The Magazine of Elon, Winter 2011

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T H E M A G A Z I N E O F

“We focus so much on

our disadvantages and

seeming impossibility of

the journey, we lose hope

and oppress ourselves.

... Dr. King preached a

message that if you focus

on your character more

than you focus on the plot

of the story, then there's

hope that the story has

no choice but to change.”

– senior eugene daniel

T he Elon community united in January to com-memorate 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. Commemo-rative Program Jan. 13 in Whitley Auditorium. Carter argued that Americans need to push for greater equality, particu-larly in education, for all people of color, who will become the nation’s “new majority” by 2050.

“In the coming years, as the United States faces unprec-edented challenges, we need everyone – men, women, black, white, yellow, brown, young, old, gay, straight, Jew, Protes-tant, Catholic, Hindu – everyone to hold up the magnifi cent vision of this country,” he said.

On Jan. 16, more than 50 students, faculty, staff 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,” said senior Eugene Daniel. “There’s still freedom to be had.”

Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.

Ronald L. Carter

Assistant Dean of Students Jodean Schmiederer (left)

and son, and Eugene Daniel (right)

First-year students Lauren Wilkins

and Torrance Winder participate

in the annual Beloved Community

Candlelight Vigil on Jan. 16.

moment of truthby eric townsend

Students in a senior seminar course experience fi rsthand the cold, hard

facts of food production.

the magazine of elonwinter 2011 vol. 73, no. 1

EDITOR

Kristin M. Simone� i ’05

DESIGNER

Christopher Eyl

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

DIRECTOR OF UNIVERSITY RELATIONS

Daniel J. Anderson

The Magazine of Elon is published quarterly for alumni, parents and friends by the Offi ce of University Relations. 336-278-7415

EDITORIAL OFFICES

The Magazine of Elon

2030 Campus BoxElon, NC 27244-2020

Class Notes

Elon Offi ce of University Relations2030 Campus BoxElon, NC 27244E-mail: [email protected]

Elon website

www.elon.edu

Magazine website

www.elon.edu/magazine

6 Elon News14 Phoenix Sports26 Alumni Action31 Class Notes40 Making a Diff erence

BOARD OF TRUSTEES, CHAIR

Mark T. Mahaff ey, St. Petersburg, Fla.

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

Cliff ord B. Hardy Jr. ’62, Tampa, Fla.

SCHOOL OF LAWADVISORY BOARD, CHAIR

David Gergen, Cambridge, Mass.

LOVE SCHOOL OF BUSINESSADVISORY BOARD, CHAIR

William S. Creekmuir p’09 p’10,

Atlanta, Ga.

PHOENIX CLUB ADVISORY BOARD, CHAIR

Mike Cross, Burlington, N.C.

DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS

Sallie Hu� on ’92

DIRECTOR OF PARENT PROGRAMS

Maggie Byerly

fe

at

ur

es

construction zone aheadPresident Leo M. Lambert off ers

his insights on new facilities that will support the goals of the Elon Commitment.

departments

16

a valued voiceby eric townsend

When Jean Ra� igan-Rohr’s son started struggling in school, she

found her calling.

FACULTYPROFILE

18

flashbacksby kim walker

As Elon’s campus prepares for another signifi cant transformation, see how far

it’s already come in this photo essay.

COVERSTORY

20

captain of industryby kristin m. simonetti ’05

Each time opportunity knocked at Steve Schuckenbrock’s door, the 1982

alumnus made sure to answer.

ALUMNIPROFILE

24

2SPECIALREPORT

on the coverThis 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: look-ing through the colonnades toward Alamance’s west-facing entrance, with Carlton Building to the le� and Whitley Auditorium to the right. The 1964 cap-tion 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, begin-ning in February 1928, when it was called The Elon Alumni Voice. In October 1948, the publication assumed its cur-rent glossy magazine format, and in July 1974, it adopted The Magazine of Elon as its name.

Leo M. Lambert

CONSTRUCTION ZONE AHEADNew facilities support goals of the Elon Commitment

This is the fi 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 specifi c goals to support

the eight broad themes of the Elon Commitment.

For this fi rst update, I would like to share with you the exciting

changes the campus will undergo beginning this spring and continu-

ing 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

New dining hall

Moseley Center west entrance

Special Report

2 the magazine of elon

Premier living and learning environmentsAs you read in the last issue of Th e Magazine of Elon, we are reimagining the residential expe-rience at Elon. More undergraduate students should be aff orded the opportunity to live on campus, and our goal is to have 75 percent of our students in campus housing. Th is is im-portant for many reasons. Studies show that students living on campus earn higher grades, have higher rates of retention and develop a strong affi nity for their university. A strong residential experience allows students to re-main 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 600-bed 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 offi ces; and ample study rooms, kitchens and large gathering spaces. Students will reside on themed fl oors, with fi rst-year students enrolled in Global Experience courses taught in the neighbor-hood. Older students will serve as mentors and lead the house governance system.

Immediately following Commencement 2011, construction of the replacement for Harden Dining Hall will begin as an addi-tion to Moseley Center, eff ectively doubling the size of the building. Th e new dining hallwill off er views of Lake Mary Nell and feature a second-fl oor facility similar to McKinnon Hall that will provide additional space for campus programs. Harden will not be razed until January 2013, when the Moseley addi-tion is complete.

Th e Colonnades residential quadranglewill be completed behind the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center in fall 2011. Th ese new facilities will house 300 students and feature single rooms and four-person suites, infor-mal gathering places, common kitchens and study rooms, more themed housing choices,

and opportunities to interact with faculty-in-residence. One feature of this complex that we are particularly proud of is that the five residence halls surrounding this new quadrangle will be heated and cooled by a geothermal system. Nearby, fi ve new houses in Loy Center will open this fall to provide additional housing and meeting space for so-rorities and fraternities.

Th is summer we will break ground on the fi rst phase of the new senior class village, to be constructed on the playing fi elds across from the Elon fi re station on Williamson Avenue. Designed to meet the needs of ju-niors and seniors, these two-story residences will have balconies and two to four apartment units per building, with each unit featuring single rooms for greater privacy. Th is 14-acre site will have village-style architecture on a scale designed to integrate well with the Town of Elon and will include amenities to promote bonding among classmates, including recre-ational facilities, an amphitheatre, gardens and other outdoor gathering places.

Honoring a campus leaderLast year, Elon acquired property adjoin-ing Danieley Center, including 9½ acres of land and the 150,000-square-foot former Smithfield Foods building, which boasts more than double the square footage of the Koury Business Center. Much as we did when we renovated the former Greensboro Public Library to house the School of Law, we plan a complete interior demolition and repurpos-ing of the facility. Th e renovated facility will be named the Gerald L. Francis Center to honor Executive Vice President Gerry Francis, who has dedicated his entire academic career to Elon. Francis began as an assistant pro-fessor of mathematics and later became full

professor, dean, vice president and provost. He has loyally and eff ectively served with two Elon presidents.

Th e Francis Center will be the new home of the doctor of physical therapy program and the new master of physician assistant studies program, which will open January 2013, and it will provide new labs for the exercise sci-ence undergraduate program. Th ere is much more space available in the Francis Center for later development to meet on-going campus needs. Ideas that have been off ered include centralizing Elon’s technology operations and increasing library storage. DPT’s relocation from McMichael Science Center will allow

17,000 square feet of space to be repurposed for much needed undergraduate science expansion. We also plan to develop new intra-mural and club sports playing fi elds adjacent to the Francis Center and connect them with a new road to Danieley Center.

While Elon will remain principally focused on providing top-quality undergraduate edu-cation, the Elon Commitment plan calls us to carefully and selectively consider new gradu-ate programs, particularly when their presence enhances undergraduate education at Elon. Th is certainly promises to be the case with the PA program.

Global Neighborhood

CONTINUED

the magazine of elon 3

Special Report

Building a more vibrant downtown ElonBeginning 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 Th e Pendulum) and the patio adjacent to the Acorn Coff ee Shop. Th e 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, encour-age entrepreneurship and privately-owned business, and provide students with needed retail services and social opportunities con-venient to campus.

Following the bookstore’s move from Moseley Center, we will renovate the space to house premier career services and employer re-lations offi ces. Finding rewarding employment in these challenging economic times requires

considerable student planning, forethought, patience and networking. Successful perfor-mance during an internship is often the key to landing a permanent position following grad-uation. Elon will begin staffi ng 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 of-fi ces for an expanded staff .

