Elon Black Alumni Network Awards: Honoring black excellence

The Elon Black Alumni Network honored five individuals who have made an impact on the university and the greater community at a special Saturday ceremony during Homecoming weekend.

Marcus Elliott, Durice White Galloway ’09 G’14, David Williams Jr. ’13, Retired Col. Berkley Gore ’85 and Zaire Miller McCoy ’02 were the recipients of this year’s EBAN Alumni Awards. Since 2010, EBAN has honored more than 30 alumni, faculty and staff with the awards for the extraordinary things they are doing in their local communities and for their dedication to the network.

As part of the ceremony, Cameron Davis ’06, past EBAN president who serves on its communications committee, announced the recipient of the 2018–19 EBAN Scholarship, Jordan Vaughn ’20. “Eleven years ago the EBAN Scholarship was created and endowed by the hard work, dedication and contributions of our alumni base, friends, corporations, faculty and staff who saw value in the vision of the scholarship,” he said. “The contributions from our network have great value as we think about access to higher education for our black students.”

Also honored during the event was the Xi Omicron Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., which was celebrating its 25th anniversary on campus. 

The purpose of EBAN is to build, maintain and sustain collaborative relationships with black alumni through social events, networking and philanthropic purposes impacting current and future Elon students.

2018 EBAN Awards Recipients

Marcus Elliott
K. Wilhelmina Boyd Outstanding Service to Students Award

As director of the Odyssey Program, Marcus Elliott is in his sixth year at Elon University.  A veteran practitioner with more than 16 years of diversified experiences in higher education, he has served in a multitude of areas including alumni engagement, diversity and multicultural affairs, and intercollegiate athletics.

Among his professional accomplishments is receiving the Capstone Appreciation Award from the Department of Communication Studies and the Bridges Award from the Division of Student Affairs at Colorado State University.  Additionally, he recently completed the Leadership Alamance program in North Carolina for current and emerging leaders in the local community.  A native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he has held various roles at Chicago State University, Auburn University and Colorado State University.  After a brief stint as an assistant women’s basketball coach, he returned to his alma mater, Auburn University, and earned a master’s degree in administration of higher education. 

While at Elon, Marcus has played a significant role in guiding students during their collegiate journey by providing mentorship, sharing constructive feedback and celebrating their achievements along the way.  As the Odyssey Program increases its enrollment by securing additional scholarships for Elon students, Marcus looks forward to continuing his pursuit of making a difference in the lives of young people.

Durice White Galloway ’09 G’14  
EBAN Distinguished Young Alumna Award

Durice White Galloway ’09 G’14 serves as the senior executive director of alumni engagement for the University of California – San Diego. In this role, which she assumed in 2018, Durice manages a team of 22 professionals to provide programming, engagement and lifelong learning opportunities for the institution’s 180,000-plus alumni. Prior to joining UC San Diego, Durice worked at Duke University as the interim associate dean of development and alumni relations for the Sanford School of Public Policy. 

Most of Durice’s career has been working for Elon University in alumni engagement and major giving. While at Elon, Durice received the Phoenix Rising Award and AAASE Staff Member of the Year Award. She also established the LGBTQIA Alumni Network, managed the EBAN Alumni Network and oversaw Elon’s 125th Homecoming Weekend, which at the time was the largest attended homecoming event in history. She served on numerous presidential task forces and now serves as a member of the inaugural Black Life Advisory Council. Durice’s passion is clear—she loves her family, alma mater, EBAN and helping to fight for equality, diversity and inclusion. As a result of this passion, Durice launched her own business, MIADVANCEMENT. The company supports and advances diverse advancement professionals as leaders and employers of higher education institutions that truly value and seek diversity and inclusion. It also provides institutions and individuals with the research, support and resources to address shifting demographic needs. 

Durice is married to her college sweetheart, VJ Galloway ’09. They have a son, Camden. She has an incredibly supportive family both at home and in the Elon Network. As a former Elon cheerleader, Durice passes along the Elon spirit in her everyday activities. 

