninth grader’s struggles. The play introduces emphasize parental interaction and one-on- its audience to several obstacles that confront one instruction between education majors and minority students, including unequal distribuyoung children. tion of experienced teachers, the “pedagogy of “It would have been easy to teach the course poverty,” education reforms and low student as it had always been taught, in the comfort- expectations. able environs of Elon without bothering with The script has been performed by the North the reality,” said Duff y, now retired Carolina Black Repertory Theater Company, from unc-g but still considered an an organization sponsored by the North expert on strategies for teaching Carolina Arts Council. children to read. “That’s not Jean. …

In a sense, Rattigan-Rohr’s success with She’s tying into the thing that most “Valued Voices” brings her life story full circle, people don’t spend a lot of time with, back to Kingston. Her middle school speech in that these kids sometimes come and drama teacher, Mable B. Livingston, from homes where the parents aren’t inspired her in ways she tries to replicate good readers themselves. today with education majors. Through their “The thing that’s really unique is friendship over the decades, Rattigan-Rohr has that she requires the parents to be learned the secret to that inspiration. there. That’s what’s captured the “I hope I am like Ms. Livingston to them, fancy of the foundation that awarded that I become that kind of teacher. It’s in the her the grant, and it’s the start of honest way she wants to make her students something that will really have an better,” Rattigan-Rohr says of her teaching impact.” philosophy. “I should teach you in such a way Parents tip their hats to the passion that you become a better teacher than I am.

Rattigan-Rohr brings every time she visits And I hope you teach your students in such a the library. way that they become stronger and better and “She’s very astute and very professional. I know more than you do. … I know, beyond was impressed with her ‘village’ approach; the shadow of a doubt, that a knowledgeable, these children are our children,” says Hubert dedicated, caring teacher is an incredible Brown, whose daughter is in the fourth grade magician; not one that plays tricks but one at Newlin Elementary School in Burlington. that shapes and changes lives for the better.”

“She’s very assertive. That’s a defining characJudging by the hugs the children and her teristic these days.” own Elon students gave her as the Barnes Her Elon students, current and former, & Noble visit ended in December, one was agree. left wondering where Rattigan-Rohr keeps “She is extremely knowledgeable on every- her wand. thing, and she takes into account students’

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Flashbacks

BY KIM WALKER Contributions by Katie Nash and George Troxler

A

common refrain heard as Elon alumni walk across campus even after a short time away sounds a little something like this: “Wow, I hardly recognize this place anymore!”

From new dorms and dining halls to an on-campus football stadium and a law school campus in Greensboro, N.C., it seems that, at Elon, something is always changing. With yet another significant campus transformation under way, take a moment to look back at how far the campus has already come and enjoy a brief Elon history lesson in the process.

alamance building Alamance may not be the oldest building on campus, but its foundation contains remnants of the first structure built at Elon: the Main Administration Building. After the  fire gutted “Old Main,” its broken bricks were incorporated into the material that built Alamance’s foundation in .

Alamance originally had a parking lot extending from its north side. After 1981 renovations added staircases on Alamance’s east and west sides, work began on the construction of Scott Plaza and iconic Fonville Fountain, where the parking lot once stood.

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whitley auditorium This photo documents Whitley’s  renovations, with Roger B. Wilson ’ standing on the scaffolding. Whitley underwent another renovation in , when the Alyse Smith Cooper Organ was installed and air conditioning was finally added.

lake mary nell This  photo features fraternity members racing a homemade boat across what was then known simply as “The Lake,” which was constructed by Elon to solve a waterdrainage problem on a chronically marshy area of campus. Christened Lake Mary Nell in , today’s Elon students can enter the forbidden waters without risking a fine only once a year: during the Polar Bear Plunge in January.

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young commons In October , Elon’s board of trustees adopted a plan that suggested moving parking areas to the perimeter of campus and converting former parking lots into courtyards and walkways. That plan has shaped the look of Elon ever since. The transformation of the area in this photo began in , with the opening of Moseley Center and the addition of the Koury Center. The parking lot in front of Moseley was removed and a lawn planted, which Elon named Young Commons in  as a tribute to J. Fred Young, Elon’s seventh president.

the senior oak As men cleared the land upon which Elon would be built in , one large, crooked oak survived the axe. Dubbed the “Senior Oak” in , the tree became a campus icon until it was struck by lightning in  and deemed unsalvageable.

A year later, the Senior Oak was removed, and though a replacement was planted by the Class of , that tree, too, perished.

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BY KRISTIN M. SIMONETTI ’05

Steve Schuckenbrock ’82 makes waves in the world of IT

CAPTAIN of INDUSTRY In 2006, Steve Schuckenbrock ’82 received

an intriguing phone call. On the other end was Michael Dell, founder and chief executive officer of Dell, Inc., and a business acquaintance of Schuckenbrock’s for more than  years.

“I shared with Steve the vision of where we wanted to take Dell and what we needed to do to get there,” Dell says. “At that time, we recognized that our business needed to align more closely with our customers’ changing needs, which meant a heavier focus on information technology solutions and services.”

Dell asked Schuckenbrock if he’d be interested in helping to lead the charge.

“Michael was committed to building a 24

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Like Bill Gates, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Beatles and others Gladwell profi les in the book, Schuckenbrock found himself presented with unique opportunities, which, coupled with driving ambition, resulted in success beyond his wildest expectations.

“I’m grateful for my luck,” he says. “I’ve had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time and to capitalize on it.”

The son of a successful salesman, different outcome and new offerings. Those Schuckenbrock headed to college intending offerings were in areas where I happened to to follow in his father’s footsteps. He enrolled have a lot of experience,” Schuckenbrock says. at Elon on a partial golf scholarship and the The experience Schuckenbrock speaks of advice of a family friend, Webb Newsome ’37. spans nearly three decades and includes the But his stay at Elon was short-lived. transformation of some of America’s top com“I went for the first year, had a good time panies, including Frito-Lay, PepsiCo and eds. and goofed off,” he recalls.

He’s risen from an ibm sales trainee in the early He left school, returning to his family’s 1980s to his current role, managing nearly a home in Winston-Salem, N.C. For a year, third of Dell’s worldwide business as president he managed a busy miniature golf franchise of Dell’s Large Enterprise Business Unit. he’d worked at in high school. He also met Yet Schuckenbrock’s career path is less a Becky Reed, his future wife, as she and her Horatio Alger rags-to-riches tale than what friends played a round at his Putt-Putt Fun seems like a chapter out of Malcolm Gladwell’s Center. Quickly, Schuckenbrock realized he 2008 bestseller, Outliers: The Story of Success. couldn’t help support a family with a career

in the miniature golf industry, so he returned to Elon with one goal in mind: to finish his degree in the fastest time possible.

“My adviser told me, if I could make all A’s and B’s in the first semester with 18 hours, they’d let me take on as much as I thought I could handle,” he says.

Clearing that first hurdle with ease, he took an overload of credits in nearly every semester – including one term in which he attempted as many as 32 credits – and courses in every winter and summer session.

“I worked my tail off,” he recalls with a smile, “but it was fun.”

In the end, he managed to complete his degree, including retaking courses from his first year at Elon, in just 2½ years with summa cum laude distinction.

Upon finishing his last exam in 1982, Schuckenbrock didn’t stick around for Commencement. He took to the road, interviewing for positions in the nation’s top sales training programs. He also married Becky that fall, and during a stop in Dallas on their honeymoon, he landed a spot in ibm’s renowned sales organization.

Early in his training program at ibm, Schuckenbrock found himself squarely in the crosshairs of the right place and the right time. The company had just begun to strongly promote the personal computer. With little background in computing, yet intrigued by the product, Schuckenbrock put in overtime to learn the ins and outs of the pc, making himself an expert.

“The senior sales reps saw (the pc) as more of a Tinkertoy. They didn’t take it seriously,” he says. “I became the best in my branch at demonstrating the pc and was asked to show it to some of our biggest customers.”

For Schuckenbrock’s successes in selling to the City of Dallas and Frito-Lay, Inc., he earned ibm’s Rookie of the Year award. Soon thereafter, ibm promoted him from line sales to management, making Schuckenbrock the first employee in the company’s history to make the direct leap. Over the next decade, he served as the representative for some of ibm’s largest accounts.

“I learned a lot about how customers buy, what customers are trying to do and how it departments were evolving,” he says. “After acquiring all that knowledge, I decided to go and run an it organization as opposed to selling to one.”

Schuckenbrock left ibm in 1993 to help start

The Feld Group, an it consulting company that outsourced the information leadership of companies, including many of the Fortune 500.

“Essentially what we’d do is go in, identify the dna of a company – what made it work – find out how the company and culture needed to change, then took advantage of technology to build on that base,” he explains.

He took that approach with him to FritoLay, Inc., in 1995, where as chief information officer he spearheaded the development of the most efficient supply-chain automation in the snack food industry. In 1998, he joined PepsiCo as global cio, establishing the Business Solutions Group, a central it organization serving each of PepsiCo’s subsidiary brands.

He left PepsiCo in 2000 to return to The Feld Group as chief operating officer, leading the company to triple in value and facilitating the company’s sale to eds. He remained with eds as co-coo until 2006, when he received Dell’s phone call and offer.

At Dell, Schuckenbrock faced perhaps his most formidable challenge yet: transforming its nascent services unit while also serving as the company’s cio. He relished the opportunity to devise creative solutions for Dell.

about what ‘customer first’ really means,” Dell says. “Steve’s vision and understanding of our industry is second-to-none, and he continues to play a key role in our transformation and evolution to a more solutions-oriented it provider. I’m delighted to have such an inspired leader on our team at Dell.”