The multi-faith centerLater 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 tradi-tion. 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 refl ection in the heart of campus, respecting the diff ering customs of students’ religious and spiritual traditions. Th e center will encourage a robust dialogue about religion on campus, explor-ing what unites us in our common humanity and promoting the values served by deeper interfaith collaboration. Th e 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 pro-grams 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.

The multi-faith center

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

Special Report


» 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 fi rst 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 fi nancial means

» and much more!

New digs for the PhoenixTh e Elon Commitment strategic plan recog-nizes 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; offi ces 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 dedi-cated 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 horseshoe-shaped 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

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

While Elon plans to build a new convo-cation 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. Th e move from the current fi eld 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 traffi c patterns and inevitable minor disruptions but also take pride in these great advancements in our fa-cilities and programs.

In future columns, I will focus on other elements of the strategic plan that are well under way, including

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. LambertPresident

Alumni Field House


Special Report

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 Smithfi eld 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.

Elon expands downtown

Greensboro campus

Elon has signed a purchase agreement on three properties in downtown Greensboro, N.C., about one-half block north of the Elon University School of Law.

Th e three warehouse/offi ce buildings, built in the 1920s and 1930s, are currently vacant. Elon also has agreed to an option to purchase additional parcels of land on the same down-town block in the future.

Th e property acquisition supports Elon’s continued development of its downtown Greensboro campus. Long-range plans are to use the property to provide facilities needed

for the future growth of the law school’s en-rollment and its expanding legal clinics and student organizations.

Elon’s law school opened in 2006 in the former Greensboro Public Library building on North Greene Street. In 2009, Elon acquired property adjacent to the law school building on West Friendly Avenue, which now houses the law school’s legal clinics.

Elon Law adds clinic

Elon University School of Law established the Humanitarian Immigration Law Clinic in January, allowing students to provide free

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

Th e clinic fi lls an urgent need in the Triad region, which annually receives more than 500 refugees assigned to North Carolina by the Federal Offi ce of Refugee Resettlement. Lutheran Family Services in Greensboro provided similar services for refugees and asylum seekers in the region until the orga-nization closed its local services offi ce 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 fi l-ing applications and briefs, and maintaining client correspondence. Students also observe and participate in hearings before federal ad-ministrative agencies and courts.

“Because the outcomes in each case handled through the clinic have enormous signifi cance for clients and their families, students not only gain valuable legal training, they will also ex-perience fi rsthand 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

Th e Institute of International Education again placed Elon at the top of its rankings of pre-mier college study abroad programs.

Th e 2010 Open Doors Report named Elon 1 among master’s-level universities in the to-tal number of students studying abroad. Elon sent 1,092 students abroad during the 2008–09 academic year, over 200 more students than Villanova, James Madison University and California State University – Long Beach.

Elon led the nation in short-term study abroad experiences, sending more than 700 students on Winter Term programs, and was ranked 2 among master’s-level universities in mid-length experiences.

Elon and Davidson College were the only North Carolina institutions listed in the Open Doors report among the 29 colleges and uni-versities that reported at least 70 percent study abroad participation.

The Gerald L. Francis Center

Elon News


NBC’s Brian Williams, distinguished panelists to discuss global challenges

Elon will devote its annual spring Convocation for Honors on April 7 to an in-depth examination of fi ve great problems facing humanity.

Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, will moderate a panel discussion titled “We can be better: Courageous voices confront our greatest challenges.” Distinguished panelists will explore tough choices that must be made to respond to threats to our democracy, economies, public education, the environment and civil stability around the world.

“Brian Williams and our panelists will bring their unique per-spectives to bear on global issues that often seem intractable,” said President Leo M. Lambert. “I am confi dent we will fi nd inspiration in their ideas, and I’m thrilled that our community will have a rare oppor-tunity to hold a dialogue with these dynamic leaders.”

Williams is the most decorated network evening news anchor of the modern era. A former NBC News chief White House correspondent, Williams has covered numerous nominating conventions, presiden-tial campaigns and elections, and has moderated seven presidential debates. For his outstanding work, Williams has received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism and the industry’s high-est honor, the George Foster Peabody Award, among many others.

Williams will lead a panel that includes:» David Gergen, senior political analyst for CNN, adviser to four U.S. presidents and director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School;» David Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General and president and chief executive offi cer of the Comeback America Initiative;» Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology;» Eboo Patel, an American Muslim of Indian heritage who is an author, journalist and member of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based Neighborhood Partnerships; and» David Levin, co-founder of the

“Knowledge is Power Program” (KIPP), a network of high-achiev-ing charter schools.

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 cabi-nets, a state-of-the-art training room with a hydrotherapy room, and a large strength and conditioning room.

The second fl oor 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, confer-ence rooms and space for student athletes to study. It also provides offi ces for the athletics director and coaches in the football, baseball, soccer, cross country, and track and fi eld 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.

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Brian Williams

Elon News

Trustee emeritus

Royall Spence Jr. ’42 dies

Trustee Emeritus Royall Spence Jr. ’42, a gen-erous 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, in-cluding 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 for-mer 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, in recognition of his service to his alma mater.

Ann J. Cahill authors book

about objectifi cation

Routledge recently published a book written by Ann J. Cahill, professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy at Elon, as part of its Research in Gender and Society series. Th e book, Overcoming Objectifi cation: A Carnal

Ethics, takes a close, critical look at a central concept in feminist theory: objectifi cation.

While acknowledging the role objectifi ca-tion plays in the analysis of social practices, Cahill argues that the idea has outlived its philosophical usefulness. She concludes the problem in our culture’s treatment of women is not that women are treated as objects, but rather they are viewed wholly as a mere re-flection or projection of male subjectivity and sexuality.

Vice Adm. William E. Gortney ’77 to

deliver Commencement address

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 confi rmation 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 com-bat operations for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Following his graduation from Elon, Gortney entered the Navy as an aviation offi cer candidate. He received his com-mission in the United States Naval Reserve in September 1977 and earned his wings of gold in December 1978. During

his noteworthy career as a Navy pilot, Gortney fl ew more than 5,360 mishap-free fl ight 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 aff airs.

Vice Adm. William E. Gortney ’77

Ann J. Cahill

Royall Spence Jr. ’42

Elon News


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 individu-als 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

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 his-tory 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 Defi ning the Nation: The Active

Voice, released in 2010, explores how media and society intersect. Currently, he’s fi nishing a chapter for the Oxford Handbook of Religion in the News. He’s also work-ing 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.

Elon Law hosts annual symposium

Several of the nation’s top scholars in intellec-tual 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 in-formation with the need for secrecy, privacy and control.

Ten scholars participated in three panel dis-cussions about topics that included Internet architecture and data flow, privacy issues associated with Twitter and Facebook, and ef-fective models of Internet governance.

“Th e 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.

Th e annual symposium was presented by the Elon Law Review, which advances legal education and scholarship through the con-tribution 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 na-tional and international competitions in the fall.

In October, senior Charley Costa and ju-nior Stephen Azar took fi rst 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 un-dergraduate 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 fi nished third overall. Th e other team members were Cody Lance and Lauren Fredrickson. Michael

David Copeland

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 fi rst 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

Elon News


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 fi rst 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 fi rst 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 sci-ence business. Today, Harris is the managing partner and chief executive offi cer of Vesalius Ventures and founder of The Harris Foundation, a Houston-based nonprofi t 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 exempli-fi es the values of Elon University, including integrity, innovation and creativity, passion for lifelong learning, and a commitment to building a dynamic community. The fi rst recipient of the award, Jim Goodnight, CEO of Raleigh, N.C.-based software company SAS, accepted the award in spring 2009.

Tom Parham

Jerry Tolley

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

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 pro-gram for nearly two decades and briefl y coached the women’s team, and Tolley guided Elon football to consecutive naia Division I na-tional 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 cam-paigns (2001–04). His men’s teams compiled a 278–114 record, earn-ing 11 consecutive conference titles, advancing to the naia Division 1 tournament in each of those sea-sons 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 ten-nis 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 be-came an assistant head coach under Shirley “Red” Wilson. After Wilson departed Elon in 1977, Tolley be-came 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 playoff s on three occasions, claiming national titles in 1980 and 1981. He retired from coaching after the 1981 season.

Tolley received several confer-ence, district, state, regional, area and national coach of the year ac-colades. 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.

Bernard A. Harris Jr.

Elon News


“Stop trying to fi gure out who

you are or what is more im-

portant 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 orienta-

tion, to your religion or citi-

zenship – 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

“Th e Daily Beast,” speaking at College Chapel on Nov. 11. Aslan’s bestseller, No god but God: Th e Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam, was named one of the 100 most important books of the past decade.

