Janie P. Brown, Maurice N. Jennings, Sr. and William G. Rich will receive Elon Medallions during a ceremony at 8:30 a.m., Monday, Aug. 21 in McCrary Theatre, located in the Center for the Arts on campus. The medallion is given to individuals who have rendered outstanding service to the university.
Brown was a member of the faculty from 1967 until her retirement in 2005. She served 21 years as chair of the Physical Education department, which later was renamed the Health and Human Performance department. A creative and caring teacher, Brown received the Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1995, Elon’s highest teaching honor. She developed a rigorous Winter Term course, The Business of NASCAR, which she taught from 1994 to 2002, introducing hundreds of students to the business side of racing.
Brown was an active member of the Elon community, serving on several committees and task forces, including the Promotions and Tenure committee and the Academic Council. She was named Watts-Thompson Professor in 1995 in recognition of her campus leadership. Brown served on National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education teams and consulted with numerous colleges and universities. She has also been active with regional and state high school athletics programs and was recognized with a Distinguished Service Award by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association in 1993.
Brown’s late husband, Mickey, served Elon as an assistant football coach and wrestling coach. Their children, Michael and Melinda, graduated from Elon in 1985.
Jennings was a member of the class of 1957 and has served the university in a variety of capacities while building the successful Biscuitville chain of restaurants. Jennings served as chair of the Presidential Board of Advisers in the mid-1970s and joined the Elon Board of Trustees in 1978. He was elected trustee emeritus in 1998.
Jennings has been a loyal and generous donor to the university. He supported annual giving, athletics fundraising, the Kresge Science Initiative Challenge and played a leading role in several capital campaigns, serving as co-chair for the campaign for the Center for the Arts. He is a founding donor of the Elon University School of Law. He and his family named the lake adjacent to the center in honor of his daughter, Mary Nell Jennings.
Jennings has been an active booster in the community since graduating from Williams High School in Burlington in the early 1950s, working with civic organizations such as the YMCA and Rotary clubs in Burlington and Greensboro. His son, Maurice “Burney” Jennings, Jr., graduated from Elon in 1987. Burney Jennings serves as president of Biscuitville Inc. and on the Elon Board of Trustees.
Rich retired as dean of international programs and director of the Isabella Cannon Centre for International Studies in 2004 after a 27-year career at Elon. Committed to providing transformative experiences for students, Rich guided the development of Elon’s internationally recognized study abroad program. He created the first plan to internationalize the Elon campus and planned Elon’s first International Festival. He and his wife, Lela Faye, associate dean for academic support, have opened their home to numerous international students and members of the Elon community over the years. They have three sons, Peter, Jason and David, a 1987 Elon graduate.
Rich joined the religion department at Elon in 1977. He served as chair of the department and later served as director of general studies, director of summer and winter terms and associate dean of academic affairs. Rich also began the Elon tradition of freshman and transfer students processing through lines of faculty at the conclusion of New Student Convocation each August, symbolizing their acceptance as members of the Elon community.
Recognized as a leader in international education, Rich was active as state representative and chair of NAFSA: the Association of International Educators. He received the 2004 NAFSA International Excellence Award for outstanding achievement in the field of international education. Rich also served as chair of the North Carolina Association of International Educators.
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