Elon parents and an alumnus have made generous gifts to the university recently to fund international education and internship experiences for deserving students.
Former Parents Council members William J. and Henrietta Pesce have made a gift to fund the Pesce Family Endowed Scholarship, which will be awarded to rising junior or senior education majors, other than Teaching Fellows, with financial need. The scholarships will provide financial assistance to students studying abroad who are taking at least one education course. Scholarship recipients should have strong academic credentials and be active in the Elon community through service or leadership activities.
The couple’s daughter, Katherine, graduated from Elon in 2006 with a degree in elementary education. The Pesces say Katie’s experience in Elon’s Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows program and studying for a semester in Australia enhanced her education.
Will and Henrietta Pesce served on the Parents Council from 2003 to 2006. Since 1998, Will has served as president and CEO of John Wiley & Sons, a leading global publisher. In January 2005, he addressed students as part of Elon’s Winter Term lecture series on leadership. Also in 2005, Henrietta was a featured speaker at New Student Convocation.
David A. Stevens ’81 and his wife, Beth, of Greensboro, N.C., have made a gift to establish the David A. Stevens ’81 Internships Endowment, which will help make internships available to additional students in Elon’s Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. The endowment will enable business students with financial need to defray the cost of completing internships. The annual award may be used to fund any expenses related to internships, including tuition.
David Stevens, executive vice president and regional president at Wachovia Bank,
earned his Elon degree in business administration. As a member of the Love School Board of Advisors, he helped to guide the business school during its drive to gain AACSB accreditation. The couple supported the campaign to build the Ernest A. Koury, Sr. Business Center and are members of The Elon Society, the university’s premier annual giving recognition society.