Elon recognizes outstanding alumni

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 eff orts 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 fi rm, Industrial Paper Products, which since has fl ourished 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 unprec-edented 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 doc-toral degrees from Virginia Tech and has

displayed a unique ability to produce rig-orous scholarship with mainstream appeal, including a recent article she wrote with Elon professor Laura Roselle, which was published in Public Voices, a leading jour-nal in the fi eld of political science.

Charles “Chuck” and Carole Ann Barnett Collard ’89 received the Alumni Service Award. After their adopted daugh-ter, Carly, died of cancer in 2002, the couple founded Carly’s Club, a nonprofi t organi-zation that supports nearly 300 pediatric cancer patients in the greater Buff alo, N.Y., area. The couple has played an integral role in raising more than 3 million for cancer research at Buff alo’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 infl u-ential executive, he has provided vision-ary leadership at EDS, The Feld Group, PepsiCo, Frito-Lay and IBM. To learn more about Schuckenbrock’s life and career, see page 24.

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

Elon News


Major gifts from alumni, parents and friends have continued to fuel the momentum of Ever Elon: Th e 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 academyLaboratory Corporation of America Holdings has made a major gift to support endowment for the Elon Academy, a university-run col-lege-access and academic enrichment pro-gram that encourages Alamance County high school students with signifi cant fi nan-cial need to earn college degrees and serve their communities.

Th e company’s gift will create the LabCorp Endowment for Opportunity, which will pro-vide 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

that makes opportunities available to young people in our community,” says David P. King, chairman and chief executive offi cer of LabCorp.

“Th is generous gift from LabCorp dem-onstrates the company’s commitment to our community and to the critical role educa-tion plays in shaping our future,” says Elon President Leo M. Lambert. “Th rough this gift, LabCorp is making a major statement, tell-ing the young men and women of the Elon Academy that they have bright futures and deserve our full support.”

Th e Elon Academy is a three-year, year-round program for students in the Alamance-Burlington School System with high fi nancial need or no family history of college

attendance. Th e 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 laborato-ries and a pioneer in genomic testing and the commercialization of new diagnostic technol-ogies. LabCorp has a history of supporting education in Alamance County and at Elon, including making generous gifts to the uni-versity’s Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center and establishing a summer internship pro-gram for Elon Academy scholars.

support continues for physician assistant program More than $1.5 million has been committed to support Elon’s new graduate program in phy-sician assistant studies.

Major gifts to the pa program in-clude $900,000 from a partnership among Alamance Regional Medical Center (armc), Moses Cone Health System and the Duke Endowment. armc has made a second com-mitment 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 en-couragement 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 confi dent this new graduate program will contribute to the quality of life, economic health, business activity and repu-tation of the region.”

EVER ELON REACHES $87 MILLION

BY JALEH HAGIGH

Update

Elon Academy

students perform

experiments in

McMichael

Science Center.


Lambert also commended Elon trustee and Glen Raven ceo Allen Gant for his lead-ership in seeking fi nancial resources for the program.

porter enhances career servicesPreparing students to land top jobs in the business world inspired Elon parent David Porter to endow the Porter Family Professional Development Center in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. Th e newest named center in the Love School, the Porter Center will support student par-ticipation in internships as well as network-ing and job placement activities, among other career initiatives.

Porter, a managing partner at Baystate Financial Services in Boston, says he has been impressed with the Elon students who have worked as interns at his company and wanted to take career services in the Love School to new heights.

“Elon students are focused and have an in-credible work ethic,” says Porter, a member of the university’s Parents Council along with his wife, Jennifer. “Th e basis of their educa-tion is phenomenal, and I’m impressed with how engaged the professors are and how ready students are to enter the business community.”

Porter’s son, Tim, is a senior business major and Doherty Scholar in the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, lo-cated in the Love School.

martin establishes need-based scholarshipChris Martin ’78 has been a loyal supporter of his alma mater for more than two decades, making regular annual gifts to help students now and putting the university in his estate plans to help secure its future. He has con-tinued his commitment to Elon by making a $100,000 gift to endow the Martin Family Scholarship, which will assist students with fi nancial need.

“I saw the great things that were going on at Elon, and I decided I wanted to be part of that,” says Martin, presi-dent and ceo of Provident Bank in Jersey City, N.J.

“Teaching and helping stu-dents are good things that are worth supporting. Could I do other things with my money? Sure, but I think Elon uses its money very wisely.”

Martin was the fi rst member of his family to earn a college degree. He received fi nancial assistance to attend Elon and worked through-out his undergraduate career to make ends meet. He understands the critical role that scholarships play in making an Elon educa-tion possible for students with fi nancial need.

“I think it’s important to give students from all walks of life the opportunity to go to Elon,” Martin says. “Th e university is do-ing something right because it is educating bright global citizens who want to make a dif-ference in the world.”

Martin is the incoming president of the Elon Alumni Board. His son, Nicholas, is an Elon junior.

naming opportunities available for multi-faith center, alumni gymFundraising continues for the multi-faith center, which will enhance religious life pro-gramming at the university, and renovations to Alumni Gym.

Th e multi-faith center will give students an attractive, welcoming place to practice their faiths, gather for fellowship and learn about other religious traditions, affi rming the uni-versity’s commitment to develop the mind, body and spirit of each student and nurture a diverse campus community. Th e center will

be centrally located on campus as the sixth pavilion in the Academic Village.

One of the center’s largest spaces and most prominent naming opportunities will be the chapel in which students, faculty and staff of various faiths will gather for worship, religious ceremonies or quiet refl ection. Th e chapel will be one of the most architecturally distinctive and functional spaces on campus, featuring

a vaulted roof, high ceiling, natural light and art that distinguishes it as sacred space. Th e chapel will feature separate entrances facing Haggard Avenue and Elon’s Phi Beta Kappa Commons.

Elon seeks to raise $2 million for the multi-faith center. A full list of naming opportuni-ties is available at tinyurl.com/27wrnjh.

Naming opportunities also are available for the second phase of renovations to Alumni Gym, home of Phoenix basketball and vol-leyball. Th ose opportunities include the plaza outside the south entrance, men’s and wom-en’s basketball offi ce suites, player’s lounge for men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball of-fi ce suite and locker room, and student-ath-lete academic excellence center.

donors make planned giftsOrder of the Oak, Elon’s planned gift leg-acy society, welcomes new members Jessie Th urecht Hook ’46, of Charlottesville, Va., and Nancy S. Midgette and Charles O. Midgette, of Burlington, N.C. Additional gifts have been made by Order of the Oak members Mary S. Underwood, of Alexandria, Va.; Harold E. Maxwell ’41 and Jolene C. Maxwell, of Fayetteville, N.C.; and William J. Ruth ’66 and Mary Coolidge Ruth ’66, of Pleasant Hill, Tenn.

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Artist’s rendering of the future multi-faith center’s chapel


Phoenix Sports elonphoenix.com

FINDING THEIR COMFORT ZONEPhoenix 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 ste-reotype – 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 outstand-ing 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 fi rst ncaa Division I singles tournament qualifi er, and Anna Milian ’10, the 2010 Southern Conference Player of the Year.

“Th e word is out about Elon, even more than you realize,” says Anderson, who has coached at Elon since 2004. “It’s a perfect fi t for many international athletes because it’s a small school.”

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

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 fac-ulty, 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 ten-nis,” says Rojas, who completed his high school degree online while focusing on his game.

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

“Th ere 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. “Th e play-ers who love to compete and spend time with their teammates, it comes to them quickly.”

Rojas was one of those players. In his sec-ond 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 fi nals.

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 fi rst semester, I de-veloped 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 fi nd her com-fort zone in American culture and college life. Th e team quickly gave her a circle of good friends, especially fellow fi rst-year interna-tional 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 busi-ness 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.

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

Phoenix tennis players

Alberto Rojas and

Frida Jansaker thrive

far from home

BY KRISTIN M. SIMONETTI ’05

Alberto Rojas Frida Jansaker


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

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 basket-ball 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 diff erent 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 competi-tive nature has really come out.

q. How did the Southern Conference blog come about?

evans: When I was fi rst 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 some-one 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. Th ey’re pushing you to become the best student and person you can be. I really admire that about this place. All the profes-sors 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 footballElon 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 demon-strated he’s had a positive infl uence and will be a positive role model for our student-ath-letes here at Elon University,” said Dave Blank, Elon’s director of athletics. “Jason Swepson showed me and convinced me that he was the right person for the job.”

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

Swepson recently completed his fourth sea-son 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 staff s 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 fi eld.”