In recognition of Schuckenbrock’s accomplishments, Dell promoted him to his current role, which has him constantly traveling the world to network with Dell’s largest global clients.

He took a short break from that travel in November to visit Elon and receive the 2010 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year award from President Leo M. Lambert. In a special address during his stay, he spoke with Elon business and computing sciences students about the future of it and his advice for success in the field.

“Once you get comfortable with what you know, you’re in trouble,” he says. “In this business, you need to build a base of knowledge, but you should be prepared to throw out that base about six months to two years after you’ve built it. You don’t throw it out all at once – it’s more of a continuum – but it’s always changing.”

Once you get comfortable with what you know, you’re in trouble.

In this business, you need to build a base of knowledge, but you should be prepared to throw out that base about six months to two years a er you’ve built it. You don’t throw it out all at once – it’s more of a continuum – but it’s always changing.

-Steve Schuckenbrock ’82

“Whenever you have a company with $60 billion in revenue, a fantastic record of success and a green field to build upon, it’s fun,” Schuckenbrock says.

In fewer than three years, his initiatives bore fruit. He significantly reduced the percentage of Dell’s it budget spent on operations, freeing up vast resources to devote to the development of new applications and services for clients. His efforts also helped build a strong it services business that today generates $8 billion in annual revenue.

“Steve’s leadership has been instrumental for us. His experience as a cio enabled him to connect with our customers in a profound way, and he has set an example for all our teams

It’s that kind of mindset that’s helped Schuckenbrock rise from an ambitious trainee to a dynamic executive. Yet when asked what he considers his top achievement, Schuckenbrock’s response isn’t something that appears in an annual report, executive biography or news article. He speaks about pride in his family – Becky and their five children – and the many relationships he’s built in each phase of his success story.

“I’m most proud of the fact that I’ve never compromised my integrity in any decision,” he says. “I might have been wrong, but I didn’t compromise anyone else’s work or legitimate ambitions, and that means more to me than anything.” the magazine of elon

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Alumni Action

Sallie Hutton ’92

RESOLVE TO YES, YOU!

We want you to volunteer

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he start of a new year brings resolutions for change, maybe even a desire to get involved in a new activity or give back to a cause larger than yourself. In your 2011 resolutions, did you resolve to reconnect with Elon or get involved if Elon had a need you could fill? Whether this was part of your resolutions, this column is a call to action for all graduates to get involved, reconnect with Elon and strengthen the Elon alumni network.

The Alumni Association needs your help through a variety of volunteer opportunities.

Take a look at the following options and contact me at alumnirelations@elon.edu to let me know what role you’d like to take on.

Class reunion volunteer

The classes of 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991, 1986, 1981, 1976, 1971, 1966 and 1961 will celebrate milestone anniversaries Oct. 21–23 during Homecoming 2011. Responsibilities include planning class gatherings and encouraging fellow classmates to attend the weekend.

Regional area contact

To expand the alumni network into areas without regional alumni chapters, regional area contacts are needed. Responsibilities include serving as a contact for students and alumni seeking employment and/or information about relocating to the area. These contacts must be willing to have their name and e-mail address listed on the alumni website as a contact for a specific area.

Your alma mater is calling. Won’t you answer the call to action?

With the spirit of Elon, Sallie

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GET INVOLVED Mark Turner ’92 and Lindsey Goodman Baker ’04

Michelle Niland ’02 and Sarah Eydt ’07

charlotte, n.c., and washington, d.c., alumni chapter presidents

mentors for elon in l.a. and new york programs

A few years ago, as Elon began building its alumni chapter network, Turner attended a few events planned for Elon graduates in Charlotte, N.C. He wasn’t completely satisfied with his experience.

“Programs were targeted more for people who were less than five years out of school, so if you weren’t part of that group, there was little reason for you to attend,” he says.

Baker recalls similar circumstances in D.C., saying she found herself attending more of her husband’s alma mater’s events than her own.

“He went to Hampden-Sydney College.

They’re a 1,000-student school and they had these big events,” she says. “I thought, ‘If they could do it, so could Elon.’”

Turner and Baker soon assumed leadership of their respective alumni chapters.

With the help of fellow volunteers, they built two of Elon’s strongest alumni organizations, which today sponsor programs alumni of all eras can enjoy.

“The Elon community is so strong when you’re on campus, and there’s equal benefit to being part of our alumni community,” Baker says. “The D.C. metro area can be overwhelming, and it’s great to have people who can help you find a job or buy a house.”

Working in America’s most powerful communications centers, Los Angeles and New York, Niland and Eydt don’t have time to visit Elon often. Yet, they play an important role in the lives of current students through Elon’s programs in those cities.

“When I was looking for jobs or internships as a junior or senior, there weren’t a lot of Elon alums in the industry,” says Eydt, who works in ad sales for the Food Network in New York City. “Now that I’m working for a big brand, I look forward to connecting with current students.”

Niland, a supervising producer in Los Angeles for the History Channel show Ax Men, says mentoring students via the Elon in L.A. program allows her to give back to Elon on her own time.

“I like the flexibility of the program. You’re not required to put in a specific number of hours,” she says. “You’re matched up with current Elon students, then it’s up to you to develop the mentoring relationship.”

But the benefits aren’t one-sided, Niland adds.

“It’s fun to hear about how the communications school has changed and the things they still offer 10 years later,” she says. “It keeps me connected even though I’m so far away.”

Alumni Action

admit it: Hardly a day goes by when you don’t sit back, stare into space and think to yourself, “Wow, I really miss Elon!”

While the Elon Alumni Association can’t turn back the clock to your college days, it offers countless ways to reconnect with your alma mater by volunteering your time – and having fun doing it!

“Alumni need to show people what Elon has given us,” says Joan Summers Drummond ’52. “Volunteering is a way to do that.”

2011

coming events

feb. 12 ■ charleston chapter elon vs.

the citadel men’s basketball game, pregame social, 4-6:30 p.m., Mellow Mushroom; game at 7 p.m., McAlister Field House

feb. 17 ■ nyc chapter bowling outing, 8 p.m., Brooklyn Bowl feb. 24 ■ charlotte chapter elon vs. davidson men’s basketball game, pregame social, 5:30 p.m., Brickhouse; game at 7 p.m., Belk Arena

Joan Summers Drummond ’52 and Bre Cooper ’05 on-campus volunteers

For alumni living near Elon or just a few hours’ drive away, volunteering on campus is a great way to be involved in the Elon community.

Drummond and her husband, Jim, a 1950 Elon graduate, have served as members of the Elon Alumni Board and as copresidents of the Golden Alumni Group. Her favorite experiences, however, have come while volunteering during Homecoming and Commencement.

“When you meet the seniors, it’s so nice to hear about what they’re planning to do with their lives,” she says. “It’s rejuvenating for those of us who were at Elon so many years ago.”

Cooper was one of the first alumni to volunteer through the “Destination …” series, a joint effort of Career Services and the Alumni Association to bring graduates back to campus to share their experiences living in different cities. Cooper has lived in the Washington, D.C., area since 2007 and has assembled a “D.C. Guide” for Elon students interested in relocating to the nation’s capital.

“I always like to come back to Elon,” Cooper says. “In sharing my experiences, I hope I can help current students make important decisions about their futures.”

Christian Wiggins ’03 young alumni council president

Wiggins was one of those Elon students who couldn’t resist getting involved in multiple campus organizations, from his fraternity to student government. It’s no surprise that he’s remained active as a member of the university’s Young Alumni Council for the past several years. He currently serves as its president.

While he concedes the council requires a significant time commitment, Wiggins says it’s not all work and no play.

“I’m building genuine friendships with people I didn’t necessarily go to school with, but we have Elon in common,” he says.

Wiggins adds graduates don’t need to commit several hours per week to make a difference as Elon alumni; what matters is participation.

“Showing up at a men’s basketball or women’s soccer game, e-mailing a faculty member or reaching out to the career center to see if you can offer yourself as a contact – everyone can find a way to give back,” he says.

feb. 28 ■ philadelphia chapter

bowling outing, 6-9 p.m., Lucky Strike march 1 ■ an evening for elon in

winston-salem, n.c., 6:30 p.m., Forsyth County Country Club

march 4–5 ■ elon alumni board

spring meeting, Elon march 12 ■ d.c. chapter shamrockfest outing, 1 p.m., RFK Stadium. Cost: $30 per person

march 16 ■ triangle chapter carolina

hurricanes vs. toronto maple leafs hockey game, 7 p.m., RBC Center april 1–2 ■ young alumni council spring meeting, Elon april 8–9 ■ chapter leaders workshop, Elon april 16 ■ alumni field house

dedication and spring football game, Rhodes Stadium, Elon

april 21 ■ charleston chapter

riverdogs baseball game, 6:45 p.m., Joseph C. Riley Jr. Park. Meet alumni at Guest Services april 30 ■ triangle chapter angels among us 5k, 7 a.m., Duke Medical Center Campus. Register at event website under Elon’s team

may 20 ■ baccalaureate, 3 p.m., Alumni Gym, Elon

may 21 ■ commencement, 9:30 a.m., Under The Oaks, Elon

Feeling inspired?

for the l atest a lumni news a nd ev en ts, v isit elon.edu/alumni

CONTACT US TODAY!

alumnirelations@elon.edu or (877) 784-3566

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Alumni Action

Alumni celebrate their Scores of Elon graduates returned to campus Oct. 22–24 for Homecoming 2010, reveling in marvelous weather and activities geared toward alumni of all eras.

