Elon University saw 13 staff members retire this academic year.
Elon University celebrates the contributions of 13 staff members who are retiring this year after serving the university in a wide variety of ways during their careers.
Marsha Boone, executive assistant to the vice president for admissions and financial planning
Boone joined the staff at Elon more than 35 years ago, coming to the university after hearing that “Elon was a good place to work because of the staff, faculty and students.”
Boone spent her Elon career in the Office of Admissions, serving first as a data entry clerk then secretary to the dean of admissions before leaving the university at the end of January as executive assistant to the vice president of admissions and financial planning.
“Marsha has cared for more admissions staff members than I can count,” said Greg Zaiser, vice president for admissions and financial planning, in honor Boone during the annual Staff Appreciation Day ceremony. “She has been the glue that has kept us together.”
Boone said she’ll miss most “working with Elon students, admission counselors and admissions and financial planning staff.” She’s hoping that her retirement provides some time to travel.
Pamela Brumbaugh, director of experiential education
Brumbaugh joined the staff of Elon’s Career Center in August 1986 as the director of experiential education, a title she will hold until her retirement on May 31. Brumbaugh arrived at Elon at the same time as her husband, Chalmers Brumbaugh, joined the Department of Political Science as a professor, with the move made so the couple could work at a smaller, private liberal arts college and be closer to family.
“It has been fun to design, implement and promote experiential programming at Elon and watch us grow into a premier purveyor of experiential leanring,” Brumbaugh said. “And of course, I will miss the people I work with most of all.”
Ross Wade, director of career development, said Brumbaugh has pushed Elon to the forefront of experiential education. “Pam’s greatest passion by far is serving students and alumni,” Wade said during the Staff Appreciation Day ceremony.
Brumbaugh looks forward to spending more time with her two grandsons in retirement, and will be seeking “my next area of contribution.”
Steve Coleman, warehouse and receiving clerk
Coleman arrived at Elon in June 2004 having found at the university a better job opportunity and retired from the university at the end of January to return to the golf business, an area he worked in years ago.
He said he’ll miss his crew from the department he worked in, “and all the friends I made over the years.”
Linda Springs, administrative assistant for the Office of Student Health & Wellness
Springs first joined the staff at Elon as a receptionist with the R.N. Ellington Student Health Services center before being named program assistant for counseling services and then administrative assistant for the Office of Student Health & Wellness.
“I will miss the day-to-day excitement of working at Elon — each day is different, and I never know what to expect,” Springs said. “One day may be working on budgets and the next day is helping to plan flu clinics or the Wellness Fair. I will miss our student workers and the close relationships we are able to form because we see each other every day.”
Retirement will mean spending more time with family and friends, and more time spent “dipping my toes in the sand.”
Jana Lynn Patterson, associate vice president for student life and dean of student health and wellness, said of Springs during the Staff Appreciation Day ceremony that she “has always had our back, professionally and personally. She has celebrated with us during the most joyous times in our lives, and she has been our rock during our most difficult times.”
Rex Waters, dean of student development and assistant professor
Waters spent nearly 27 years on the staff at Elon University and retires at the end of May as dean of student development.
Waters was honored for his service to Elon during the university’s annual faculty-staff awards luncheon in Alumni Gymnasium in May. Kyle Wills, senior associate athletics director for business and operations, said during the luncheon that Waters was “the perfect fit at the perfect time.”
Wills noted that when Waters arrived as director of campus recreation, Elon had an intramurals “program” that was essentially run out of a storage room in Jordan Gym. “Then Mr. Visionary took over, pushing and pushing and throwing everything at the wall to see what would stick,” Wills said.
Waters moved from heading campus recreation to become assistant dean of students, where he worked under Smith Jackson, vice president for student life and dean of students. “If you have ever walked across the Elon campus with Rex, you cannot help but notice that when students see him, they just light up,” Jackson said at the luncheon. “You can just tell that he has a connection to them.”
Waters said the comments he receives about the work he’s done “are a testament to the relationships one develops while working at Elon.” Waters said he had only planned to stay three to five years at Elon when he arrived, and has “failed miserably at that goal. Thank goodness.”
Waters plans to work as a senior consultant with Learning Technologies Inc. after leaving Elon, and also plans to pursue other career possibilities, including teaching, as well as traveling and enjoying his family.
Other retirees include:
Deb Bryan, administrative assistant to the School of Health Sciences, retired July 29, 2016
David Burnett, floor maintenance worker, retired July 29, 2016
Barbara Guy, program assistant for the Center for Access and Success, retired Jan. 27
Steven Hunter, community service officer, retired Nov. 18, 2016
Sue Johnson, assistant, Campus Safety and Police, retired Jan. 6
Tony Martin, community service officer, retired March 20
Donna McDowell, custodian, retired July 8, 2016
Travis White, brick mason, retired April 28