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.

Jason Swepson


Phoenix Sports

BY ERIC TOWNSEND

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

A dley Kloth and eight classmates from an Elon public adminis-tration 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 housefl ies and mosquitoes. But if they wanted to see how local organic farmers raise and process livestock – as opposed to the slaughterhouse methods illus-trated 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.

Th ere 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.

Th at’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 Aff airs, Morgan fre-quently leads students overseas for leadership and research opportunities. During her trav-els, Morgan noted diff erences in how people elsewhere in the world treat food. Meats and produce appear fresher, she said. Th ey taste richer and have stronger fl avor. Farmers sell food in local markets instead of preserving and shipping it elsewhere.

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

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


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

“I believe that 20-year-olds these days are completely disconnected from the pro-cess by which food comes to their plate,” Morgan explained shortly before the farm visit. “Th ey 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

horrifi c, 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 fi sh sticks and chicken nug-gets like many children, but she also savored the vegetables that accompanied most dinners: Brussels sprouts, asparagus, green beans, Kloth ate them all. Th at 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.

Th at changed last summer. A public admin-istration and international studies double major, Kloth lived with her aunt outside of

Washington, D.C., and the pair would drive nearly an hour to buy local produce. Questions bubbled in Kloth’s mind. Why? What are the benefi ts to buying local?

She began exploring answers to those questions in Morgan’s senior seminar, which took students to local farms. Th ey saw that Americans can make a living following healthy and organic practices. Th ey sampled grass-fed beef, milked goats and, on the Saturday before Th anksgiving, they processed poultry.

Kloth rode that morning with classmate Jackie Seisman to the small Orange County,

N.C., organic farm where co-owner Suzanne Nelson and her husband, Corey Landry, wel-comed Morgan’s class. Nelson took the group on a tour while Landry prepared the process-ing station.

Th e metal funnels and drip pan sat beside a tank fi lled with 160-degree water, a plastic container with rubber fi ngers and water jets, and a stainless steel table with knives.

After the tour, Landry demonstrated for students how to process the chickens. Th ree birds were placed in the funnels and had arter-ies in their necks sliced. Next, the chickens were dunked several times in the water tank to loosen their feathers. Th e centrifuge detached the feathers, and the chickens were placed on

the table for removal of organs and prepara-tion for sale.

Th e students now had an opportunity to try it themselves. Two classmates fi rst wielded the knives, then Kloth stepped forward.

Landry picked out a chicken from a crate. It made little noise as he placed it upside down in the funnel, its head poking out underneath. Kloth grabbed a second chicken and followed Landry’s lead.

Her classmates watched as she approached the fi rst bird, careful not to look it in the eye. 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. Th e farmer

leaned down and sliced both sides of the neck. Th e bird died in seconds. Kloth stared at the second chicken.

“Let me try again,” she said.Th is time, Kloth found the artery at the top

of the neck on her fi rst 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 artifi cially 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.”

Th e smell of chickens saturated Kloth’s clothes so much that Saturday afternoon, she nearly vomited when she returned home to her apartment. She refused to eat poultry for two weeks but doesn’t regret her experience. If nothing else, she said, sharing her story about the farm visit has opened a dialogue with fam-ily and friends.

“I want to let other people know where their food comes from,” she said. “Th e biggest reac-tion 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.”

Kloth might even be interested in running her own organic farm should the opportunity one day make itself available.

And she lived up to her own ultimatum: She killed a chicken; now she can eat one.

“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


Th roughout 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 fi fth 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 commo-tion. 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 peo-ple 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

Rattigan-Rohr grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, the daughter of a general contractor father and a homemaker mother. Th e middle of fi ve 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 fi rst career choice. After graduating from high school, Rattigan-Rohr delivered the evening news for the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation’s tele-vision division in Kingston. Away from the

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 stu-dents and their parents visited the Barnes & Noble bookstore two miles from Elon University’s campus.

a valuedvoice

BY ERIC TOWNSEND


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. Th e job required her to oversee day-to-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. Th e problems her son experienced, she concluded based on her studies, might have been caused by ineff ective teaching.

After fi nishing 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. Th ey 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-port the family, after-school hours just aren’t convenient for meeting with teachers.

a road less traveled

Rattigan-Rohr took those observations – and many more – with her when, after four years in the school system, she enrolled in unc-g’s doctoral program in education. She studied under two infl uential educators at unc-g, Sam Miller and Gerry Duff y, and later joined them on the faculty in as an assistant professor and coordinator of professional development schools. In , Rattigan-Rohr moved east-ward, accepting a position at Elon.

One of her fi rst tasks at Elon involved over-hauling the syllabus for “Methods for Teaching Struggling Readers.” She changed the focus of the course from theory to more strongly emphasize parental interaction and one-on-one instruction between education majors and young children.

“It would have been easy to teach the course as it had always been taught, in the comfort-able environs of Elon without bothering with

the reality,” said Duff y, now retired from unc-g but still considered an expert on strategies for teaching children to read. “Th at’s not Jean. … She’s tying into the thing that most people don’t spend a lot of time with, in that these kids sometimes come from homes where the parents aren’t good readers themselves.

“Th e thing that’s really unique is that she requires the parents to be there. That’s what’s captured the fancy of the foundation that awarded her the grant, and it’s the start of something that will really have an impact.”

Parents tip their hats to the passion Rattigan-Rohr brings every time she visits the library.

“She’s very astute and very professional. I was impressed with her ‘village’ approach; these children are our children,” says Hubert Brown, whose daughter is in the fourth grade at Newlin Elementary School in Burlington.

“She’s very assertive. Th at’s a defi ning charac-teristic these days.”

Her Elon students, current and former, agree.

“She is extremely knowledgeable on every-thing, and she takes into account students’

cultures,” says Madelyn Rohleder ’09, who took the course in 2008 and has volunteered with Rattigan-Rohr ever since to mentor Elon students tutoring children in the class.

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

coming full circle

Rattigan-Rohr’s community outreach involves more than the tutoring program. In , motivated by a lifelong interest in the performing arts, she wrote a play based on conversations her Elon students shared with her from their student teaching. Valued Voices tells the story of an African-American teenager with teachers, a principal and a grand-mother who fail to see the elements of the ninth grader’s struggles. Th e play introduces its audience to several obstacles that confront minority students, including unequal distribu-tion of experienced teachers, the “pedagogy of poverty,” education reforms and low student expectations.

Th e script has been performed by the North Carolina Black Repertory Th eater Company, an organization sponsored by the North Carolina Arts Council.

In a sense, Rattigan-Rohr’s success with “Valued Voices” brings her life story full circle, back to Kingston. Her middle school speech and drama teacher, Mable B. Livingston, inspired her in ways she tries to replicate today with education majors. Th rough their friendship over the decades, Rattigan-Rohr has learned the secret to that inspiration.

“I hope I am like Ms. Livingston to them, that I become that kind of teacher. It’s in the honest way she wants to make her students better,” Rattigan-Rohr says of her teaching philosophy. “I should teach you in such a way that you become a better teacher than I am. And I hope you teach your students in such a way that they become stronger and better and know more than you do. … I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that a knowledgeable, dedicated, caring teacher is an incredible magician; not one that plays tricks but one that shapes and changes lives for the better.”

Judging by the hugs the children and her own Elon students gave her as the Barnes & Noble visit ended in December, one was left wondering where Rattigan-Rohr keeps her wand.



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-cam-pus football stadium and a law school campus in Greensboro, N.C., it seems that, at Elon, something is always changing. With yet another signifi cant 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.

FlashbacksBY KIM WALKER

Contributions by

Katie Nash and George Troxler

alamance buildingAlamance may not be the oldest building on cam-pus, but its foundation contains remnants of the fi rst structure built at Elon: the Main Administration Building. After the fi re 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 stair-cases 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.


lake mary nellTh is photo features fraternity members racing a homemade boat across what was then known simply as “Th e Lake,” which was constructed by Elon to solve a water-drainage 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 fi ne only once a year: during the Polar Bear Plunge in January.

whitley auditoriumTh is photo documents Whitley’s renova-tions, with Roger B. Wilson ’ standing on the scaff olding. Whitley underwent another renovation in , when the Alyse Smith Cooper Organ was installed and air condi-tioning was fi nally added.


the senior oakAs 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.

young commonsIn 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. Th at plan has shaped the look of Elon ever since. Th e transformation of the area in this photo began in , with the opening of Moseley Center and the addition of the Koury Center. Th e 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.


