A ceremony to dedicate a bench in honor of the late Joel Speckhard, who served as Elon's associate dean of admissions and financial planning and director of financial planning, was held May 7. Details...
About 40 people, including members of the Speckhard family, gathered at the bench, located between Duke and Powell buildings on campus. Colleagues, family and friends remembered Speckhard, who died Sept. 13, 2001 after a brief illness.
“We’re here to honor our friend Joel,” said Elon Chaplain Richard McBride. “That week, we had a national trauma, and an Elon trauma. It was a tough week. But we have been able to laugh and remember the good times and the good spirit of our friend Joel.”
Susan Klopman, dean of admissions, said Speckhard was a thoughtful and dedicated administrator, responsible for many of the financial aid policies Elon uses today. She said Speckhard made an impact on each person he met. “What he changed was all of us,” Klopman said.
The first to sit on the new bench at the dedication was Speckhard’s brother, Don Speckhard (pictured above).
Dedicatory benches are placed to honor Elon faculty and staff members who die during their tenure of service. A similar bench was dedicated near McMichael science building in October 2001 to honor biology professor R.D. Rao, who died last summer.