A gift from alumnus Furman Moseley '56 and his wife, Susan, has funded purchase of 19.5 acres of property adjacent to the university's athletics facilities.
Elon University has purchased 19.5 acres of property adjacent to its athletics facilities from Kaye and Joseph Murray and their family trust. The land, which is part of the historic Cable family homestead, lies west of Elon’s Hunt Softball Park and parking lot along North Williamson Avenue. The site has been designated by Elon’s board of trustees as the preferred location for the university’s proposed convocation center.
“This property is an exciting expansion of our campus and will be a valuable asset as we pursue the goals of the university’s strategic plan, the Elon Commitment,” said Leo M. Lambert, Elon’s president. “We have been talking with the Cable-Murray family for many years as the university expanded its athletics facilities on the northwest section of campus, and we were especially pleased when Kaye and Joe gifted a small piece of property to Elon next to Alumni Field House – the site of the 1850s-era Cable School. This family’s legacy will live on through that restored two-room schoolhouse, and also through the future use of this land by the university.”
Lambert said the purchase price of the property is being funded by a gift to Elon from alumnus Furman Moseley ’56 and his wife, Susan, who are among the university’s most generous donors. Elon’s Moseley Center is named in his honor and the couple made a major gift to fund the Susan Scholarships, which provide access to students who have financial need.
“Furman and Susan Moseley have made this major land acquisition possible,” Lambert said. “Once again, the Moseleys have stepped forward with a generous gift to advance our university. We are deeply grateful for their partnership and their desire to provide an even greater campus for future generations of Elon students.”
The proposed convocation center is envisioned in the university’s strategic plan, the Elon Commitment, and architects have begun developing design concepts based on similarly sized arenas at other universities. Elon received a lead naming gift for the building last December when parents Dwight and Martha Schar committed $8 million to the project. The multipurpose facility, to be called the Schar Center, will meet Elon’s longstanding need for a large gathering space that will support major campus events and serve as the home for Phoenix basketball and volleyball programs.
In addition to the convocation center, Elon is developing plans for two additional academic facilities as part of the Elon Commitment. Architectural design has begun on a new building for programs of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, which has outgrown space available in the Ernest A. Koury Sr. Business Center. Meanwhile, program planning has begun for a new building for the physical sciences adjacent to the Dalton L. McMichael Sr. Science Center. Fundraising for the proposed new facilities will be ongoing over the next few years, and construction timetables will be set as resources become available. Currently under construction are two new buildings for the School of Communications, which will double the size of facilities for Elon’s nationally recognized communications programs.