The Elon University board of trustees has elected Wallace L. Chandler and Dr. James B. Powell as life trustees, in tribute to their years of service to the university. The board has also elected two trustees emeritus and five new members. Details...
Wallace L. Chandler, Richmond, Va., and Dr. James B. Powell, Burlington, N.C., were elected life trustees as they concluded their service on the board at its spring meeting, held April 10-11 on campus.
Chandler, a 1949 Elon graduate, was elected to the board of trustees in 1967. He chaired the board from 1991 to 1994 and has been has been a trusted adviser to three Elon presidents. Chandler served on the search committees that recommended both J. Fred Young and Leo M. Lambert as presidents of Elon and chaired the board’s investment committee, working to increase the university’s endowment. Chandler has been generous to his alma mater. Chandler Fountain and Plaza at the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center, Wallace L. Chandler Residence Hall, the Chandler Lounge at Rhodes Stadium and the Wallace L. Chandler Scholarship Fund all bear his name. He is a member of the Numen Lumen Society, a $1 million lifetime giving society. Elon gave Chandler the Elon Medallion in 2007, an honorary doctorate in 1983, and the Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 1978.The Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recognized him in 2005 with the Ernest T. Steward Award for Alumni Volunteer Involvement , a national award for service to one’s alma mater.
Powell, a prominent Burlington business leader and physician, joined the board in 1979 and served as chair from 2005 to 2007. For decades Powell and his family have been intimately linked with Elon, providing vision, leadership, and generous support. Powell chaired the successful fundraising campaign for the Ernest A. Koury, Sr. Business Center, which includes the James B. and Anne Ellington Powell Lobby. The Maude Sharpe Powell and the Thomas E. Powell, Jr., professorships were created by the Powell family in honor of their parents. The Caroline E. Powell Building was made possible by another family gift in honor of Dr. Powell’s aunt, a 1928 graduate of Elon. Dr. Powell and his wife, Anne, dedicated the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center to the memory of their first son. The Anne Ellington Powell Master Artist Series brought internationally renowned performers to Elon for nearly 20 years. The Powells are also members of the Numen Lumen Society, Elon’s $1 million lifetime giving society. Powell received an honorary doctorate from Elon in 2005.
Elected as trustees emeritus were Donald A. Lopes, Providence, R.I., who was elected to the board in 1996, and Robert A. Ward, Burlington, N.C., who has been a trustee since 1997.
Newly elected to the board of trustees are the following:
Kerrii Brown Anderson, Columbus, Ohio, who graduated from Elon in 1979. Anderson has been chief executive officer and president of Wendy’s International Inc. since April 2006 and its chief financial officer since 2000. An Alamance County native, she earned a degree in accounting from Elon and an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business in 1987. She was chosen Elon’s Distinguished Alumna of the Year in 2000. She and her husband, Doug, have named rooms in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business for two of her favorite professors at Elon.
The Rev. Dr. Marvin L. Morgan, Atlanta, Ga., a 1971 Elon graduate. Morgan serves as minister of pastoral care at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Atlanta. He earned his degree in philosophy from Elon, a master of divinity from Duke Divinity School, and a doctor of ministries degree from Drew University. Morgan has held a variety of national leadership positions within the denomination United Church of Christ. Formerly a member of Elon’s National Alumni Executive Board, he is a member of the Board of Visitors, serving as the chair of its membership committee. Morgan and his wife have four children, including two who are currently enrolled at Elon and one who graduated in 1996.
Anne Ellington Powell, Burlington, N.C. Powell, the wife of life trustee James B. Powell, is daughter of Dr. Robert E. Ellington, for whom the Ellington Health and Counseling Center is named, and Helen Ellington, who retired from Elon in 2007 after nearly two decades of service as coordinator of special events. Anne Powell has been an active member of the Elon Board of Visitors since 2000 and serves on the Ever Elon Campaign Leadership Committee and the Elon Society Executive Committee.
Kebbler McGhee Williams, Raleigh, N.C., a 1998 Elon graduate. Williams graduated with a degree in elementary education and earned her master’s degree in school administration from N.C. State University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate at UNC-Chapel Hill. Williams is assistant principal for 12th grade students at Middle Creek High School in Apex, N.C., and served as an Elon Youth Trustee from 1998 to2000. She is a member of the National Alumni Executive Board and has served as a reunion volunteer.
The board of trustees also elected a youth trustee from the Class of 2008. In May Cody Jennings Andras, Houston, Texas, will earn a degree in business administration. She is a President’s List student with a 3.98 GPA, and has won numerous academic honors, including the Beta Gamma Sigma Scholarship and membership in the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She plans to attend law school following graduation.