R

eturning graduates participated in many Elon Homecoming traditions, such as receptions and wisdom sessions in the schools of Communications, Education, Law and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business; the annual Alumni Association Awards Breakfast; the Stop Hunger Now meal-packing service event; and tailgating before the Elon vs. Wofford football game.

Alumni also enjoyed new events and innovative twists on traditional offerings, such as a local winery and brewery showcase at Phoenix Phest, an exclusive IGNITE reception for young alumni donors, an outdoor step show presented by the National Pan-Hellenic Council fraternities and sororities, and the Young Alumni Party, held at the College Street Tap House (formerly The Lighthouse) and featuring Big Something (formerly Anonymous).

The Class of 1960 (golden anniversary), Tau Zeta Phi/Sigma Sigma Sigma (90th anniversary) and Fire of the Carolinas (10th anniversary) celebrated milestone reunions. The Black Alumni Network, Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows, Student Government Association, Periclean Scholars, Elon bands and various academic departments also hosted events for their graduates.

None of these events would have been possible without the support of dedicated alumni volunteers, including Cindy Tew ’77, Bonnie Irby Williams ’79, Amy Thomas Hendrickson ’69, Renita Leak Webb ’04, Karen Cain-Henderson ’90, Zac Walker ’60, Don Blalock ’60, Jean Loy Toms ’60, Ray Thomas ’60, Marianne McEvoy Guite ’60 and Jim Humphrey ’60.

To view more photos from Homecoming 2010, see the inside back cover of this magazine.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE

2010 ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENTS

Jack Lindley ’56 P’83 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year

SAVE THE DATE!

Jo Watts Williams ’55

“We hadn’t had a reunion in 40 years. This gave us an opportunity to come together. … It was important to me, as president of the reunion group, to do something lasting and meaningful that was beyond just coming to have a party.”

-Cindy Tew ’77, on the Tau Zeta Phi/Sigma Sigma Sigma reunion. The sorority’s alumni joined current collegiate sisters of Sigma Sigma Sigma in celebrating 90 years of sisterhood and to honor Jo Watts Williams ’55, a Tau Zeta Phi alumna who received the chapter’s inaugural Heart of Gold award at a special brunch.

Steve Schuckenbrock ’82 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year

Distinguished Alumna of the Year

Homecoming 2011

Michelle Pautz ’03

join us oct. 21–23 for

Kebbler McGhee Williams ’98

Young Alumna of the Year

Destination Elon!

Chuck & Carole Ann Barne Collard ’89

Visit elon.edu/homecoming for accommodation information and updates throughout the spring.

Alumni Service Award

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Alumni Action

Elon heritage

Alumni on the town triangle Phoenix fans gathered on Dec. 20 for an Elon vs. Duke men’s basketball watch party at Tobacco Road Sports Bar in Durham, N.C. Jonathan Lindberg ’04 and his wife, Sarah King Lindberg ’02, organized the event.

“Being able to bring together alumni to celebrate meaningful Elon events reminds us all of the great events we participated in as spectators while students,” Jonathan Lindberg says. “It promotes continued camaraderie with our local chapter.” denver The Alumni Association hosted its first event in the Mile High City Nov. 6 at Scruff y Murphy’s Irish Pub. Fifteen Elon graduates from 1992 to 2009 attended.

“It was amazing to see how many Elon alumni live in Denver and the surrounding area,” says Greg Gillette ’92. Keep up with new events for alumni in the area on Facebook: Elon Alumni in Denver.

“It’s phenomenal to remember going to College Coffee every Tuesday, having the entire campus – faculty, staff and students – come together for fellowship. It’s important to come back to that fellowship with people I may now only see at Homecoming once a year.”

-Karen Cain-Henderson ’90, on the Black Alumni Network reunion. Alumni enjoyed a host of “Family Reunion” themed events and celebrated the establishment of their group and the endowment of the Black Alumni Network Scholarship.

Rich Nowalk ’97 Lexi Swinimer ’07 Samantha Gilman ’08 Rob Saunders ’08 & Tiffany Warner ’08 were winners in the first Homecoming Photo Hunt Facebook contest.

boston Beantown alums attending the chapter’s Dec. 9 holiday party at Lansdowne Pub enjoyed an unexpected treat: a live performance by the band, The Script.

“Elon had the best seats in the house,” says Justin McCarthy ’04, chapter president.

“Don’t miss our next event. You never know what might happen.” washington, d.c. & baltimore The chapters joined forces last fall to cheer Elon’s men’s and women’s basketball teams as they took on foes along the i-95 corridor. Several alumni gathered to watch the Phoenix men take on Maryland on Nov. 26 and Navy on Dec. 22, and to support the Phoenix women at Morgan State on Dec. 5.

“The Elon crowd really got behind our team, and it was great to see the players respond,” says Lindsey Goodman Baker ’04 about the Navy game. “It was nice that the team stopped to wave to the fans as they left the court!” continued on next page >>

Artwork by Sarah Beth Costello ’11

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Alumni Action

charleston Elon fans from across the South descended on Charleston Nov. 6 to join Elon’s alumni chapter in cheering on the Phoenix football team against The Citadel.

“It was great to see familiar faces around town and to meet old and new alumni just walking around during the tailgate,” says Anne Machowski ’03, chapter president. philadelphia Several alumni turned out Oct. 9 for a meal-packing service event at the Philabundance Food Bank in South Philadelphia. Christine Winans ’10, chapter president, said it was the best turnout the chapter has ever had for a service event.

“Volunteering at Philabundance brought the chapter closer,” she says. “We’re looking forward to some fun events in the spring.”

1

triad Alumni came out in large num- area to celebrate a West Coast Thanksgiving bers to support the Phoenix men’s basketball at their apartment. team as it hosted ACC foes Wake Forest (Nov. “We decided that, if we couldn’t go home 18) and NC State (Jan. 5) at the Greensboro for the holidays, why not have our own Coliseum. Elon fans participated in pregame Thanksgiving?” Cabe says. “It was wonderful festivities hosted by the Phoenix Club in to have a makeshift family to share the holithe Schiffman’s Diamond Club at the arena, day with, especially since we shared the Elon where they received pregame insights from connection.”

Elon Head Coach Matt Matheny. los angeles It wasn’t an official chapnotes: Charlotte Ten alumni participated in ter event, but Patrick McCabe ’10 and his the annual Autism Speaks walk at Charlotte roommates invited Elon alums in the L.A. Motor Speedway on Oct. 4. New York Alumni donned the ugliest holiday sweaters they could find Dec. 8 for the chapter’s annual holiday 1) triangle 4) triad party at Mad River Bar and Grille. Richmond 2) d.c. & baltimore 5) los angleles On Dec. 1, more than 20 alumni from the 3) charleston 6) charlotte 1960s to 2000s rang in the holidays with a social at the Jefferson Hotel.

4

Need a break?

N Take an alumni adventure T Middle East Pilgrimage M June 6–30, 2011 J

2

5

J Associate Chaplain Phil Smith on Join tthis tour of holy places of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. The trip C will include stops in Israel, the West w Bank and Jordan. Cost: $5,447 per perB sson. Contact: psmith19@elon.edu.

S Scandinavian and Russian S Splendors Cruise August 7–22, 2011 A

3

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SSail through the Baltic Sea aboard the i intimate and luxurious Insignia, an Oceania Cruises vessel that accommoO dates fewer than 700 guests. Take in d tthe beautiful sights of Bruges, Belgium; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Berlin, A Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; G St. S Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; F and Stockholm, Sweden.

C Cost: $5,299 to $8,599 per person.

C Contact: alumnirelations@elon.edu oor 877.784.3566.

Class Notes

’30s Oscie Matlock Glass ’34 moved to California shortly after leaving Elon.

She hasn’t kept up with the school very much but was delighted to receive a birthday card in honor of her 98th birthday. She lives in Porterville, Calif.

’40s John L. Fry ’43 had many memorable moments at Elon. One memory that stands out was the time he and some of his buddies put the homecoming queen’s sash on a cow and paraded it through the library. He is happy that his “little” school has grown into such a fine university.

John lives in Robbins, N.C.

’50s Melva Gray Foster ’51 fondly recalls her experiences with the choir and the many wonderful friends she made as an Elon student. She is thrilled at Elon’s growth since her days on campus and hopes that today’s students are making good use of the wonderful opportunities available to them. She lives in Burlington, N.C. Flora Gilbert Hutaff ’51 had wonderful experiences and made many lasting friendships while a student at Elon. She must have mentioned them a time or two to her children because two of her three sons, Charles Hutaff ’78 and Thomas Hutaff ’78, followed in their mother’s footsteps to become Elon alumni. Flora lives in Dunn, N.C.

and academic prominence. He lives with his wife, Betty, in Greensboro, N.C. Mary Elizabeth Ward Stephenson Dale ’54 has always loved Elon and its beautiful campus. She fondly remembers sitting on the bench under the Senior Oak with the young man who would become her husband. She also enjoyed the dances and afternoon teas with the wife of President L.E. Smith. Mary Elizabeth is thrilled with the progress that Elon has made through the years and encourages young alumni to stay involved with their beloved alma mater. She lives in Henderson, N.C., with her husband, Thomas.