In 2006, Steve Schuckenbrock ’82 received an intriguing phone call. On the other end was Michael Dell, founder and chief executive offi -cer 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 recog-nized 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 inter-ested in helping to lead the charge.

“Michael was committed to building a

diff erent outcome and new off erings. Th ose off erings were in areas where I happened to have a lot of experience,” Schuckenbrock says.

Th e experience Schuckenbrock speaks of spans nearly three decades and includes the transformation of some of America’s top com-panies, including Frito-Lay, PepsiCo and eds. He’s risen from an ibm sales trainee in the early 1980s to his current role, managing nearly a third of Dell’s worldwide business as president of Dell’s Large Enterprise Business Unit.

Yet Schuckenbrock’s career path is less a Horatio Alger rags-to-riches tale than what seems like a chapter out of Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 bestseller, Outliers: Th e Story of Success.

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 sa lesman, Schuckenbrock headed to college intending to follow in his father’s footsteps. He enrolled at Elon on a partial golf scholarship and the advice of a family friend, Webb Newsome ’37. But his stay at Elon was short-lived.

“I went for the fi rst year, had a good time and goofed off ,” he recalls.

He left school, returning to his family’s home in Winston-Salem, N.C. For a year, he managed a busy miniature golf franchise he’d worked at in high school. He also met Becky Reed, his future wife, as she and her friends played a round at his Putt-Putt Fun Center. Quickly, Schuckenbrock realized he couldn’t help support a family with a career

Steve Schuckenbrock ’82 makes waves in the world of IT

CAPTAIN of INDUSTRY

BY KRISTIN M. SIMONETTI ’05


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

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

Clearing that fi rst 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 fi rst 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, inter-viewing for positions in the nation’s top sales training programs. He also married Becky that fall, and during a stop in Dallas on their hon-eymoon, 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. Th e 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.

“Th e senior sales reps saw (the pc) as more of a Tinkertoy. Th ey 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 fi rst 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 sell-ing to one.”

Schuckenbrock left ibm in 1993 to help start

Th e 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 – fi nd 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 Frito-Lay, Inc., in 1995, where as chief information offi cer he spearheaded the development of the most efficient supply-chain automa-tion in the snack food industry. In 1998, he joined PepsiCo as global cio, establishing the Business Solutions Group, a central it orga-nization serving each of PepsiCo’s subsidiary brands.

He left PepsiCo in 2000 to return to Th e Feld Group as chief operating offi cer, 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 off er.

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 opportu-nity to devise creative solutions for Dell.

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

In fewer than three years, his initiatives bore fruit. He signifi cantly reduced the per-centage of Dell’s it budget spent on operations, freeing up vast resources to devote to the devel-opment of new applications and services for clients. His eff orts 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

about what ‘customer fi rst’ 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 pro-vider. I’m delighted to have such an inspired leader on our team at Dell.”

In recognition of Schuckenbrock’s accom-plishments, 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 suc-cess in the fi eld.

“Once you get comfortable with what you know, you’re in trouble,” he says. “In this business, you need to build a base of knowl-edge, 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.”

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 biog-raphy or news article. He speaks about pride in his family – Becky and their fi ve 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.”

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


We want you to volunteer

T 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 reso-lutions, did you resolve to reconnect with Elon or get involved if Elon had a need you could fi ll? Whether this was part of your resolutions, this column is a call to action for all gradu-ates 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 con-tact me at [email protected] 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 with-out 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 con-tact for a specifi c area.

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

With the spirit of Elon,Sallie

YES, YOU!Sallie Hutton ’92

RESOLVE TOGET INVOLVED

Mark Turner ’92 and Lindsey Goodman Baker ’04

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

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 satis-fi ed with his experience.

“Programs were targeted more for people who were less than fi ve 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 lead-ership 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 ben-efi t to being part of our alumni community,” Baker says. “The D.C. metro area can be over-whelming, and it’s great to have people who can help you fi nd a job or buy a house.”

Michelle Niland ’02 and Sarah Eydt ’07

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

Working in America’s most powerful com-munications 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 intern-ships 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 mentor-ing students via the Elon in L.A. program allows her to give back to Elon on her own time.

“I like the fl exibility of the program. You’re not required to put in a specifi c 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 benefi ts aren’t one-sided, Niland adds.

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

Alumni Action


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 co-presidents 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 fi rst alumni to volunteer through the “Destination …” series, a joint eff ort of Career Services and the Alumni Association to bring graduates back to campus to share their experiences living in dif-ferent 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,” Coo-per 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 organi-zations, 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 signifi cant 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 diff erence 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 off er yourself as a contact – everyone can fi nd a way to give back,” he says.

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 off ers 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.”

coming events2011

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 at7 p.m., Belk Arena

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

for the l atest alumni news and

events, visit elon.edu/alumniFeeling inspired?

CONTACT US TODAY!

[email protected]

or(877) 784-3566

Alumni Action


“We hadn’t had a reunion in 40 years. This gave us

an opportunity to come together. … It was impor-

tant 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.

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.

Returning 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 Break-fast; the Stop Hunger Now meal-packing service event; and tailgating before the Elon vs. Woff ord football game.

Alumni also enjoyed new events and inno-vative twists on traditional off erings, 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 fraterni-ties 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) cel-ebrated 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 pos-sible 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 THE2010 ALUMNI AWARD RECIPIENTS

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

Steve Schuckenbrock ’82Distinguished Alumnus of the Year

Kebbler McGhee Williams ’98Distinguished Alumna of the Year

Michelle Pautz ’03Young Alumna of the Year

Chuck & Carole Ann Barne� Collard ’89Alumni Service Award

Homecoming 2011 join us oct. 21–23 for

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

SAVE THEDATE!

Jo Watts Williams ’55


Alumni Action

triangle Phoenix fans gathered on Dec. 20 for an Elon vs. Duke men’s basket-ball 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 fi rst 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 surround-ing area,” says Greg Gillette ’92. Keep up with new events for alumni in the area on Facebook: Elon Alumni in Denver.

boston Beantown alums attending the chapter’s Dec. 9 holiday party at Lansdowne Pub enjoyed an unexpected treat: a live per-formance by the band, Th e 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 Th e 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.

“Th e Elon crowd really got behind our team, and it was great to see the players re-spond,” 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 >>

Rich Nowalk ’97Lexi Swinimer ’07

Samantha Gilman ’08Rob Saunders ’08

& Tiff any Warner ’08

were winners in the fi rst Homecoming Photo Hunt

Facebook contest.

“It’s phenomenal to remember going to Col-

lege Coff ee 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.

Elon heritage Alumni on the town

Artwork by Sarah Beth Costello ’11


Alumni Action

Need a break?Take an alumni adventure

Middle East Pilgrimage

June 6–30, 2011

Join Associate Chaplain Phil Smith on this tour of holy places of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths. Th e trip will include stops in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan. Cost: $5,447 per per-son. Contact: [email protected].

Scandinavian and Russian

Splendors Cruise

August 7–22, 2011

Sail through the Baltic Sea aboard the intimate and luxurious Insignia, an Oceania Cruises vessel that accommo-dates fewer than 700 guests. Take in the beautiful sights of Bruges, Belgium; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Berlin, Germany; Copenhagen, Denmark; St. Petersburg, Russia; Helsinki, Finland; and Stockholm, Sweden. Cost: $5,299 to $8,599 per person. Contact: [email protected] or 877.784.3566.

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 Th e 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.”

triad Alumni came out in large num-bers to support the Phoenix men’s basketball team as it hosted ACC foes Wake Forest (Nov. 18) and NC State (Jan. 5) at the Greensboro Coliseum. Elon fans participated in pregame festivities hosted by the Phoenix Club in the Schiff man’s Diamond Club at the arena, where they received pregame insights from Elon Head Coach Matt Matheny.

los angeles It wasn’t an offi cial chap-ter event, but Patrick McCabe ’10 and his roommates invited Elon alums in the L.A.

3

2

1 4

5

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area to celebrate a West Coast Th anksgiving at their apartment.

“We decided that, if we couldn’t go home for the holidays, why not have our own Th anksgiving?” Cabe says. “It was wonderful to have a makeshift family to share the holi-day with, especially since we shared the Elon connection.”

notes: Charlotte Ten alumni participated in the annual Autism Speaks walk at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 4. New York Alumni donned the ugliest holiday sweaters they could fi nd Dec. 8 for the chapter’s annual holiday party at Mad River Bar and Grille. RichmondOn Dec. 1, more than 20 alumni from the 1960s to 2000s rang in the holidays with a so-cial at the Jeff erson Hotel.

