A love letter to Elon

President Leo M. Lambert in his new office at the Martin Alumni Center.

This is my last Magazine of Elon column as president. Leading Elon for the past 19 years has been an indescribable joy and immense privilege. Universities are part of the bedrock of American society, and our greatness as a nation will always be inextricably linked to the discovery, creativity and critical thinking fostered by institutions of higher learning. The responsibility entrusted to colleges and universities to prepare men and women of intelligence and character for leadership and service for the greater good is a weighty one. I have shared this responsibility—in what has felt to me like a sacred partnership—with the entire Elon community: students, faculty, staff, alumni, trustees, parents and friends. We are united by Elon’s clear mission so squarely focused on students, by the deep and abiding bonds of our community, and by the experiences we have shared working shoulder to shoulder in building an institution that is admired as a model of transformation and innovation.

And so, in my final column, I want to pay tribute to the many groups of people who love Elon and who have shaped the institution’s character through their dedication.

Elon’s faculty members do the critical work of shaping the minds, hearts and spirits of young people every day. They inspire creativity, curiosity, passion, challenge, perseverance and the understanding that the privilege of an Elon education carries with it the expectation of service beyond self.

Elon’s staff—from gardeners to IT professionals to admissions counselors—devote their special talents to create an amazing environment dedicated to student learning and growth. They are mentors and teachers in their own right, and they have amazed me by deepening the institution’s culture of student-centeredness during an unprecedented era of growth and change. Elon’s students have been a constant source of inspiration and pride. The human transformation that takes place between the ages of 18 and 22 is a wonder to behold, as late adolescence blossoms into young adulthood. These are years of identity formation, finding one’s place, and discovering one’s gifts and passions, containing moments of both jubilation and heartache. I believe in the students of this generation. I have watched them blossom during the past two decades and admire their intelligence, work ethic, sense of fair play, drive to achieve and good hearts.

Elon’s Board of Trustees has been wise, generous, forward-looking, risk-taking, supportive and encouraging. They do all the things a great board should do for a university: hold up high aspirations, take the long view, ask the hard questions and understand how special Elon’s culture is to its success. Elon’s alumni body is one of our greatest institutional treasures. Investing in our alumni body has been one of the main pillars of our current strategic plan, the Elon Commitment. We have witnessed the “Elon Network” gain power and strength, seen alumni chapters grow in number and activity, and experienced an explosion of alumni engagement in this decade. I have every confidence that Elon’s alumni body will be the booster rocket propelling the university to even higher levels of excellence in the coming decades.

Elon parents have served as a surrogate alumni base for Elon at a time in our institution’s history when our true alumni are extraordinarily young—64 percent in their 20s and 30s. Parent leaders on Parents Council, the Board of Trustees, the President’s Advisory Council and the advisory boards for our schools have brought wisdom, experiences from other campuses and philanthropic power to the university. Many have adopted Elon as a second alma mater. Elon parents have made a truly critical difference in Elon’s rise in national stature.

My senior staff has been a cherished group of colleagues and dear friends. Time spent in conversation with such an intelligent and thoroughly committed group of men and women has always made me feel like I was enrolled in a spirited, high-level seminar about higher education in the U.S. We have learned so much from each other, celebrated Elon’s progress together, supported each other during trying times, and often mused about how lucky we have been to walk this journey together.

I will always be grateful to my predecessors, Dr. J. Earl Danieley ’46 and Dr. J. Fred Young, for their unfailing encouragement and friendship. Both left a lasting legacy at Elon that will never be forgotten, and it was my privilege to build upon their achievements. No one is more excited that I am to have Dr. Connie Ledoux Book assume the role of No. 9. I have such admiration and respect for her judgment and intelligence and I know she will be brilliant as our new leader.

Above all, I am grateful to my wife, Laurie, and my daughters, Callie and Mollie, for their constant love and support over the past 19 years. They have been by my side at every step and I could not have done this demanding job without them. Laurie and I look forward to remaining involved in the Elon community for many years when we return from our sabbatical year, and I am hoping many alumni will come by to greet me in my new office in the Martin Alumni Center when you return to campus.

We have many more great things to accomplish in support of this great university and its students, and I look forward to our work together in the years to come.

Long Live Elon!

Leo M. Lambert
President

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