Mabel Oliver Lafoon ’54 says it was not just the boys who were mischievous at Elon; she remembers when several of the girls snuck out to go horseback riding. One of the ponies got spooked and threw the rider off. The young woman riding the pony hurt her back, so the girls had to sneak her back into the dorm, then call her parents. Mabel has not been able to visit campus in quite some time but she knows she would be amazed at the changes. She lives with her husband, Wade, in Kenbridge, Va. Carl G. Gibbs ’55 will never forget taking a class from Professor J.W. Barney, who told the class that he would grade every grammatical error in their theme papers and take off a point for each. Some may think that’s a bit harsh, but it taught Carl to be more conscious of mistakes and challenged him to do his very best work. He lives with his wife, Jessie, in Burgaw, N.C.

Allen “Roger” Gibbs ’52 remem- Jerry E. Lowder ’55 retired afbers being the newly elected student ter more than 34 years of service body president and opening up his as the church organist at Indianola first student body meeting in Whitley Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Auditorium. His inexperience was on Ohio. He played his final service full display when the gavel he ner- on Sunday, Oct. 3. He lives with his vously clutched flew out of his hands wife, Harriett Talley Lowder ’56, as he tried to bring the meeting to in Upper Arlington, Ohio. order and almost hit Dean Daniel J. Bowden, his mentor, who was sitting Wayne F. Vestal ’55 proudly tells in the front row. Roger is happy to anyone who will listen about his Elon see that Elon has grown in both size days. He fondly remembers touring

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New England with the choir, when they didn’t have money for hotels and stayed with local families. One of the places they stayed was a small farmhouse in Massachusetts, which Wayne remembers was like something from a Norman Rockwell painting, and that the people were generous and welcoming. That experience

Jerry E. Lowder ’55

made a lasting impression on him.

He encourages current students to make good use of the opportunities available to them, which will serve them well and give them a greater appreciation for the world at large.

Wayne lives with his wife, Betty, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Allen J. Martin Jr. ’58 knows from personal experience how inspiration can come from unlikely sources. He recalls how a casual conversation with a classmate about something completely unrelated to his studies led him to re-evaluate his career path.

He went from studying history and business to healthcare administration. He encourages students to get involved and be open to opportunities as they present themselves; you the magazine of elon

31

Class Notes

Breaking the mold

by Caitlin O’Donnell ’13

In the small town of Tarboro, N.C., Gerrelene McDowell Walker ’69 has become “one of the boys.”

In November 2009, Walker was elected one of the first two female members in the history of the Tarboro Town Council. Though she’s made history, she insists she wasn’t interested solely in breaking the gender barrier – she just wanted to make a difference.

Walker, who holds a degree in accounting from Elon, has worked as a certified public accountant at a practice she has run in Tarboro since 1975. Because she had experience as a government auditor for small towns, she viewed the town council as a way she could help her community.

“I feel this experience will increase my knowledge as an auditor … and help Tarboro with the knowledge I have gained through my auditing work with governmental units,” she says. “Most board members run for a certain agenda, but I just thought I had much to contribute.”

Fellow councilwoman Candis Owens, elected alongside Walker in 2009, says Walker’s background as a CPA has been invaluable to the body’s deliberations.

“She is well-equipped to read and immediately understand the budget and knows the correct questions to ask,” Owens says. “The members of the council respect her straightforwardness and accuracy of judgment.”

Walker’s road to public office started in September 2009, when she set off on the road.

“I had to run against an incumbent who had been in office for eight years,” she says. “He was a very nice person to campaign against. There was no mud-slinging.”

With the help of her coworkers and her daughter, Walker distributed yard signs, door hangers and pens,

never know where they will lead you.

Allen lives with his wife, Patricia, in Mocksville, N.C. Don Lichok ’59 says Elon changed his life. Without the baseball scholarship offered to him by Coach Doc Mathis, he would not have been able

Mary Coolidge Ruth ’66 and Bill Ruth ’66 32

the magazine of elon

Gerrelene McDowell Walker ’69

and she focused her campaign on the issue of transparency in government.

“Several of my neighbors volunteered to help,” she adds. “They found a list of all voters in the town and called the people they knew that I didn’t know.”

Walker defeated her two male challengers, earning more than 50 percent of the vote, but that wasn’t the end of her challenges.

“It took me about three to four months to break in with the guys. I had to prove myself,” she says of her first few weeks on the council. “I’ve learned since graduating from Elon, [where I once had] a class with only two girls, it takes more persistence and perseverance for females to break the glass ceiling.”

Although council members are elected based on Tarboro’s eight wards (e.g., Walker represents Ward One, Owens represents Ward Five), they’re expected

to attend college. He’ll never forget the great times he had living in Old North Dormitory (“It was a character builder, indeed,” he recalls) and says Elon set him on the path to success.

He lives in Downingtown, Pa.

’60s

to represent the entire town. She says she has dealt with issues ranging from a snow plow knocking down a mailbox to managing the deer population of the town.

“It’s whatever the citizens need and whatever we come up with as well,” she says. “It’s more challenging than I expected. A lot goes into being a council member.”

Each February, the council works on the town’s annual budget. Walker’s financial expertise was put to use last year as she worked to ensure the property tax rate wouldn’t be increased.

“My knowledge of finance impacts the budget more so than other members because of what I have seen in other town operations,” she says.

Owens says that although her experience has been slightly different from Walker’s, they complement each other well as the only women on the current council.

“She is a numbers expert and I am a community activist,” Owens says. “Our thoughts blend beautifully and we … enjoy a very good working relationship with each other as well as the other six members of the council and the mayor.”

Walker will be up for re-election in 2013 but says she has made no definite plans about her future in politics.

“We’ll wait and see – who knows?” she says.

One aspect of the job that might encourage her to run again is that she’s learned much about herself along the way, such as the fact that she prefers to stay out of the spotlight.

“I like to do work behind the scenes, I’m not there to get praise,” she says. “I do it for the betterment of the town because I live here; my office, business, property and home are all here, and I want them to grow.”

in Pleasant Hill, Tenn. They began a new volunteer service assignment in January at Slumber Falls in New Braunfels, Texas.

’70s

John H. Swain ’72 wrapped principal photography for a film titled A Younger Man, which he is directreunion ’61 ing. The film, produced by Pate Mary Coolidge Ruth ’66 and Bill Productions in conjunction with Ruth ’66 recently completed their Choice Films, is scheduled to be revolunteer service assignment with the leased this year. This is John’s fourth United Church of Christ Partners in film; he also has directed more than Service program at Franklinton 25 theatrical productions. He lives Center at Bricks in Whitakers, N.C. with his wife, Marsha, in Montclair, They have also relocated their perma- N.J. nent residence to Uplands Village

David L. Payne ’79 is an assistant director of operations for the Office of Thrift Supervision, United States Treasury Department, Central Region, Chicago, Ill. He is responsible for financial institution regulatory oversight. He lives with his wife, Sharon, in Blue Ash, Ohio.

’80s reunion ’86 Suzanne Nelson Gray ’88 has joined Emerson Property Management in Greensboro, N.C., as vice president of management.

Emerson is a full-service property management firm with expertise in

Class Notes multi-family, student, commercial and single-family properties. Suzanne also is a licensed real estate broker.

She lives with her husband, Kevin Gray ’85, in Greensboro.

’90s Melissa Allen Brown ’91 is an instructional coach for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. She is also the volunteer retreat director for Little Pink Houses of Hope Foundation, an organization founded to assist families dealing with breast cancer. The foundation sets up weeklong beach retreats for families, giving them a chance to escape from the everyday trials of cancer and have some relaxing family bonding time. For more information about this organization visit littlepinkhousesofhope.org. Melissa’s husband, Mike Brown ’92, is owner of the Acorn Inn in Elon. They live in Graham, N.C. Josh Atwater ’95 and a few of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers got together for a little R&R at Emerald Isle, N.C. Elon alumni in attendance were: Kurt Wahlstrom ’95, Mark Harris ’97, Alex Stamper ’97, John Hondros ’97 and Patrick Barry ’97.

Patrick S. Donovan ’96 has joined bjc Healthcare in St. Louis, Mo., as their social media lead coordinator.

He lives with his wife, Megan, in Chesterfield, Mo. Robert J. Kane ’96 has kept busy since leaving Elon. From 1998 to 2009, he was an investment banker for Stifel Nicolaus. He also founded Robert Kane Partners, which brought together many of the brightest talents in business consulting. Robert Kane Partners creates business plans, assists with startups and mergers, and helps businesses find their niche markets. Robert recently worked as director of investor relations for Medical Marijuana Inc., and started the first publicly traded medical marijuana business, Cannabiz Business University, which he serves as chief financial officer and vice president of business development.

Stacy Harris Koon ’96 and her husband, Jeremy, are opening d&k Bike Shop in Mebane, N.C. They will carry bmx bikes and accessories.

This is the first business venture for the couple and they are very excited.

Stacy is sure that the education she received at Elon will help her to

Suzanne Nelson Gray ’88

Christine Zellers Heckert ’97, husband Gregg and son Reece

L-R Kurt Wahlstrom ’95, Mark Harris ’97, Alex Stamper ’97, Josh Atwater ’95, John Hondros ’97 and Patrick Barry ’97

turn yourself in! elon.edu/ classnotes Josh Phoebus ’02 and Bill Clinton

Michael Hurst ’06

make the business a success. She and Jeremy live in Graham, N.C.

