President Leo M. Lambert and members of the senior staff gave an opening-of-the-academic-year update to staff members on Aug. 7. The sessions, which were held in Whitley Auditorium, included the following news and information:
- A panel discussion titled “Intercollegiate Athletics: Is Reform Working?” will be held Sept. 4. Moderator will be Dr. William Friday, president emeritus of the University of North Carolina. Panelists include Dr. Miles Brand, president of the NCAA; Dr. Thomas Hearn, president of Wake Forest University; Len Elmore, ESPN sports analyst and former All-American and NBA basketball player; Kay Yow, N.C. State University head women’s basketball coach; and Dr. Daniel Morrison, commissioner of the Southern Conference.
- New at Elon this year will be 33 full-time faculty and 11 part-time faculty; 14 full-time administrative staff members and 3 part-time administrative staff members; 10 full-time office and support staff and 3 part-time office and support staff.
- David Gergen, former adviser to four U.S. presidents, will be Elon’s first Isabella Cannon Visiting Professor of Leadership during Winter Term.
- The Aug. 26 College Coffee will feature a groundbreaking for the next pavilion in the Academic Village. It will be the home for the political science department and the Elon University Polling Center.
- The calendar is being adjusted to allow the University to be closed Easter Monday. This will be an employee holiday, moving the holiday that was held last year during spring break.
- The first floor of McEwen Dining Hall is being converted into a sports-themed facility called Varsity. It will include a new menu, 14 televisions and a large-screen TV. Varsity will open Aug. 18. McEwen will also include a new sushi bar.
- Two new security officers will be on duty this fall, assigned to bike/foot patrols on campus.
- A new enclosed tram with heat/air conditioning will operate for students this fall on extended hours.
- New e-commerce options available include online parking registration, online print services and a new mass storage system on the campus network.
- The total number of applications for this fall’s freshman class was a record 7,052, an increase of 8 percent over last year. A total of 1,220 new students are expected. They have an average GPA of 3.5 with an SAT score of 1160.
- The number of African-American applications this year was nearly double last year’s figure, and minority students will make up about 10 percent of the freshman class.
- North Carolina (28%), Maryland (12%) and Virginia (10%) are the top three states in this year’s freshman class. Business, communications and education remain the top three majors.
- 2,750 students will live in campus owned/operated housing.
- Summer work has provided air conditioning for students living in Story Center, Virginia, West and Sloan halls. Card access will be available for doors in Staley, Moffit, Sloan, West, Virginia, Smith, Carolina, and the two Academic Village buildings
- Moseley Center improvements include expanded SGA and Kernodle Center office space. New enclosed spaces in Harden Dining Hall will be used for student meeting areas.
- About 450 upper-class students will be on hand for move-in day, Aug. 22.
- Fundraising efforts this year will include special emphasis on the Koury Business Center campaign. Construction is tentatively scheduled to begin in late 2004.
- Forty-six percent of faculty/staff members made gifts to the University last year, contributing a total of $227,000. This year’s goal is 50 percent participation.
- Staff members are invited to submit applications for this year’s Project Pericles Service Sabbaticals. The deadline is Sept. 30.