Elon parents Dwight and Martha Schar made the largest single gift in Elon University history, pledging $12 million to name two new buildings on campus, including the recently opened Dwight C. Schar Hall.
Elon benefactors and parents Dwight and Martha Schar toured the newly opened Dwight C. Schar Hall for the first time on Oct. 21.
The Schars toured the three-floor academic building with Communications Dean Paul Parsons. Accompanying the Schars on the tour were their campus hosts, Assistant Athletics Director John Keegan and Dean of Admissions Lisa Keegan.
On the tour, the Schars visited the deans’ suite, classrooms and labs, student engagement spaces, a movie theater in the building and the new home for Live Oak Communications, a student-run public relations and advertising agency. They also spent time in the Snow Family Grand Atrium that connects Schar Hall to the newly renovated McEwen Communications Building.
Following the 45-minute tour, the Schars participated in the groundbreaking for the future Schar Center, a 5,400-seat venue that will be the home to Elon’s basketball and volleyball programs and provide a large-scale facility to accommodate convocations, addresses by international figures, concerts and performances, and other major Elon events.
Dwight and Martha Schar live in Palm Beach, Florida. They are the parents of Stuart Schar, who graduated from Elon in May 2016, and Spencer Schar, a member of Elon’s class of 2019. Dwight Schar is founder and chairman of the board of NVR Inc., the fifth-largest homebuilding company in the nation.