Elon President Leo M. Lambert received the Alamance District Man of the Year Award during a program on May 30. Details...
The award was presented by the Old North State Council of the Boy Scouts, which includes the Triad region and surrounding counties.
The award has been presented annually since 1992 and recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to the local community. A committee of community leaders selects the winner.
Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina system, was guest speaker for the evening. He commended Lambert for his leadership in higher education, and talked about the urgent need to improve public education in North Carolina. “This country is not prepared for the economic tsunami that is approaching our shores from Asia,” Bowles said. “By 2010, 90 percent of the world’s scientists and engineers will be living and working in Asia … America is going to be a second-rate power if we don’t take action.”
Bowles said his number one priority is to improve public schools in the state by producing more teachers and reducing teacher turnover.
Elon President Emeritus Earl Danieley served as master of ceremonies, and detailed Lambert’s long list of accomplishments since taking office in 1999. Danieley introduced Lambert as Elon’s “Man of the Century.”
Lambert used the occasion to promote efforts to improve schools in Alamance County, and said the university is prepared to assist in a concentrated effort to make improvements at Cummings High School.
John Meeks, Old North State Council Scout Executive, said Lambert exemplifies the values of scouting, especially the importance of “leaving the campsite better than you found it.”
To conclude the event, Meeks unveiled a framed artwork depicting Lambert, his wife Laurie, and their daughters Callie and Mollie.