Bana Kopty ’09 and Lesley Cowie ’10

’00s reunion ’01, ’06

Christine Zellers Heckert ’97 is a reading specialist for Baltimore County Schools. She lives with her husband, Gregg, and their son, Reece, in Millersville, Md. Patr icia DiMar ia ’98 has left Deloitte & Touche llp and joined Veris Consulting Inc., as a senior manager. For the past three years, she participated in the breast cancer awareness 60-mile, three-day walk, and this past year was named a flag bearer in the opening ceremonies.

She lives with her son, Martin, in Reston, Va. Laura Ann Elfreth ’98 received a master’s degree in educational technology and education media from the University of Central Florida. She lives in Casselberry, Fla. Kevin L. Leake ’99 was promoted to assistant principal at Thomasville Middle School in Thomasville, N.C. He lives with his wife, Kitia, in Siler City, N.C. Dawn Wilson Martin ’99 is a case analyst for the United States Marshals Service. She was named 2010 Employee of the Year within her division. She lives in Springfield, Va., with her husband, Walter, and their children, Denver, 7, Aspen, 5, and Stetson, 2.

Holly Joy Briel ’00 recieved a doctorate in educational leadership with a concentration in curriculum, technology and higher education from the University of Delaware. She lives in Milford, Del. Keith L. Davis ’01 was named 2010 Outstanding Actor of the Year by the New Bern Civic Theater in New Bern, N.C., for his portrayal of Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s award-winning play, A Raisin in the Sun. The award is given to an actor whose acting was extraordinary and positively affected the community.

He lives in Chester, Va. Cameron DeJong ’02 was elected to the New Hampshire State Legislature on Nov. 2. He represents the Manchester Ward 2/Hillsborough District 9. He lives in Manchester, N.H. Sarah King Lindberg ’02 is now an administrative support specialist for the North Carolina state treasurer’s office in Raleigh, N.C. She helps support the agency’s human resources operations. She lives in Raleigh.

Josh Phoebus ’02, finance director of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, met Bill Clinton at a fundraiser in September. He calls the meeting an “unexpected blessing that would not have been possible without the outstanding education and opportunities I received at Elon.”

Lindsay C. Van Cleave ’03 is an advertising account supervisor for Saatchi & Saatchi. She recently launched an online boutique for her fashion and custom bridal jewelry line, lcvintage.Visit lcvintagejewelry. etsy.com to view her merchandise.

Lindsay lives in Staten Island, N.Y. Judd W. Asbill ’04 has worked for Oglethorpe University’s athletics department for several years but recently founded the sports message board UnlimitedSportsSmackTalk.com, where fans can come together and debate various topics related to sports.

He serves as founder and chief executive officer for Unlimited Sports Smack Talk llc and lives in Atlanta, Ga. Kara M. Anderson ’06 received the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education District Five 2010 Ray Willemain Fellowship Award. This award is given annually to one newcomer in the field of alumni relations. She lives in Dublin, Ohio.

Jessica L. Dries ’06 received her doctorate in physiology from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. She has accepted a position as a postdoctoral associate for the Center for Cardiovascular Repair at the University of Minnesota.

She lives in St. Paul, Minn.

Michael Hurst ’06 bagged a 220-pound, 9.5-foot alligator in South Carolina’s Combahee River during the 2010 public alligator hunting season. He lives in Mt. Pleasant, S.C. Jennifer Leigh Papillo ’06 graduated with a master of laws in taxation the magazine of elon

33

Class Notes

Making his mark in jazz

by Sarah Beth Costello ‘11

Jazz musician Brad Linde ’01 can trace his affinity for what many consider the true American music art form to his earliest years. He recalls a childhood filled with music played by his grandfather, a baritone saxophonist from Louisville, Ky., who performed in dance bands in the 1940s, 50s and 60s.

Then, when Linde turned 10, his grandfather gave him an alto saxophone to play in the middle school band.

“He would play saxophone or piano and improvise on the melodies to old standards and try to get me to learn songs by ear,” Linde recalls.

Linde switched to the baritone sax in seventh grade, then joined the high school jazz band and a community jazz band.

“I did it all without formal jazz training, relying only on what I heard on a few jazz recordings I had of Lee Konitz, Count Basie and Charlie Parker, the Brad Linde ’01 guidance of older musicians I played with and my grandfather’s influence,” Linde says.

Linde’s formal training began when he decided to come to Elon and study jazz under noted vibraphonist and composer Jon Metzger, where for the first time he really began to listen to jazz and learn how to improvise.

“Brad took his studies seriously and saw himself working in the world of a musician,” Metzger says. “When he was here, he was inspired by music and its history. I think he was beginning to find his niche.”

Says Linde, “I can’t imagine doing anything else. Jazz is a passion and a labor of love. I don’t describe myself as saxophonist or pianist. I’m a jazz musician first.”

Linde graduated from Elon with a bachelor of arts in music, then received his master of music degree in saxophone performance (jazz) from the University of Maryland, College Park. In 2007, Linde founded the Brad Linde Ensemble, an 11-piece band created to “expand and explore the bebop style of jazz.”

“I started the band to fill a spot that wasn’t represented often in jazz,” Linde says. “You hear a lot of big band music and quartet or quintet ensembles, but never the chamber side. I wanted to focus on an ensemble that was unique.”

In the midst of the economic downturn, finding musicians to voluntarily play for a larger band was difficult, but Linde was able to round up musicians from various areas of the country who were interested in the

34

the magazine of elon

music and believed it was important to play together.

The ensemble’s tuba player and trombonist live in New York City, and the trumpeter is one of the most in-demand musicians in Washington, D.C. The Brad Linde Ensemble’s original repertoire drew from some of the most influential jazz musicians and

Learn more about the Brad Linde Ensemble and hear clips of the band’s album at bradlinde.com.

and a certificate in estate planning with a concentration in tax-exempt organizations from Georgetown University Law Center. She currently serves as assistant general counsel for the University of Vermont and lives in Colchester, Vt. Melanie Goergmaier ’07 is an academic adviser for the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at the University of Miami. She lives in Margate, Fla. Ivy E. Crank ’09 and fellow Elon graduate Matthew M. Gestaut ’08 reached the summit of Tanzania’s Mt. Klimanjaro, the world’s tallest freestanding mountain, in June 2010. Ivy is pursuing a master’s degree in social work from the University of Houston and Matthew is a second-year medical student at Tulane University School of Medicine.

Lesley Cowie ’10 is a program coordinator for Everblue Training Institute. She and Bana Kopty ’09, who also works for Everblue Training Institute, spent three days in Chicago participating in the United States Green Building Council’s Greenbuild International Conference and Expo.

The Everblue Training Institute is a sustainability education and training provider. Some of their clients include the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Army, Disney and Bank of America. Lesley lives in Mooresville, N.C.

artists, including selected pieces from the legendary Theolonious Monk and the groundbreaking album, “Birth of the Cool,” by iconic jazz musician Miles Davis.

The Brad Linde Ensemble released its first album, “Feeling That Way Now,” in 2009. Linde describes the album as a celebration and documentation of the group’s early performances.

“We found a weekend in summer 2009 where everyone was willing to donate time,” Linde says. “We went to the studio and recorded it in two days. It’s completely live. We were all in the same room and there was no editing. What we recorded is what you hear.”

Linde adds that he’s received positive feedback about the album partly, he says, because Davis and Monk are household names among jazz enthusiasts.

“The reviews I’ve gotten have been favorable, saying we maintain a cool atmosphere,” Linde says. “The personalities of the Ensemble fit the music so well.”

Linde hopes the album preserves the history of the music. In the ensemble’s performances and on his website, he provides context and background for the pieces that are played.

“A way to make this music more appreciated is to educate the audience about why they should check it out and give it another chance,” Linde says of jazz. “It is America’s art form.”

Nathan J. Guerette ’10 is pursuing a degree as a nurse-midwife at Vanderbilt University. When he successfully completes the program, he will be only the second male student in the history Vanderbilt’s program to do so. Once he completes the program, he will be a registered nurse, nurse-midwife and family nurse practitioner. He lives in Nashville, Tenn.

Curt Johnston ’10 recently joined Performa Higher Education in Burlington, N.C., as a client services coordinator. He is responsible for supporting the enrollment consulting and research teams.

weddings

’80s Richard A. Hundley ’82 and Ellen Rostov, 8/28/10. Richard is a human resources manager. The couple reside in Virginia Beach, Va.

Class Notes

’90s Kr isti A. Kienzle ’93 and Christopher Reinholz, 10/23/10. The couple were married on Maryland’s Eastern Shore with several of Kristi’s Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority sisters in attendance: Sara Shannon Sumner ’93, Stephanie Kish Carlson ’93, Michelle Eadie Senko ’93, Stephanie Diamond ’94, Tracy Tavolacci ’94 and Shelley Ewig ’94. Kristi is vice president of human resources for research and development at Pfizer Inc., and has been with the company for 16 years. The couple reside in Bethesda, Md.

Lee Piccirillo ’93 and Paul Briggs

Sean Britton ’96, Rebecca Rew Britton and friends

Melissa Scheid Smith ’00 and Aaron Smith

Joel Munns ’00, Nicole DeMaio Munns ’02 and friends

Lee Piccirillo ’93 and Paul Briggs, 9/18/10. The couple reside in Belmont, Mass.

