The inaugural cohort of Elon University Teaching Fellows hosted its 20-year reunion Saturday morning as part of Homecoming festivities.
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Elon University’s School of Education welcomed its alumni back to campus for Homecoming 2012 on Saturday morning with a reception and remarks from Dean David Cooper in Johnston Hall on South Campus.
In addition to a gathering that encouraged students, alumni and professors to network, the school celebrated the 20-year reunion of the inaugural class of Elon Teaching Fellows, whose experience led the way for the development of the program as it exists today.
The Teaching Fellows reunion was prompted by Lori Tyler ’92, director of the Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Tyler contacted the School of Education and the Office of Alumni Engagement with the suggestion for the program following a successful 10-year reunion in 2002.
“Being the first class of Elon Teaching Fellows, we were very fortunate,” Tyler said. “We felt very privileged to be here. … And the faculty were very instrumental. They took care of our lives and then stayed in touched with us.”
Six members of the first class were able to return, and they were joined Oct. 20 by Elon faculty who taught them, including active professors Russ Gill, Rosemary Haskell and Janice Richardson, as well as retired professor Larry Simon, the program’s first director, and Carol Pace and Joyce Speas.
Cooper said that programs such as the reception and celebration of Teaching Fellows gives current students a way to prepare for their own future classroom experiences.
“Teaching is a hard job, and when we’re able to give our teaching candidates a glimpse into what the profession will be like, it also gives them a sense of the possibilities to soar and excel,” he said.