The Elon Alumni Association honored several graduates and friends of the university with awards during its annual alumni gathering Saturday, Nov. 9 in Whitley Auditorium. Details...
Frederick J. Stephenson of Athens, Ga., is the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. A 1965 graduate of Elon, he has distinguished himself in the field of higher education, earning numerous teaching honors at the University of Georgia. An expert in the field of transportation and business logistics, Stephenson’s commitment to quality education was demonstrated in “Extraordinary Teachers,” a collection of essays about master teachers that he edited.
Peter G. Lindstrom of Dublin, Calif., received the Young Alumnus of the Year Award. Lindstrom, a 1994 graduate, is pursuing groundbreaking research in computer science with the Center for Applied Scientific Computing at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Previously, as a research assistant at Georgia Tech, he was the main architect of a visual simulation system that has been used in some of the largest military field exercises in recent history.
The Distinguished Service Award was presented to The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation. Established to support needy Christian women in nine Southeastern states, the foundation offers scholarship grants to qualified institutions to provide deserving women access to higher education. Since 1973, the foundation has provided more than $1 million in scholarship aid to Elon for qualified students.
William D. Rippy, M.D., of Elon, N.C., received the Alumni Service Award. A 1943 graduate of Elon, Rippy practiced family medicine in Burlington, N.C., for 38 years. A proponent of health care for underprivileged children, Rippy was a physician for many years at Elon Homes for Children. He was a member of the N.C. Commission for Health Services for 25 years and also served eight years on the Alamance County Board of Health. Rippy was a champion of integration, and received the City of Burlington Award for his courageous leadership as a member of the city school board from 1965-1973. He and his wife, Helen Blalock Rippy, a 1946 graduate, have served as co-presidents of the Golden Alumni Association.
Wilmer Brown and his wife, Hulen Grogans Brown, both 1992 Elon graduates, received the Service to Church and Society Award. Following five years with Habitat for Humanity, the Browns enrolled at Elon as non-traditional students. They worked as resident counselors at Elon Homes for Children while Wil Brown served as pastor at First United Church of Christ in Cary, N.C. They recently relocated to New Orleans, where Wil Brown pastors Central Congregational Church.
The Citizens Service of the Year Award was presented to Rear Admiral Edward K. Walker, Jr., of Alexandria, Va., and his late wife, Carol Ann Walker. The Walkers have been tireless ambassadors for Elon since their daughters, Wendy L. Walker, a 1978 graduate, and Lynn Walker Streett, a 1979 graduate, attended Elon. The Walkers established an endowed scholarship fund to support a program which supplies Wall Street Journal subscriptions to Jefferson-Pilot Fellows in Elon’s Love School of Business. Ted Walker has personally recruited 41 students to Elon, including his grandson, David B. Streett, a current Elon sophomore.
The Alumni Association promotes active participation in university events by its approximately 22,000 members. The association is governed by a national executive board, which is composed of 60 members who each serve three-year terms.