Becky Sharbaugh Muth ’00, Jeff Muth ’01 and friends

Katie Lucas Murray ’00, Steve Murray and friends

Akilah Owens Harris ’01, Kelvin Harris and friends

Sean S. Britton ’96 and Rebecca Rew, 6/10/10. Sean is a dentist. The couple live in Charleston, S.C. Kristin Wooten ’96 and Paul Leavell, 10/9/10. Kristin is a senior change manager for Bank of America. The couple reside in Charlotte, N.C. Kevin J. Barnes ’99 and Sarah Stocker, 9/24/10. Kevin is a project manager for the visual information department at Five Rivers Services llc. The couple reside in Louisville, Ky.

Grace Bardsley Hull ’02 and Aaron Hull

Courtney Ryder Shoffner ’03, Marissa Walker Bishop ’03 and Susan Denny ’03

Chuck Lynch ’03, Misty Lynch and friends

Marsha Kmiec Jordan ’02 and Brian Jordan

Jacquelyn Alesczyk Higgins ’03 and William Higgins

Randy Torban ’04 and Laurie Torban

Jocelyn Maningo Kaleita ’05 and Kevin Kaleita

’00s Katie Leigh Lucas ’00 and Steve A. Murray, 4/24/10. Elon alumni in attendance were: Grey Kinlaw ’01, Kristi Dalrymple ’00, Jamie Goebel ’01, Karen Bradley Rippa ’00, Amy Lee ’01, Nancy Brisson ’01 and Buffy Hughes ’01. Katie is an event planner. The couple live in Carolina Beach, N.C.

Janell Otis Niebuhr ’02, Colin Niebuhr and friends

Tara Blum Kelley ’04, Brian Kelley and friends

at Sun Life Financial and holds her Surgala ’00, Courtney Prosser Tillman ’02, Aimee Pickett ’01, certified meeting professional des- Alexander ’00, Jason Alexander Clint Walker ’01, Carmen Dixon ignation. The couple reside in Fort ’00, Fr itz Moore ’03, Adam ’01 and Malika Irving White ’03.

Williams ’02, Nat Woods ’01, The couple live in Brooklyn, N.Y. Lauderdale, Fla. Joel Munns ’00 and Nicole Teddy Noel ’01, Matt Bastoni ’01 DeMaio ’02, 6/12/10. The couple Becky Sharbaugh ’00 and Jeff and Dennis Martin ’00. The couple Grace Bardsley ’02 and Aaron Hull, had a beach wedding in Hilton Head Muth ’01, 10/2/10. The couple were reside in Charlotte, N.C. 9/24/10. Cathy Bardsley ’02 served Island, S.C. Elon alumni who par- married on Hilton Head Island, as a bridesmaid. Elon alumni in atticipated in the wedding were: Dan S.C., and the ceremony was per- Akilah Owens ’01 and Kelvin tendance were: Kristin Blandford Bryant ’00, Justin Taylor ’03, Clay formed by Jeffrey Pugh, professor Harris, 7/2/10. The couple were ’02, Kate Wynne Bartleman ’02, Shrieves ’00, Nick Fogelsonger of religious studies at Elon. Jesper married at the Tremont Grand in Eleanor Hallewell ’02, Abby ’00 and Tim Pfieffer ’00. Elon McIlroy ’01 participated in the Baltimore, Md. Elon alumni in at- Neville Zampier ’02, Nicole alumni in attendance were: Alli wedding. Elon alumni in attendance tendance were: Lisa Ratliff Roper DeMaio Munns ’02 and Joel Page Shrieves ’00, Nate Curl ’01 were: Amy Muth Hill ’93, Mike ’93, Stacey Mahoney ’00, Dawn Munns ’00. Grace is a human reand Jeri Combs Curl ’01. Nicole Hill ’91, Jenny Maxa Marlier ’03, Williams ’00, Tamika Johnson sources representative for Nantucket teaches preshool and Joel is a com- Kristie Burns ’00, Kerry Taylor ’00, Fairfax ’00, Kenisha Walton Cottage Hospital. The couple reside mercial branch manager for Sherwin Kristan Schaaf ’01, Sally Rich ’01, ’99, Royce Evans ’03, Sowande in Nantucket, Mass.

Williams. They live in Rockville, Md. Beth Miller ’01, Keith McMichael Mustakeem ’00, Maurice Gardner ’02, Adam Rose ’00, Mick Marlier ’00, Erika Johnson Hawkins ’98, Marsha Lynn Kmiec ’02 and Melissa A. Scheid ’00 and Aaron ’02, Eric Duncan ’02, Lisa Peterson Tonya Laws Tillman ’01, Janetta Brian Jordan, 12/5/09. The couSmith, 5/30/10. The couple were Duncan ’03, Genevieve Tisdelle Tolliver Randolph ’01, Tavia Grant ple were married at the Westover married in Boca Raton, Fla. Melissa Williams ’03, Tracey Early ’01, Jackson ’03, Derrick Jackson ’03, Church in Greensboro, N.C. Elon alumni in attendance were: Jaime is associate director of sponsorships Katie Williford Surgala ’00, Phil Donnell Baldwin ’01, Terrell the magazine of elon

35

Class Notes

Running with a purpose Last January, Michael Rodgers ’97 resolved not to take his rapidly approaching 35th birthday lying down. “I’m a big milestone birthday person,� he says. “I decided to run 35 races (in 2010) to mark my 35th birthday.�

And by “races,â€? Rodgers, a competitive runner since age 11, refers to one half-Ironman triathlon, three marathons, legs in two 200-mile relays, seven halfmarathons, two 10K races, one 8K race, four ďŹ ve-mile races, seven four-mile races, six 5K races, one sprint triathlon and one one-mile run. In 12 months, he logged just shy of 400 miles in races. “For a typical competitive racer like Michael and others on our team, to run 35 races in one year and hold down a full-time job is pretty unheard of,â€? says Kevin Horty, coach of the New York Harriers, the running club with which Rodgers trains. “For a lot of competitive runners, it’s more like eight to 12 races that would make a nice schedule. To run 35 races, I’ve never seen it before.â€?

But it wasn’t a purely individual achievement; in the process, Rodgers raised more than 20,000 to beneďŹ t St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in New York City, where Rodgers lives and works as a regional vice president for CCS Fund Raising. He learned about the good work happening at St. Mary’s when he consulted for the hospital’s foundation a few years ago. “Seeing patients come in for treatment over several months, then seeing them able to go home to their families – it got me, and it stuck with me,â€? he says.

As a freshman at Elon in 1993, Rodgers raced for Elon’s ďŹ rst men’s cross-country team. That year, he found another love, student government, which began taking up much of his time. Eventually, he chose to put his competitive running career on hiatus.

“I didn’t continue racing, but I was always running,� he recalls. “For me, running is just a way to go out and do something I do well and enjoy.�

Rodgers double-majored in French and political science and served as SGA president in his junior year.

He later was elected an Elon youth trustee, studied on a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship at the University of Liege in Belgium and worked for Universal Leaf Tobacco in strategic planning and sales analysis before joining CCS in 2001.

After moving to New York in 2003, during a workout on the Brooklyn Bridge, he met a fellow running enthusiast who told him about the Harriers. He joined the group shortly afterward. “I train with 15 to 20 guys and some really fast women runners,� Rodgers says of the Harriers. “We push each other and we connect over something we enjoy. We celebrate together, too.�

Says Horty, “He’s one of the most popular people on the Harriers for good reason. He’s like a second coach for me whenever he’s out there, constantly giving to other people.�

In several of his 35 races, Rodgers helped Harriers teammates pace themselves to qualify for major races of their own. He also ran one four-mile race to support his brother, who recently began running. But Rodgers enjoyed several personal achievements, too. He set personal records in six dierent distances, including his ďŹ rst half marathon completed in under an hour and 20 minutes (the New York City Half Marathon in March) and his ďŹ rst marathon completed in under three hours (the Boston Marathon in April).

Rodgers calls 2010 his best year of racing. He’s also thrilled about the funds he’s raised for St. Mary’s Hospital. But he hopes those successes are only a fraction of what friends and colleagues remember about his “35 races for 35 years� challenge.

Photo Courtesy of New York Road Runners

by Kristin M. Simone i ’05

Michael Rodgers ’97

“I want to inspire my peers to start giving back to the community. We’re at an age and at points in our careers where we have the resources to give back,â€? he says. “I was able to channel something I enjoy – running – into something that raised money for the hospital. There are a lot of things my peers can do, serving on a board, making donations or volunteering. I really have been encouraging people to ďŹ nd an organization that they care passionately about and can support.â€?

Learn more about Michael’s challenge at stmaryskids.org/35races.

Blaydes Gilliam ’02, Mar ian Ashley Gordon ’02, Tyler Gordon ’03, Janel Boyd Jernigan ’02 and Anna Pugh Green ’01. Marsha is a program coordinator for Alamance County Dispute Settlement and Youth Services in Graham, N.C. The couple reside in Greensboro.

Swartz ’02 and Lauren Rogers Moore ’02. The couple reside in Mint Hill, N.C.