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4) triad 5) los angleles6) charlotte

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Alumni Action


’30sOscie Matlock Glass ’34 moved to California shortly after leaving Elon. She hasn’t kept up with the school very much but was delighted to re-ceive a birthday card in honor of her 98th birthday. She lives in Porterville, Calif.

’40sJohn L. Fry ’43 had many memo-rable moments at Elon. One memory that stands out was the time he and some of his buddies put the home-coming 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.

’50sMelva Gray Foster ’51 fondly re-calls 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 to-day’s students are making good use of the wonderful opportunities available to them. She lives in Burlington, N.C.

Flora Gilbert Hutaff ’51 had won-derful experiences and made many lasting friendships while a student at Elon. She must have mentioned them a time or two to her children be-cause 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.

Allen “Roger” Gibbs ’52 remem-bers being the newly elected student body president and opening up his fi rst student body meeting in Whitley Auditorium. His inexperience was on full display when the gavel he ner-vously clutched fl ew out of his hands as he tried to bring the meeting to order and almost hit Dean Daniel J. Bowden, his mentor, who was sitting in the front row. Roger is happy to see that Elon has grown in both size

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 re-members sitting on the bench under the Senior Oak with the young man who would become her husband. She also enjoyed the dances and after-noon 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, Th omas.

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 po-nies got spooked and threw the rider off . Th e 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 for-get taking a class from Professor J.W. Barney, who told the class that he would grade every grammatical er-ror 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.

Jerry E. Lowder ’55 retired af-ter more than 34 years of service as the church organist at Indianola Presbyterian Church in Columbus, Ohio. He played his final service on Sunday, Oct. 3. He lives with his wife, Harriett Talley Lowder ’56, in Upper Arlington, Ohio.

Wayne F. Vestal ’55 proudly tells anyone who will listen about his Elon days. He fondly remembers touring

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

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 administra-tion. He encourages students to get involved and be open to opportuni-ties as they present themselves; you

Class Notes

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

CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES CAN PROVIDE INCOME FOR LIFE

ONE BENEFICI A RY

AGE A NNUIT Y R ATE

60 5.2%

65 5.5%

70 5.8%

T WO BENEFICI A R IES

AGES A NNUIT Y R ATE

60/65 5.0%

67/67 5.2%

71/73 5.5%

To calculate a gift annuity for you, your spouse or a family member, go to www.elon.edu/giftplanning.

Talk with us today about how you may benefi t from a life income gift to Elon and other gift planning opportunities.

please contact:Jamie Killorin, CPA/PFS, CFP®, Director of Gift Planning

877.784.3566 • [email protected] • www.elon.edu/giftplanning

Annuity rates are subject to change. The annuity rate remains fi xed once your gi� is made.

rates as of july 1, 2010

Jerry E. Lowder ’55


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 schol-arship off ered to him by Coach Doc Mathis, he would not have been able

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 reunion ’61

Mary Coolidge Ruth ’66 and Bill Ruth ’66 recently completed their volunteer service assignment with the United Church of Christ Partners in Service program at Franklinton Center at Bricks in Whitakers, N.C. Th ey have also relocated their perma-nent residence to Uplands Village

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

’70s John H. Swain ’72 wrapped prin-cipal photography for a fi lm titled A Younger Man, which he is direct-ing. The film, produced by Pate Productions in conjunction with Choice Films, is scheduled to be re-leased this year. Th is is John’s fourth fi lm; he also has directed more than 25 theatrical productions. He lives with his wife, Marsha, in Montclair, N.J.

David L. Payne ’79 is an assis-tant director of operations for the Offi ce of Th rift Supervision, United States Treasury Department, Central Region, Chicago, Ill. He is respon-sible for fi nancial institution regula-tory oversight. He lives with his wife, Sharon, in Blue Ash, Ohio.

’80sreunion ’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 fi rm with expertise in

Breaking the moldby 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 fi rst 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 diff erence.

Walker, who holds a degree in accounting from Elon, has worked as a certifi ed 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 knowl-edge 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 offi ce started in September 2009, when she set off on the road.

“I had to run against an incumbent who had been in offi ce for eight years,” she says. “He was a very nice per-son 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,

and she focused her campaign on the issue of trans-parency 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 fi rst 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 persever-ance 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 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 challeng-ing than I expected. A lot goes into being a council member.”

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

“My knowledge of fi nance 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 diff erent 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 defi nite 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 offi ce, business, property and home are all here, and I want them to grow.”

Gerrelene McDowell Walker ’69

Mary Coolidge Ruth ’66 and Bill Ruth ’66

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.

’90sMelissa 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. Th e foundation sets up weeklong beach retreats for families, giving them a chance to escape from the everyday trials of cancer and have some relaxing fam-ily bonding time. For more infor-mation about this organization visit littlepinkhousesofhope.org. Melissa’s husband, Mike Brown ’92, is owner of the Acorn Inn in Elon. Th ey 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 Chesterfi eld, 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 tal-ents in business consulting. Robert Kane Partners creates business plans, assists with startups and mergers, and helps businesses fi nd their niche markets. Robert recently worked as director of investor relations for Medical Marijuana Inc., and started the fi rst publicly traded medical mar-ijuana business, Cannabiz Business University, which he serves as chief fi nancial offi cer and vice president of business development.

Stacy Harris Koon ’96 and her husband, Jeremy, are opening d&k Bike Shop in Mebane, N.C. Th ey will carry bmx bikes and accessories. Th is is the fi rst business venture for the couple and they are very excited. Stacy is sure that the education she received at Elon will help her to

’00sreunion ’01, ’06

Holly Joy Briel ’00 recieved a doc-torate in educational leadership with a concentration in curriculum, tech-nology 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 Th eater in New Bern, N.C., for his portrayal of Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry’s award-winning play, A Raisin in the Sun. Th e award is given to an actor whose acting was extraordinary and positively aff ected 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 offi ce in Raleigh, N.C. She helps sup-port the agency’s human resources operations. She lives in Raleigh.

Josh Phoebus ’02, fi nance 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 out-standing 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 de-partment 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 execu-tive offi cer 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 annu-ally to one newcomer in the fi eld 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 associ-ate 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 gradu-ated with a master of laws in taxation

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

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 DiMaria ’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 fl ag 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 tech-nology and education media from the University of Central Florida. She lives in Casselberry, Fla.

Kevin L. Leake ’99 was promoted to assistant principal at Th omasville Middle School in Th omasville, 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 Springfi eld, Va., with her husband, Walter, and their children, Denver, 7, Aspen, 5, and Stetson, 2.

turn yourself in!

elon.edu/classnotes

Suzanne Nelson Gray ’88

Bana Kopty ’09 and Lesley Cowie ’10Michael Hurst ’06 Josh Phoebus ’02 and Bill Clinton

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

Christine Zellers Heckert ’97, husband Gregg and son Reece

Class Notes


and a certifi cate 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 free-standing 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 medi-cal 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. Th e Everblue Training Institute is a sustainability education and train-ing 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.

Nathan J. Guerette ’10 is pursu-ing a degree as a nurse-midwife at Vanderbilt University. When he suc-cessfully completes the program, he will be only the second male student in the history Vanderbilt’s program to do so. Once he completes the pro-gram, he will be a registered nurse, nurse-midwife and family nurse prac-titioner. 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 consult-ing and research teams.

weddings

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

Making his mark in jazzby Sarah Beth Costello ‘11

Jazz musician Brad Linde ’01 can trace his affi nity for what many consider the true American music art form to his earliest years. He recalls a childhood fi lled with music played by his grandfather, a baritone saxophon-ist 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 saxo-phone 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 for-mal jazz training, relying only on what I heard on a few jazz recordings I had of Lee Konitz, Count Basie and Charlie Parker, the guidance of older musi-cians 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 fi rst time he really began to listen to jazz and learn how to improvise.

“Brad took his studies seriously and saw himself work-ing 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 fi nd 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 fi rst.”

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 fi ll a spot that wasn’t repre-sented 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, fi nding musicians to voluntarily play for a larger band was dif-fi cult, but Linde was able to round up musicians from various areas of the country who were interested in the

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 infl uential jazz musicians and

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 fi rst album, “Feel-ing 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 every-one 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 per-sonalities of the Ensemble fi t the music so well.”

Linde hopes the album preserves the history of the music. In the ensemble’s performances and on his web-site, 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.”

