President Connie Ledoux Book on progress — the strength of the Elon community to imagine our future and then to build it.
When I visited with alumni and others in the Elon community during my first few months as president, many would ask what things had changed since I had been l away or what surprised me the most when I returned. Because I had worked with President Emeritus Leo M. Lambert on the university’s strategic plan, The Elon Commitment (now in its ninth year), I was very much aware and impressed by the progress achieved during my time away.
At its core, strategic planning is about a community’s vision. When we began planning for the Elon Commitment, we imagined Elon in 2020, articulated a guidebook for ourselves and began to align our resources and priorities to that end. While unanticipated opportunities and challenges will always provide some adjustments, the plan keeps us all focused on moving the vision forward.
In this Summer 2018 issue of the magazine you will read about some of that vision becoming reality, such as the opening of Schar Center, the new convocation center we imagined more than a decade ago. When I first toured it with Director of Athletics Dave Blank, I walked into the arena and took a deep breath, turned and smiled at Dave and said, “New day. It’s a new day at Elon.” I was struck by the magnitude of what this facility means to our future as a university and the community financial support that made it possible. I had a similar realization as I visited with enthusiastic alumni in Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh at Evening for Elon events.
We wanted to create an intellectually engaged environment that makes it easier for conversations to continue beyond the classroom.
These remarkable professionals talked about the importance of Elon in their lives, the common bonds that an education focused on global understanding, service and personal leadership were providing them in their workplace and communities, and, most importantly, their continuing relationships with faculty, staff and friends from Elon. The strategic plan’s focus on building better support for our alumni and alumni engagement is being realized in cities across the United States and beyond.
Then there is the transformation of the residential campus experience. As I was walking across campus one afternoon, I came up behind two students walking out of Duke Building and headed toward the Global Neighborhood, one of our newer residential areas. They had just finished a math class where a statistical formula had been introduced One student was asking the other if he understood the concept. As the two continued walking, one explained the mathematical probability using basketball. I couldn’t help but smile. There it was, a moment between two students we had hoped for when we launched the initiative to link courses to residential halls. We wanted to create an intellectually engaged environment that makes it easier for conversations to continue beyond the classroom.
Speaking of Duke Building, many alumni will remember when the career services office was tucked away there and rarely utilized by students. Today, the sophisticated professional development and career planning program imagined a decade ago serves a steady stream of students in a remarkable facility in Moseley Center. Just last year, Elon’s Student Professional Development Center staff earned a No. 13 national ranking by Princeton Review.
Progress — the strength of the Elon community to imagine our future and then to build it. That’s what impressed me when I returned to campus. I am excited and grateful to return and be a part of our future.
Connie Ledoux Book
President