ELON COLLEGE, N.C. – The board of trustees of Elon College has created a 16-member task force to investigate changing the institution’s name to Elon University. Discussions and open forums will be held on campus during September, and the task force will deliver a report on the issue at the Oct. 10-11 board of trustees meeting.
In a discussion paper on the issue, the Task Force on University Designation finds that the name Elon University more accurately describes the scope and nature of the institution’s academic programs and its size. Elon offers 45 majors in the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of business, education and communications. Elon is the third largest private institution in North Carolina with a fall 2000 enrollment of approximately 4,130.
Elon’s list of top admissions competitors are primarily universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, Wake Forest University, Clemson University, James Madison University, University of Virginia, University of Maryland, UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Charlotte. Elon is classified by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a Master’s I institution, and is a member of the Associated New American Colleges and the NCAA Division I. Nearly 80 percent of Master’s I schools, three-fourths of the Associated New American Colleges institutions and more than 90 percent of NCAA Division I schools are designated as universities. Elon’s undergraduate enrollment is larger than 90 percent of the 1,550 private four-year colleges and universities in the nation.
“The task force believes that Elon can now be accurately described as a small, private, selective university,” says Leo M. Lambert, Elon president. “But it is clear that, regardless of the naming decision, Elon’s soul has not, and will not, change. Elon’s strength lies in a strong liberal arts foundation for all undergraduates, interwoven with outstanding professional programs in a collegial and student-focused campus community.”
Lambert says Elon is blending the highly personalized qualities of liberal arts colleges with the wide range of programs found at larger universities. He says slow growth will be emphasized, and there will be eventual limits to growth in order to preserve community and campus intimacy.
The issue of changing to Elon University has been talked about for more than a decade. During the formulation of the Elon Vision strategic plan in 1992, the board of trustees determined that the question of a transition to Elon University would be considered at the successful conclusion of the plan. The 14th goal of the Elon Vision strategic plan was “To have the programs, personnel, students and trustees worthy of recognition as a comprehensive undergraduate university.”
Today the Elon Vision is nearing completion and the results have transformed every facet of the institution:
Many academic majors and programs have been added, including art, international management, management information systems, film studies,
special education, international studies, environmental studies, engineering , digital arts and master of physical therapy
Elon is now organized into the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of business, education and communications
Entering student academic qualifications are the highest in the institution’s history; this year’s average freshman SAT score is 1116
Student-faculty ratios have been improved by the addition of more than 60 new full-time faculty positions; 84 percent of full-time faculty members have the highest degrees in their fields
The campus boasts dramatic new buildings, is without any deferred maintenance, and is widely praised for its beauty and integrity of design
Enrollment has risen from 3,300 in 1993 to more than 4,100 in 2000
Elon has gained substantial national recognition for its growth and accomplishments and is now rated among the nation’s best institutions by numerous publications. The 2001 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” ranks Elon #11 among 123 Southern universities.
The task force studying the change is chaired by Elon trustee and alumnus Zac Walker, Summerfield, N.C., and is made up of trustees, alumni, faculty, staff and students.
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