Janell Otis ’02 and Colin Niebuhr, 3/6/10. The couple were married in Charlotte, N.C. Elon alumni who participated in the wedding were: Michelle Wilson ’02, Hillary Courtney Jane Merten ’02 and Rogers Kestler ’02 and Jennifer Corey Charzuk, 8/21/10. Elon Umpleby McLaughlin ’02. Elon alumni in attendance were: Adam alumni in attendance were: Mary Merten ’02, Josh Deeter ’02, Scot McAllister Boyce ’02, Shawn Hillary Rogers Kestler ’02, Betsy McLaughlin ’02, Alyssa Couture Johnson Deeter ’04, Grace Merten Magnarini ’01, Courtney Merten ’10, Chasen Manchester ’10, Sarah ’02, Bekah Hanlon ’01, Elise Davis Rixey ’07, Nikki Cervelloni Hurst ’02, Heather Winnor Nalls Wickline ’02, Donnie Wickline ’01, David Nalls ’00, Becky Farris ’02, Lindsay Allman Merten ’02, ’02, Brian Ford ’03, Josh Daniel Bekah Hanlon ’01, Alison Spitzer ’05, Carmin Britt ’01, Kate Bricker 36

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White ’01, Jeff White ’01 and Lauren Cooper ’02. Janell works as an executive assistant. The couple live in Charlotte.

Jacquelyn Alesczyk ’03 and William Higgins, 8/14/10. Jacquelyn teaches third grade for the Council Rock School District. The couple live in Newtown, Pa. Charles Lynch III ’03 and Misty Lynch, 10/16/10. The couple were married in Winston-Salem, N.C. Elon alumni in attendance were Nate Webster ’02, Haskins Glass ’02 and Sally Lynch ’04. The couple reside in High Point, N.C.

Trisha L. Romano ’03 and Ralph Salvia, 6/5/10. Trisha is an attorney with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. The couple live in Harrisburg, Pa. Marissa Walker ’03 and Je Bishop, 8/7/10. The couple were married in Andover, Mass., and honeymooned in Barbados. Elon alumni in attendance were: Courtney Ryder Shoffner ’03 and Susan Denny ’03.

Marissa is a school social worker. The couple reside in Southbury, Conn.

Tara Blum ’04 and Brian Kelley, 6/5/10. Elon alumni in attendance were: Kacey Platky ’04, Margaret Anne Fuller ’04, Amy Rudnicki Wheeler ’04, Nicole

Class Notes

Katelyn Whitaker Davis ’07, Patrick Davis ’07 and friends

Pannucci-Cogill ’04, Tar rah Goforth Huff ’04, Ryan Huff ’03, Melissa Walker Beeson ’05 and Shannon Maguire Gershaw ’05.

The couple live in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Randy L. Torban ’04 and Laurie Torban, 10/23/10. The wedding was held at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami, Fla. The couple reside in Miami Beach, Fla. Jaclyn Deskin ’05 and Jeffrey Nicholson, 10/30/10. Jaclyn teaches kindergarten. The couple reside in Graham, N.C. Jocelyn L. Maningo ’05 and Kevin Kaleita, 9/24/10. Sheena K. Earl ’05 served as maid of honor. The couple met at the wedding of a friend where Jocelyn was working as a freelance photographer and Kevin was the best man. Jocelyn has a master’s degree in information and library science with a concentration in school library media from Long Island University at cw Post. The couple reside in East Moriches, N.Y. Carey Scovel ’06 and Alexandra Fippinger ’08, 9/25/10. The couple

Jaclyn Deskin Nicholson ’05 and Jeffrey Nicholson

Carey Scovel ’06 and Alexandra Fippinger Scovel ’08

Melissa Steinbach Dube ’07 and Alexander Dube

Jennifer Schafer Ruff ’10, Matthew Ruff ’10 and friends

Cam Jessup Nichols ’10 and Joshua Nichols

were married in Charlotte, N.C. Dell Services. The couple live in Jason Benoit ’06 and Geoff Lynn Arlington, Va. ’07 served as groomsmen and Melissa Davenport ’07 and Maureen Katelyn Whitaker ’07 and Patrick Grewe ’09 were bridesmaids. Elon Davis ’07, 7/17/10. Elon alumni alumni in attendance were: Joey in attendance were: Samantha Rahall ’06, Lauren Bagdy Rahall Hoffmann ’07, Becca Dilday ’07, ’06, Kylene Westerholm ’06, Jenn Katie Barley ’07, Heather Geiger Duncan ’06, Pat McCamy ’08, ’07, Beth Alexander ’04, Rosie Joshua Anderson ’07, Amy Kisko Anderson ’09 & friends Bana Kopty ’09, Alana Morro Deane ’07, Elyse Elliott ’08, Liza ’08, Sara Pollock ’08, Christine Serratore ’09, Jennifer Pautz ’06, Cam L. Jessup ’10 and Joshua Floyd ’08, Lisa Denny ’08, Ashley Erin Andrews ’06, Paige Penn ’06, Nichols, 8/7/10. The couple were Pearson ’08, Brittany Werts ’09 Kim Poe ’08, Jenny Statler ’10, married in their hometown of Mt. and Matt Gillette ’10. Carey is a Jocelyn Fern ’07, Glenn Butera Airy, N.C., at the Fountain of Life police officer with the Charlotte- ’07, Sam McGuire ’07, Jonathan Family Worship Center. Courtney Mecklenburg Police Department Hess ’08, Bobby Hoppey ’09 and Strickland ’11 served as the maid and Alexandra is coordinator of vol- Scott Leighty ’09. Katelyn and of honor. Cam is a professor in the unteer programs for the University of Patrick both teach high school and pre-curriculum department at Wake South Carolina. The couple reside in live in Hendersonville, N.C. Technical Community College. The Columbia, S.C. couple live in Cary, N.C. Katie Gallagher ’08 and Adam Joshua Anderson ’07 and Amy Dondero, 8/7/10. Elon alumni in at- Jennifer Schafer ’10 and Matthew Kisko ’09, 6/25/10. The couple reside tendance were: Kelsey Lodge ’09, Ruff ’10, 7/31/10. Elon alumni who in Raleigh, N.C. Paul Robinette ’09, Kim Poe ’08, participated in the wedding were: Nichole Allem ’08, Laura Heisch Michelle Longo ’10, Ian Taylor Melissa Leigh Steinbach ’07 and ’08, Heather Geiger ’07, Samuel ’10, Christopher Plummer ’10 and Alexander Dube, 10/2/10. Elon McGuire ’07, Elyse Elliot ’08, Cara David Edge ’11. Elon alumni in atalumni who participated in the Disisto ’08 and Nicole Nogueras tendance were: Elizabeth Molloy wedding were: Amy Clark ’07, ’08. Katie is a clinical exercise physiol- ’10, Hannah Williams ’10, Justin Amy Kisko Anderson ’09, Beth ogist. The couple reside in Annapolis, Sposato ’10, Anna Cornacchio Overman ’07 and Rebecca Schley Md. ’11 and Nathan Edge ’13. Jennifer ’07. Melissa is a program analyst for teaches first grade at Ascension Lutheran School and Matthew is a staff consultant for sc&h Group.

They live in Cockeysville, Md.

births

’90s Kathryn Hall Groff ’92, husband Norman and children

Suzanne Silvestro Stevenson ’96, husband Robbie and son Ryan

Lora Taylor Abernathy ’01, husband Paul, and children Olivia and Sean

Betsy Snavely Luckett ’02, Justin Luckett ’02, and children Salem and Drew

Kathryn Hall Groff ’92 and Norman Groff, Richmond, Va. Daughter: Gracie. 7/15/09. Kathryn is a homemaker.

Matthew J. Balberde ’93 and Heather Balberde, Atlanta, Ga. Son: Joshua Michael. 10/12/09. He joins older sisters Allie and Elizabeth.

Bethany Zimms Walton ’03, Pete Walton ’03, and twins Addison and Anderson

Corinne Ripley Johnson ’03, Bradd Johnson ’03, and children Annabel and Dylann

Charla Johnson Halverson ’04, husband David and son Landon

Laura Bartholomay Childs ’05, Geoff Childs ’06, and sons Grant and Carter

Gray A. West ’93 and Debbie ZitonWest, Scottsdale, Ariz. Daughter: Nina Gray. 9/28/10.

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Class Notes

Lessons from the East

by Kristin M. Simone i ’05

“one white face� and placed her at the head of a team in the Philippines. After she successfully completed the Philippines project, she took the lead of a major project in India – Toyota’s second-largest market.

She recalls the ďŹ rst few weeks on the job were difďŹ cult, as she worked with people from several dierent Asian nations and cultures who also spoke little English. Her job was to use kaizen to teach the employees Toyota’s standards and processes and emphasize that, as front-line sta, they played a critical role in Toyota’s success. She loved seeing the dealerships succeed after extensive on-site training but valued the personal connections she made even more. “When, as a kaizen leader, dealership sta told me how our project impacted their lives, that they’re happier now and inspired to improve things in their own

Hilary Corna ’07 is likely the only one of Elon’s more than 30,000 living alumni who can put the phrase “kaizen leader� on her resume.

It’s a title she earned after nearly three years as a senior executive oďŹƒcer for Toyota Motor Asia-PaciďŹ c in Singapore. At Toyota, kaizen, a Japanese word meaning “change for the better,â€? isn’t as much a business principle as it is a way of life. “A lot of people relate kaizen to a spiritual journey, because once you understand it, you don’t know how to think or act any other way,â€? she says. “It’s a dynamic approach to problem-solving rooted in manufacturing operations.â€?

Corna, who left Toyota in July 2010 to return to the United States, plans to parlay the kaizen concept and her experiences as a young American professional living and working abroad into a career as a speaker and Hilary Corna ’07 author helping to bridge the gap between higher education and the international working world. “College students who change the way they think about careers and develop intercultural skills can better meet the needs of businesses today,� she says. “Times are changing, and if I can help college students adapt to that change, I can help them be successful.�

Corna long has thought about her career path a bit dierently from her peers. As a ďŹ rst-year Business Fellow at Elon in 2003, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in international business, especially in Asia.

