Record number to receive degrees May 24

864 graduates will receive degrees during Elon University's 113th commencement exercises Saturday, May 24. The ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. under the oaks in front of West Residence Hall. Details...


Deborah Yow-Bowden, director of athletics at the University of Maryland, will deliver the commencement address. A 1974 Elon graduate, Yow-Bowden is in her ninth year at Maryland. She has balanced the budget of the 25-sport athletics program, eradicating a $51 million deficit she inherited when she was named to the post in 1994.

A native of Gibsonville, N.C., just two miles from the Elon campus, Yow-Bowden is highly respected in her field. She has served as president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, leading 6,100 members who represent 1,600 colleges in the United States and Canada. She has also served on the NCAA Management Council and the NCAA Division I budget committee.

The baccalaureate ceremony will be held at 3 p.m., Friday, May 23 in Alumni Memorial Gymnasium in Koury Center. The speaker is the Rev. James A. Forbes, Jr., senior minister of The Riverside Church in New York City.

Elon Fellows graduates will be honored in a Friday pre-graduation ceremony called “Leaders for the 21st Century.” Recognition will be given to students who are graduating as North Carolina Teaching Fellows, Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows, Elon Science Fellows, Social Science Scholars, Arts and Humanities Scholars, Jefferson-Pilot Business Fellows, Journalism and Communications Fellows and Elon Honors Fellows. The ceremony will be held at 4:30 p.m. in McCrary Theatre.

Twenty-two students earning Master’s of Business Administration degrees will be honored in separate commencement exercises Friday, May 23. The ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Whitley Auditorium.

Twenty-four students earning masters degrees in physical therapy were honored in early May.