Elon trustees have named campus facilities in honor of five emeriti faculty and staff members who provided distinguished service to the university.
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The Elon University Board of Trustees voted during its fall meeting to name campus facilities in honor of five former faculty and staff members who provided long and distinguished service to the university. The named facilities include four residence halls in the Oaks residential neighborhood and the common gathering space in the Numen Lumen Pavilion, Elon’s multi-faith center, which is currently under construction.
The Oaks opened in 2006 on North Williamson Avenue and is comprised of six residential buildings plus the McCoy Commons building. Four buildings in The Oaks will be named for the following former faculty members:
Vice President Emerita and Professor of Education Emerita Jo Watts Williams ’55, who devoted a lifetime of distinguished service to Elon and its students as an instructor in the departments of education and psychology before rising through the faculty ranks and being named associate dean of academic affairs and director of the learning resource center.
She went on to serve with distinction for 16 years as vice president for development and special assistant to the president, leading highly successful fundraising campaigns and promoting increased alumni giving and annual fundraising. She was also active in the local community, serving on numerous local boards. Williams was named Elon’s Distinguished Alumna of the Year in 1995 and received the Elon Medallion for service to the university in 1998.
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy John G. Sullivan, who joined the Elon faculty in the Department of Philosophy in 1970 and was later named the Maude Sharpe Powell Professor, the first recipient of that endowed chair.
He received the Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1980 and in 2002 was named Elon’s first Distinguished University Professor in recognition of his long record of excellence in teaching, scholarship, service and leadership. He received the Elon Medallion for service to the university in 2008.
Sullivan retired in 2006 after 36 years of service to the university.
Professor Emerita of Physical Education Janie P. Brown, who retired in 2005 following 39 years at Elon, including more than 20 years of service as chair of Elon’s physical education department. She was a champion for female student-athletes and a trailblazer in helping to advance the university’s women’s athletics program.She received the Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1995 and the Elon Medallion for service to the university in 2006. She also endowed the Dr. Janie P. Brown Women’s Athletic Scholarship and currently serves as president of the board of directors of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
The late Professor Janie E. Council, who taught accounting at Elon from 1960 to 1984, and was the first recipient of Elon’s Daniels-Danieley Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1973. On seven occasions she was named Outstanding Professor of the Year by the Student Government Association, which named its award in her honor upon her retirement. Friends and former students also have established the Janie E. Council Scholarship in her memory. Council died in 1992.
Trustees also authorized the naming of the gathering space in the new Numen Lumen Pavilion in honor of Chaplain Emeritus Richard W. McBride.
McBride served for 25 years as Elon’s spiritual leader as college chaplain, director of church relations and assistant professor of religious studies. He left an indelible mark on the lives of thousands of Elon students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and provided outstanding leadership and innovative programs through the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and the Vera Richardson Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. He received the Elon Medallion for service to the university in 2011.
The Numen Lumen Pavilion under construction in the Academic Village will be a place for prayer, meditation and reflection in the heart of campus. Scheduled to open in spring 2013, the Numen Lumen Pavilion is part of Elon’s efforts to promote interfaith dialogue and understanding.