David Williams Jr. ’13   
EBAN Distinguished Young Alumnus Award

David Williams Jr. from Chester, Virginia, is the son of Cheryl and David Williams Sr. A former football player at Elon University, David graduated with degrees in computer information systems and minors in computer science and business administration. He was also a member of the Sigma Delta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. 

After graduation, David joined JPMorgan Chase & Company in New York City as an infrastructure engineer. After earning a master’s degree in cybersecurity from New York University in 2016, David transferred into an information security role at JPMC. In 2017, David moved to the Washington, D.C.-metro area to serve as cloud consultant for Amazon Web Services. He is a security and big data subject matter expert and currently supports public sector customers. He plans to enroll in an online MBA program in fall 2019. David has been an active mentor within Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2014. He spent four years as a volunteer football coach at Stuyvesant High School and helped lead the team to three playoff appearances and one district championship game. He was also active in community service efforts through the Wall Street Alphas, where he served on the executive board for two years. 

David remains committed to Elon’s alumni engagement initiatives as a member of the Young Alumni Council. He serves as an alumni appreciation co-lead and spearheads the Elon Top 10 Under 10 Awards program. David previously participated in the EBAN Mentorship program and served on the NYC Elon Alumni Board as its intramural sports coordinator. David continues to visit Elon computing sciences classes to build recruiting pipelines for employment opportunities and to share his industry experiences.

Retired Col. Berkley Gore ’85
Eugene Perry ’69 Distinguished Alumnus Award

Born in Salisbury, North Carolina, Berkley Gore is the son of Mary and Conese Gore and one of four children. He was a four-year letterman with the two-time NAIA national championship Elon football team (1980 and 1981). He was also a member of both the Elon Gospel Choir and orchestra, as well as a member of the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps. 

After graduating from Elon with a political science degree, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He served as an officer for 32 years in a variety of assignments that included: U.S. Contingent Commander/Chief Civil Military G-5 for the United Nations mission in Liberia; West Africa director for Operation Enduring Freedom; director of Personnel Recovery Coordination Center Multi-National Corps- IRAQ (Operation Iraqi Freedom); and commander of the 121st Air Ambulance Company. In this latter role, he was a first responder to the Pentagon during the Sept. 11 attacks and conducted search and rescue and medical evacuations during Hurricane Katrina. He has received several awards including the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Combat Action Badge, Master Aviator Badge, Airborne Badge and Air Assault Badge. 

Berkley is completing a master’s degree in international emergency management from the University of Maryland and serves as a senior vice president for Analytical Government Solutions in Lorton, Virginia. He is married to Renee Phelps and has five children and one grandson. He is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and is part of the music ministry at Winning Souls Evangelistic Church in Gibson Island, Maryland. Berkley and Renee live in Upper Marlboro.

Zaire Miller McCoy ’02
Gail Fonville Parker ’70 Distinguished Alumna Award

Zaire Miller McCoy ’02 has been serving as the associate vice president for enrollment and dean of admission at Rollins College in Florida since June 2017. In this role, Zaire partners with senior college and enrollment leaders to initiate and implement an admission plan that meets the goals and priorities set for undergraduate enrollment. She manages the admissions recruitment and operations staff and is responsible for the planning, supervision and execution of all aspects of undergraduate recruitment, selection and enrollment. 

Prior to joining the team at Rollins, Zaire spent 15 years at Elon University in increasingly progressive roles, including admissions counselor for minority recruitment, associate director of admissions for territory management and senior associate director before concluding her time as an assistant dean of admissions. She spearheaded Elon’s campus visit experience and created a North Carolina strategic recruitment plan. She is active in several national and regional professional organizations and served as president for the Carolinas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers in 2013. In April she concluded her service on the board of directors for the Southern Association of College Admission Counseling, and is a member of College Board’s Southern Regional Enrollment Leadership Academy. 

Zaire graduated from Elon with a business administration degree and a minor in Spanish and holds a master’s degree in human services from Liberty University. Zaire and husband Marcus have been married for 16 years and have three amazing daughters, Brianna, Olivia and Isabella.