Brad Linde ’01

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

Class Notes


Tillman ’02, Aimee Pickett ’01, Clint Walker ’01, Carmen Dixon ’01 and Malika Irving White ’03. Th e couple live in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Grace Bardsley ’02 and Aaron Hull, 9/24/10. Cathy Bardsley ’02 served as a bridesmaid. Elon alumni in at-tendance were: Kristin Blandford ’02, Kate Wynne Bartleman ’02, Eleanor Hallewell ’02, Abby Neville Zampier ’02, Nicole DeMaio Munns ’02 and Joel Munns ’00. Grace is a human re-sources representative for Nantucket Cottage Hospital. Th e couple reside in Nantucket, Mass.

Marsha Lynn Kmiec ’02 and Brian Jordan, 12/5/09. The cou-ple were married at the Westover Church in Greensboro, N.C. Elon alumni in attendance were: Jaime

’90sKr ist i A. Kienzle ’93 and Christopher Reinholz, 10/23/10. Th e 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 develop-ment at Pfi zer Inc., and has been with the company for 16 years. Th e couple reside in Bethesda, Md.

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

Sean S. Britton ’96 and Rebecca Rew, 6/10/10. Sean is a dentist. Th e 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. Th e 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. Th e couple reside in Louisville, Ky.

’00sKatie 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 Buff y Hughes ’01. Katie is an event planner. Th e couple live in Carolina Beach, N.C.

Joel Munns ’00 and Nicole DeMaio ’02, 6/12/10. Th e couple had a beach wedding in Hilton Head Island, S.C. Elon alumni who par-ticipated in the wedding were: Dan Bryant ’00, Justin Taylor ’03, Clay Shrieves ’00, Nick Fogelsonger ’00 and Tim Pfieffer ’00. Elon alumni in attendance were: Alli Page Shrieves ’00, Nate Curl ’01 and Jeri Combs Curl ’01. Nicole teaches preshool and Joel is a com-mercial branch manager for Sherwin Williams. Th ey live in Rockville, Md.

Melissa A. Scheid ’00 and Aaron Smith, 5/30/10. The couple were married in Boca Raton, Fla. Melissa is associate director of sponsorships

at Sun Life Financial and holds her certifi ed meeting professional des-ignation. Th e couple reside in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Becky Sharbaugh ’00 and Jeff Muth ’01, 10/2/10. Th e couple were married on Hilton Head Island, S.C., and the ceremony was per-formed by Jeff rey Pugh, professor of religious studies at Elon. Jesper McIlroy ’01 participated in the wedding. Elon alumni in attendance were: Amy Muth Hill ’93, Mike Hill ’91, Jenny Maxa Marlier ’03, Kristie Burns ’00, Kerry Taylor ’00, Kristan Schaaf ’01, Sally Rich ’01, Beth Miller ’01, Keith McMichael ’02, Adam Rose ’00, Mick Marlier ’02, Eric Duncan ’02, Lisa Peterson Duncan ’03, Genevieve Tisdelle Williams ’03, Tracey Early ’01, Katie Williford Surgala ’00, Phil

Surgala ’00, Courtney Prosser Alexander ’00, Jason Alexander ’00, Fr itz Moore ’03, Adam Williams ’02, Nat Woods ’01, Teddy Noel ’01, Matt Bastoni ’01 and Dennis Martin ’00. Th e couple reside in Charlotte, N.C.

Akilah Owens ’01 and Kelvin Harris, 7/2/10. The couple were married at the Tremont Grand in Baltimore, Md. Elon alumni in at-tendance were: Lisa Ratliff Roper ’93, Stacey Mahoney ’00, Dawn Williams ’00, Tamika Johnson Fairfax ’00, Kenisha Walton ’99, Royce Evans ’03, Sowande Mustakeem ’00, Maurice Gardner ’00, Erika Johnson Hawkins ’98, Tonya Laws Tillman ’01, Janetta Tolliver Randolph ’01, Tavia Grant Jackson ’03, Derrick Jackson ’03, Donnell Baldwin ’01, Terrell

Sean Britton ’96, Rebecca Rew Britton and friends

Marsha Kmiec Jordan ’02 and Brian Jordan

Jacquelyn Alesczyk Higgins ’03 and William Higgins

Melissa Scheid Smith ’00 and Aaron Smith

Lee Piccirillo ’93 and Paul Briggs

Becky Sharbaugh Muth ’00, Jeff Muth ’01 and friends Akilah Owens Harris ’01, Kelvin Harris and friends

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

Courtney Ryder Shoff ner ’03, Marissa Walker Bishop ’03 and Susan Denny ’03

Chuck Lynch ’03, Misty Lynch and friends

Katie Lucas Murray ’00, Steve Murray and friends

Grace Bardsley Hull ’02 and Aaron Hull

Janell Otis Niebuhr ’02, Colin Niebuhr and friends Tara Blum Kelley ’04, Brian Kelley and friendsJocelyn Maningo Kaleita ’05 and Kevin Kaleita

Randy Torban ’04 and Laurie Torban

Class Notes


Blaydes Gilliam ’02, Marian 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. Th e couple reside in Greensboro.

Courtney Jane Merten ’02 and Corey Charzuk, 8/21/10. Elon alumni in attendance were: Adam Merten ’02, Josh Deeter ’02, Hillary Rogers Kestler ’02, Betsy Johnson Deeter ’04, Grace Merten ’10, Chasen Manchester ’10, Sarah Rixey ’07, Nikki Cervelloni Wickline ’02, Donnie Wickline ’02, Lindsay Allman Merten ’02, Bekah Hanlon ’01, Alison Spitzer

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

Janell Otis ’02 and Colin Niebuhr, 3/6/10. Th e couple were married in Charlotte, N.C. Elon alumni who participated in the wedding were: Michelle Wilson ’02, Hillary Rogers Kestler ’02 and Jennifer Umpleby McLaughlin ’02. Elon alumni in attendance were: Mary Scot McAllister Boyce ’02, Shawn McLaughlin ’02, Alyssa Couture Magnarini ’01, Courtney Merten ’02, Bekah Hanlon ’01, Elise Davis Hurst ’02, Heather Winnor Nalls ’01, David Nalls ’00, Becky Farris ’02, Brian Ford ’03, Josh Daniel ’05, Carmin Britt ’01, Kate Bricker

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

Jacquelyn Alesczyk ’03 and William Higgins, 8/14/10. Jacquelyn teaches third grade for the Council Rock School District. Th e 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. Th e 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. Th e couple live in Harrisburg, Pa.

Marissa Walker ’03 and Jeff Bishop, 8/7/10. Th e couple were married in Andover, Mass., and honeymooned in Barbados. Elon alumni in at-tendance were: Courtney Ryder Shoff ner ’03 and Susan Denny ’03. Marissa is a school social worker. Th e couple reside in Southbury, Conn.

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

Running with a purposeby Kristin M. Simone� i ’05

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,” Rodgers, a competitive runner since age 11, refers to one half-Ironman triathlon, three marathons, legs in two 200-mile relays, seven half-marathons, two 10K races, one 8K race, four fi ve-mile races, seven four-mile races, six 5K races, one sprint tri-athlon 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 oth-ers on our team, to run 35 races in one year and hold down a full-time job is pretty unheard of,” says Kevin Horty, coach of the New York Harriers, the running club with which Rodgers trains. “For a lot of competi-tive 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.”

But it wasn’t a purely individual achievement; in the process, Rodgers raised more than 20,000 to benefi 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,” he says.

As a freshman at Elon in 1993, Rodgers raced for Elon’s fi 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 work-out 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 diff erent distances, including his fi rst half marathon completed in under an hour and 20 minutes (the New York City Half Marathon in March) and his fi 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 Hos-pital. But he hopes those successes are only a fraction of what friends and colleagues remember about his

“35 races for 35 years” challenge.

“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,” 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 volunteer-ing. I really have been encouraging people to fi nd an organization that they care passionately about and can support.”

Michael Rodgers ’97

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

Ph

oto Cou

rtesy of New

York Road R

un

ners

Class Notes


Cam L. Jessup ’10 and Joshua Nichols, 8/7/10. The couple were married in their hometown of Mt. Airy, N.C., at the Fountain of Life Family Worship Center. Courtney Strickland ’11 served as the maid of honor. Cam is a professor in the pre-curriculum department at Wake Technical Community College. Th e couple live in Cary, N.C.

Jennifer Schafer ’10 and Matthew Ruff ’10, 7/31/10. Elon alumni who participated in the wedding were: Michelle Longo ’10, Ian Taylor ’10, Christopher Plummer ’10 and David Edge ’11. Elon alumni in at-tendance were: Elizabeth Molloy ’10, Hannah Williams ’10, Justin Sposato ’10, Anna Cornacchio ’11 and Nathan Edge ’13. Jennifer teaches first grade at Ascension Lutheran School and Matthew is a staff consultant for sc&h Group. Th ey live in Cockeysville, Md.

births

’90sKathryn 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.

