The Legacies of Elon’s Leaders

TABLE OFContents

© 2010

ii // The Legacies of Elon’s Leaders

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The Legacies of Elon’s Leaders // iii

TABLE OFContentsThe Legacies of

Elon’s Leaders

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Meet the StaffIntroductionAlan Russell- The roundabout road to teaching: A path to mathAnthony Hatcher- Quick ascent to high standardsAyesha Delpish- Outside the standard deviationBarbara Gordon- A guide along the path to enlightenmentBarry Bradberry- Mistakes make the man, embrace themColin Donohue- Returning to lead where he bELONgsConnie Book- If it’s good for the students, it’s good for BookDan Anderson- Keeping Elon in the knowDavid Copeland- Service with a smileEarl Danieley- Elon’s remarkable storytellerEarl Honeycutt- Buy the world a professorEdie Alexander- Elon’s Miss Swiss Army KnifeGeorge Troxler- Living, preserving Elon’s historyGerry Francis- Living for the universityGerry Waterman- Called to be a good shepherdHunter Bacot- One hundred percent approval for BacotJanna Anderson- Cheerleader, coach, mentor, friendJay Harper- The man behind the billsJean Schwind- The queen bee of worker bees Jeffrey Coker- Reinventing life at ElonJim Brown- Guiding the next generation of Elon leadersJim Donathan- Auditing the paths of studentsJo Williams- Creating, culminating an Elon visionKatie Nash- Leading the future by documenting the pastLeo Lambert- The force behind ‘Long Live Elon’Mallory Anderson- Leading the hand that fed youMary Alice Bragg- Performing the soundtrack to Elon’s eventsMegan McCollum- Lifting students to their potentialMichael Williams- The man of MoseleyNancy Midgette- Success guided by whimsPaul Parsons- The captain of the C.S.S. CommunicationsPhil Smith- More than just ‘the bow tie guy’Rex Waters- A leader of student leadersRichard McBride- Offering seasons of service, lessons of lifeRoss Wade- Career Center superstarSmith Jackson- Man, myth and legendSusan Klopman- The guide on the path to ElonTim Peeples- The ultimate people personTom Arcaro- Turning leadership into a giftTom Nelson- The body, the soul and odd chance

Editor-In-Chief, ProducerAshley Barnas ‘10

Design EditorMiriam Williamson ‘10

EditorsAmanda Kennison ‘10

Ashley Barnas ‘10Contributing Writers

Alexa Milan ‘10Amanda Kennison ‘10

Andie Diemer ‘10Ashley Barnas ‘10

Caitlin O’Donnell ‘13Camille DeMere ‘11

Jack Dodson ‘12Jack Rodenfels ‘12

Justine Schulerud ‘12Lauren Ramsdell ‘13

Pam Richter ‘11Rachel Cieri ‘10

Rebecca Smith ‘12Sam Calvert ‘12

Samantha King ‘12Sara Pasquinelli ‘10

Contributing PhotographersJustine Schulerud ‘12

Jack Dodson ‘12Ashley Barnas ‘10

ix // Th e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders

Meet the Staff

Th e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders // x

Introduction

TASKED WITH LEAVING A LEGACYThe idea for “The Legacies of Elon’s Leaders” was born Sunday, August 23,

2009. I was driving down I-95 to Elon University to start my senior year. It was an incredibly emotional drive for me as I really began to refl ect on my time at Elon and the reasons why the past three years had been so special.

I was talking out loud to my mom and driving companion, and the subject of my Leadership Fellows legacy project came up…I still had not decided what to do. It needed to be something meaningful, something tremendously special that would leave my mark at Elon. It was then that my mother suggested creating a book that featured some of the people who made my time at Elon so special. Bingo. I started listing off professors, staff and faculty members who had a tremendous impact on my life, and before I knew it, my list had a couple dozen people on it. I knew the undertaking was going to be too much for me, so the next problem was easily solved. In my role as president of the Society of Professional Journalists, it was my job to come up with a project for the school year, and this book would be it.

SPJ is one of the fi rst organizations I joined on campus, soon after The Pendulum. It’s where I fi rst met Anthony Hatcher, who I immediately knew would be my academic adviser as soon as I declared my journalism major. We’re a small organization on campus, but what we stand for is very important.

After fi rst pitching the book idea at an SPJ meeting, it seemed that all of a sudden I had 16 people writing stories, three photographers, an editor and a designer. My initial list of leaders grew exponentially and almost everyone took multiple leaders because they couldn’t pick just one person who has had an impact on them.

Most of the people we considered leaders were amazed that we gave them the title. They honestly had no idea why we thought they were leaders, which is what makes this book so special. Our book features leaders who have had an impact on our education, life and future. They are people who we feel have left a legacy at Elon and who exemplify the characteristics of leadership whether or not they recognize themselves as leaders. Our journey in selecting and learning more about these leaders has proven that we can all be leaders in our own right –

it’s what we do with what has been given to us that makes all the difference.Though I may not have known every person featured in this book, I got to

know them through the eyes of the writers. Journalists strive to tell the stories of others with the hope that readers will be equally affected by those stories.

Working with some of my best friends has been a blessing. Everyone else’s excitement about the project made me even more excited and was the motivation I needed to bring it to life.

Seeing as we asked all our leaders to defi ne leadership, it seems only fi tting that I give my own defi nition. Leadership is helping others, showing compassion, creating, including, inspiring, enabling and encouraging. Of all the lessons this book and its leaders has taught me, I will always take with me the differing defi nitions of leadership that come down to one thing: having an impact on someone else’s life. Some leaders don’t even recognize that they are leaders or that they have had an impact on the lives of others. The best leader sits back and observes, takes compliments humbly, and recognizes the strengths of others and empowers them to be leaders in their own right.

Some leaders are household names while others have impacted a much smaller group of people. Some we only know through the news or e-mail. Many we know through the classroom and our jobs. Others give up their time after classes to advise us in extracurricular activities. And a handful is those whom we pass only on occasion but the impression they leave will last a lifetime. I will carry forward my love of helping others and I strive to continue telling their stories.

Thank you mom, dad and Michael for loving Elon, its people (and its squirrels) along with me, and for giving me the energy I needed to create this tribute to the people I love. Thank you to my friends who put all their heart and energy into this book and who offered their endless support, talent, and, of course, friendship. I thank God for having Elon set in the stars for me long before I even knew I was meant to walk its brick paths. And thank you to each and every person who touched my life during the four best years of my existence. A few modest pages in this book could never show how truly grateful I am.