Elon honored Robert C. Baxter, Jr., William E. Loy, Jr., and J. Harold Smith with Elon Medallions during a ceremony Monday, Aug. 18 in McCrary Theatre on campus. The medallion is given to individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the university. Details...
Baxter graduated from Elon College in 1956 and returned in 1959 as director of development. He taught business administration, political science and economics courses and also held a number of key administrative positions during his 41-year career. At various times, Baxter served as assistant to the president, vice president of the college, vice president of legal affairs, and college attorney. Baxter has been active in the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ and has also donated his time to a variety of civic organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce, Hospice, Kiwanis and the North Carolina Council of Churches. He also created the Baxter Commemorative Project Scholarship to aid worthy Elon students.
Loy is a lifelong resident of the Town of Elon. He has played a significant role in the university’s master campus plan, donating or helping Elon obtain strategic parcels of land. The Loy Center, a group of fraternity and sorority houses which is the center of Elon Greek life, was named after Bill Loy and his late wife, Lib, a 1947 Elon alumna. He was instrumental in the establishment and growth of the town’s fire department and received the town’s Outstanding Citizen Award in 1999.
Smith and his brother founded Liberty Hosiery Mills in 1938 and operated the company for more than 40 years. He continues to operate Liberty Finance Corp., which he founded in 1946. Smith served 11 years on the Elon Board of Trustees and was elected trustee emeritus. He is involved with a variety of civic and charitable organizations, including the Boy Scouts of America, Burlington Educational Foundation, Burlington Rotary Club, Twin Lakes retirement center and the YMCA. He was named Alamance County Man of the Year in 1999, the Boy Scouts of America’s Cherokee Council Man of the Year in 1990, and received the Frank L. Holt, Jr. Award for Business Leadership from Elon in 1996. Smith and his family donated the Casavant pipe organ in Whitley Auditorium to memorialize his sister, Alyse Smith Cooper, sharing their love of music with Elon and the community.