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

Dell Services. The couple live in Arlington, Va.

Katelyn Whitaker ’07 and Patrick Davis ’07, 7/17/10. Elon alumni in attendance were: Samantha Hoff mann ’07, Becca Dilday ’07, Katie Barley ’07, Heather Geiger ’07, Beth Alexander ’04, Rosie Deane ’07, Elyse Elliott ’08, Liza Serratore ’09, Jennifer Pautz ’06, Erin Andrews ’06, Paige Penn ’06, Kim Poe ’08, Jenny Statler ’10, Jocelyn Fern ’07, Glenn Butera ’07, Sam McGuire ’07, Jonathan Hess ’08, Bobby Hoppey ’09 and Scott Leighty ’09. Katelyn and Patrick both teach high school and live in Hendersonville, N.C.

Katie Gallagher ’08 and Adam Dondero, 8/7/10. Elon alumni in at-tendance were: Kelsey Lodge ’09, Paul Robinette ’09, Kim Poe ’08, Nichole Allem ’08, Laura Heisch ’08, Heather Geiger ’07, Samuel McGuire ’07, Elyse Elliot ’08, Cara Disisto ’08 and Nicole Nogueras ’08. Katie is a clinical exercise physiol-ogist. Th e couple reside in Annapolis, Md.

were married in Charlotte, N.C. Jason Benoit ’06 and Geoff Lynn ’07 served as groomsmen and Melissa Davenport ’07 and Maureen Grewe ’09 were bridesmaids. Elon alumni in attendance were: Joey Rahall ’06, Lauren Bagdy Rahall ’06, Kylene Westerholm ’06, Jenn Duncan ’06, Pat McCamy ’08, Bana Kopty ’09, Alana Morro ’08, Sara Pollock ’08, Christine Floyd ’08, Lisa Denny ’08, Ashley Pearson ’08, Brittany Werts ’09 and Matt Gillette ’10. Carey is a police officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and Alexandra is coordinator of vol-unteer programs for the University of South Carolina. Th e couple reside in Columbia, S.C.

Joshua Anderson ’07 and Amy Kisko ’09, 6/25/10. Th e couple reside in Raleigh, N.C.

Melissa Leigh Steinbach ’07 and Alexander Dube, 10/2/10. Elon alumni who participated in the wedding were: Amy Clark ’07, Amy Kisko Anderson ’09, Beth Overman ’07 and Rebecca Schley ’07. Melissa is a program analyst for

Pannucci-Cogill ’04, Tarrah Goforth Huff ’04, Ryan Huff ’03, Melissa Walker Beeson ’05 and Shannon Maguire Gershaw ’05. Th e couple live in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Randy L. Torban ’04 and Laurie Torban, 10/23/10. Th e wedding was held at the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Miami, Fla. Th e couple reside in Miami Beach, Fla.

Jaclyn Deskin ’05 and Jeffrey Nicholson, 10/30/10. Jaclyn teaches kindergarten. Th e 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. Th e 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 me-dia from Long Island University at cw Post. Th e couple reside in East Moriches, N.Y.

Carey Scovel ’06 and Alexandra Fippinger ’08, 9/25/10. Th e couple

Cam Jessup Nichols ’10 and Joshua Nichols

Jaclyn Deskin Nicholson ’05 and Jeff rey Nicholson

Melissa Steinbach Dube ’07 and Alexander Dube

Jennifer Schafer Ruff ’10, Matthew Ruff ’10 and friendsCarey Scovel ’06 and Alexandra Fippinger Scovel ’08

Suzanne Silvestro Stevenson ’96, husband Robbie and son Ryan

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

Charla Johnson Halverson ’04, husband David and son Landon

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

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

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

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

Kathryn Hall Groff ’92, husband Norman and children

Joshua Anderson ’07, Amy Kisko Anderson ’09 & friends

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

Class Notes


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 Griffi n ’94and Patrick Griffi n, 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 ’96and 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: Sofi a Jade. 7/29/10.

’00sRyan Thornton ’00 and Jennifer Th ornton, Vineland, N.J. Daughter: Saige Sunshine. 6/23/10. Ryan is a so-cial 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, Winston-Salem, N.C. Son: Drew Th ornton. 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 ad-ministration from the Duke Fuqua School of Business. He works for MorganStanley.

Lessons from the Eastby Kristin M. Simone� i ’05

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 offi cer for Toyota Motor Asia-Pacifi c in Singapore. At Toyota, kaizen, a Japanese word meaning

“change for the better,” 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,” she says. “It’s a dynamic approach to problem-solving rooted in manufacturing operations.”

Corna, who left Toyota in July 2010 to return to the United States, plans to parlay the kaizenconcept and her experiences as a young American professional living and work-ing abroad into a career as a speaker and 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 inter-cultural 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 diff erently from her peers. As a fi 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 fl exibility in her schedule to study abroad for a semester. In the spring of her junior year, she traveled to Osaka, Japan, and while there per-fected her language skills and learned how to thrive in the Japanese business world.

“When I came back to the U.S., I was certain I wanted to work and live in Asia,” she says.

Six weeks after graduating from Elon, and despite not having a job, she bought a one-way ticket to Singapore, where her friend’s father lived and had off ered her a place to stay until she got on her feet.

“I put myself on a budget and told myself, ‘if the money runs out and I don’t have a job, I’ll go home,’” she recalls. “I had nothing to lose.”

Corna spent her fi rst few weeks in Singapore net-working with contacts and joining several American organizations. Yet during an afternoon swim, she hap-pened to meet a Toyota executive who, after just one interview, off ered her a job in Toyota’s kaizen program in Singapore.

Corna served as a kaizen leader in Toyota’s regional offi ce, working with local dealerships throughout Asia 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

“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 fi rst few weeks on the job were dif-fi cult, as she worked with people from several diff erent Asian nations and cultures who also spoke little Eng-lish. Her job was to use kaizen to teach the employees Toyota’s standards and processes and emphasize that, as front-line staff , they played a critical role in Toyota’s success. She loved seeing the dealerships succeed after extensive on-site training but valued the personal con-nections she made even more.

“When, as a kaizen leader, dealership staff told me how our project impacted their lives, that they’re hap-pier now and inspired to improve things in their own

lives, that makes it all worth it,” she says. But as much as she taught the workers, Corna says

she learned from them, too, especially through expo-sure to Asian culture, which values modesty.

“In America, we’re very proud. When you’re proud, you close yourself,” she says. “When you’re modest, you know there’s not one best way to do things. You always can fi nd ways to improve. It keeps you curious.”

Since returning to the United States last summer, Corna has started writing a book about her experi-ences in Asia and working to launch One White Face, a platform for “international ambassadors” – professionals under age 30 who have worked overseas for more than a year – to connect with one another and share their experiences and skills with college students.

“I want to teach the intercultural skills required by businesses today and use my knowledge to help students in the U.S.,” she says of her future plans. “All American young professionals who’ve worked abroad have a One White Face story like mine – a complex, adverse situation that they overcame and that made them stronger and more competitive.”

Hilary Corna ’07

If you are an Elon graduate who’s worked abroad and would be interested in working with Corna, visit onewhiteface.com.

Class Notes


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

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

FriendPamela Burnside Gray, Richmond, Va. 11/27/10. She was the wife of for-mer 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.

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

’70sMargaret Elizabeth Graves Edwards ’72, Nags Head, N.C. 10/6/10.

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

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

deaths

’40sBernard George Daher ’42, Pittsburgh, Pa. 10/9/10.

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.

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

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

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

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 Th erapy.

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.

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not be accepted. We welcome news that is no more than a year old.

Turn yourself in online at elon.edu/classnotes

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Winter 2011

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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: [email protected]

Class Notes


making a difference

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 // [email protected] // www.elon.edu/giftplanning

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 offi ce while studying biology and English. With little fi nancial 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 fi nancial 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 benefi ciary 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.”

Jessie Thurecht Hook ’46

Changing

lives, one

student

at a timeBY JALEH HAGIGH

Ph

oto by John B

axton


HOMECOMING

2010

Nonprofi t Org.

U.S. Postage

PAIDRaleigh, NC

Permit # 686

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

ELON UNIVERSITYOffi ce of Alumni RelationsPO Box 398Elon, NC 27244-2010

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

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Documents

The Magazine of Elon, Winter 2011