She enrolled in Japanese language classes and made sure she had the exibility in her schedule to lives, that makes it all worth it,â€? she says. study abroad for a semester. In the spring of her junior But as much as she taught the workers, Corna says year, she traveled to Osaka, Japan, and while there per- she learned from them, too, especially through expofected her language skills and learned how to thrive in sure to Asian culture, which values modesty. the Japanese business world. “In America, we’re very proud. When you’re proud, you “When I came back to the U.S., I was certain I wanted close yourself,â€? she says. “When you’re modest, you know to work and live in Asia,â€? she says. there’s not one best way to do things. You always can Six weeks after graduating from Elon, and despite not ďŹ nd ways to improve. It keeps you curious.â€? having a job, she bought a one-way ticket to Singapore, Since returning to the United States last summer, where her friend’s father lived and had oered her a Corna has started writing a book about her experiplace to stay until she got on her feet. ences in Asia and working to launch One White Face, a “I put myself on a budget and told myself, ‘if the platform for “international ambassadorsâ€? – professionals money runs out and I don’t have a job, I’ll go home,’â€? under age 30 who have worked overseas for more than she recalls. “I had nothing to lose.â€? a year – to connect with one another and share their Corna spent her ďŹ rst few weeks in Singapore net- experiences and skills with college students. working with contacts and joining several American “I want to teach the intercultural skills required organizations. Yet during an afternoon swim, she hap- by businesses today and use my knowledge to help pened to meet a Toyota executive who, after just one students in the U.S.,â€? she says of her future plans. “All interview, oered her a job in Toyota’s kaizen program American young professionals who’ve worked abroad in Singapore. have a One White Face story like mine – a complex, Corna served as a kaizen leader in Toyota’s regional adverse situation that they overcame and that made oďŹƒce, working with local dealerships throughout Asia them stronger and more competitive.â€? to improve operations and share best practices. Within three months on the job, she caught the attention of Toyota’s top management who nicknamed her their If you are an Elon graduate who’s worked abroad and would be interested in working with Corna, visit onewhiteface.com.

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Alicia Crotts Driver ’94 G’98 and Anthony Driver, Mooresville, N.C. Son: Jake Anderson. 7/13/09. He joins older siblings John and Alana.

Kristin Hendrickson Griffin ’94 and Patrick GriďŹƒn, Austin, Texas.

Son: Rider Henry. 7/30/10. He joins older brothers Aaron and Owen.

Kristin is a homemaker.

Tammy Plotka Hood ’96 and Joseph Hood, Marblehead, Mass.

Daughter: Gabriella. 5/28/10. She joins older sister Marissa.

Suzanne Silvestro Stevenson ’96 and Robbie Stevenson, Las Vegas, Nev. Son: Ryan. 3/23/10. Suzanne is a homemaker.

Michael T. Keane ’97 and Jennifer Keane, Hazlet, N.J. Son: Brayden.

9/26/10. He joins older brothers Michael Jr. and Connor. Michael is an equity trader for fbn Secruities.

Lisa Forton Servedio ’99 and Mike Servedio, Laurel, Md. Daughter: SoďŹ a Jade. 7/29/10.

’00s Ryan Thornton ’00 and Jennifer Thornton, Vineland, N.J. Daughter: Saige Sunshine. 6/23/10. Ryan is a social worker for the state of New Jersey.

Lora Taylor Abernathy ’01 and Paul Abernathy, Charlotte, N.C. Son: Sean. 12/7/09. He joins older sister Olivia. Lora works with a long-term research project on early childhood development and nutrition.

Betsy Snavely Luckett ’02 and Justin T. Luckett ’02, WinstonSalem, N.C. Son: Drew Thornton.

3/15/10. He joins older sister Salem.

Betsy is a homemaker and Justin works for bb&t Bank.

Bradd Johnson ’03 and L. Corinne Ripley Johnson ’03, Charlotte, N.C. Daughter: Annabel. 9/20/10.

She joins older sister Dylann. Bradd is a facility manager for Forest Hill Church and Corinne is a freelance graphic designer and photographer.

Bethany Zimms Walton ’03 and Pete Walton ’03, Concord, N.C. Twins: Addison and Anderson.

10/17/09. Pete recently received his master’s degree in business administration from the Duke Fuqua School of Business. He works for MorganStanley.

Class Notes Sara Smith Bennett ’04 and Ryan D. Bennett ’96, Whitsett, N.C. Son: Trevor Douglas. 8/9/10. Sara is a youth case manager for Regional Consolidated Services and Ryan is a physical therapist assistant for Steward Physical Therapy.

Charla Johnson Halverson ’04 and David Halverson, Madison, Wis. Son: Landon David. 10/22/10. Charla recently worked on the campaign for one of Wisconsin’s candidates for the U.S. Senate.

Laura Bartholomay Childs ’05 and Geoff Childs ’06, Fayetteville, N.C. Son: Carter Douglas. 8/12/10.

He joins big brother Grant.

’60s

deaths

’40s

Caroline Hunter Beaver ’79, High Point, N.C. 11/19/10.

John Dameron “J.D.� Phillips ’60, Greensboro, N.C. 11/24/10.

Ber nard George Daher ’42, Pittsburgh, Pa. 10/9/10.

’70s

’80s Steven L. Cobb ’85, Burlington, N.C. 11/29/10.

Royall H. Spence Jr. ’42, Greensboro, N.C. 12/22/10. He was a trustee emeritus of the university who served for more than two decades.

Margaret Elizabeth Graves Edwards ’72, Nags Head, N.C. 10/6/10.

Elizabeth Holland Parker Harrison ’46, Williamston, N.C. 10/29/10.

Archie Samuel “Sam� King ’73 p’03, Durham, N.C. 12/4/10.

Richard Dalton Har per ’49, Atlanta, Ga. 12/25/10.

Marianne Moore Palumbo ’73, Melbourne, Fla. 12/15/10.

Thomas “Gunter� Wicker ’49, Sanford, N.C. 10/17/10.

Friend Pamela Burnside Gray, Richmond, Va. 11/27/10. She was the wife of former trustee Elmon T. Gray. Together, they made a gift to Elon to name the Ella Darden and Elmon Lee Gray Pavilion in the Academic Village, honoring his parents.

Turn yourself in online at elon.edu/classnotes class notes policy

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Class Notes must come ďŹ rsthand from alumni who have news, a birth or marriage to report. Submissions from parents will not be accepted. We welcome news that is no more than a year old.

You may e-mail your Class Notes photos to classnotephotos@elon.edu or mail them to the address at the bo om of this form. Photos, especially those of marriages and births, must include the alumna and/or alumnus in the image; individual images of alumni children will not be published. We reserve the right to determine the quality of your images. Poor quality images will not be used. Please include a note identifying individuals in the photo.

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Return this form with your news or story idea to: The Magazine of Elon 2030 Campus Box Elon, North Carolina 27244-2020 fax: 336-524-0100 phone: 336-278-7415 e-mail: alumniclassnotes@elon.edu Winter 2011

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39

Photo by John Baxton

Jessie Thurecht Hook ’46

Changing lives, one student at a time

BY JALEH HAGIGH

making a difference 40

the magazine of elon

jessie thurecht hook ’ always knew education would open doors for her. After high school, she took business and secretarial courses so she could work her way through college. At Elon, she worked in the registrar’s office while studying biology and English. With little financial help from her family, she had no choice.

“Elon was very accommodating to me and allowed me to work beyond the normal hours so I could earn more money,” Hook recalls.

Recently, she placed Elon in her estate plans. Her gift will endow a scholarship in her name to help students with financial need. She says it’s the least she can do to thank her alma mater.

“Had Elon not helped me, I couldn’t help Elon today,” she says. “Scholarships are very important because a lot of people need help to attend college. I can’t think of any better use for my money that will do more good in the long run. I think it’s a good buy for the buck!”

Hook made Elon the beneficiary of her retirement

plan, enabling her to leave a legacy at the university and gain valuable income tax and estate tax savings.

“I get tremendous personal satisfaction making this gift,” she says. “I feel very proud and grateful to be able to do it, and I hope this inspires others to give.”

After graduating from Elon, Hook worked her way through Emory University, where she earned a master’s degree in biochemistry before beginning her career as a lab researcher. Later she married Edward W. Hook, former chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Virginia, and raised four children in Charlottesville, Va. “My education enlarged my perspective on many things,” Hook says. “I hope my scholarship will pave the way for students to develop themselves and use their abilities as well as they can.”

Hook has fond memories of Elon and enjoys watching her alma mater grow.

“I made friends at Elon that I still have today,” she says. “I’m very proud of what Elon has become.”

To learn more about how you can support the Ever Elon Campaign and make a diff erence at Elon with retirement plan assets or another planned gift, contact: Jamie Killorin cpa/pfs, cfp®, Director of Gift Planning Toll free 877.784.3566 // jkillorin2@elon.edu // www.elon.edu/giftplanning

HOMECOMING

2010

ELON UNIVERSITY Office of Alumni Relations PO Box 398 Elon, NC 27244-2010

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Raleigh, NC Permit # 686

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

Elon’s campus lies quiet before the annual Holiday Celebration and lighting ceremony on Dec. 8.

See more photos of the event at elon.edu/magazine