Elon celebrates the success of faculty and staff giving

Elon’s faculty and staff have joined together for a successful giving effort that generated more than $520,000, an increase of nearly $100,000 from the year before. During the past year, 80 percent of Elon employees made contributions to the university, which this spring entered the public phase of its ambitious Elon LEADS fundraising campaign.

The success this year included the support of 1,137 faculty and staff donors with a participation rate of 80 percent, both increases from the previous year. These contributions support scholarships, the Elon Experiences, academic departments and schools, athletics and more while boosting the Elon LEADS Campaign, which seeks to raise $250 million for key university priorities by May 31, 2022.

Faculty and staff gathered in the Snow Family Grand Atrium on Tuesday, May 14, to celebrate the effort, which will continue through the end of the fiscal year on May 31. Patrick Bell, lecturer in management, co-chaired the faculty-staff giving effort this year and shared during the celebration that 35 departments within the university reached the 100 percent participation mark.

​”I see the effects of your generosity, your giving, your heart every day in our Elon community,” Bell told the crowd.

Faculty-staff giving co-chair Jan Register, program assistant for the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, offered her gratitude for the widespread support, noting that she works closely with the Chaplain Discretionary Fund that benefits from gifts like this, and during the past year offered support to 42 students, faculty and staff who had emergency financial needs. “It’s special to see the impact of each of you supporting our students and our institution,” Register said.

President Connie Ledoux Book said she routinely touts the high level of faculty and staff participation in giving to the university, noting that such robust engagement speaks the broad support for the university’s mission and the confidence that the university is a good steward of the financial support it receives.

“We get the chance to witness these gifts in action every day,” Book said.

Below are the faculty and staff departments that topped 90 percent giving participation among their employees as well as the giving captain, if the department had one. Those in bold reached 100 percent giving participation:

Staff Departments

Academic Advising – Becky Olive-Taylor
Accounting – Kelly McKinney
Administrative Services – Meghan Fisher ’07
Admissions – Audra Spears ’96 and Caroline Fernandez ’17
Automotive Services — Keith Dimont P’09 P’06 and Betsy Swift
Bursar – Sue Harris
Business, Finance, and Technology – Andrea Priede
Carpentry, Key Shop, Paint Shop, and Moving and Set-up – Tim Dengler
Center for Leadership and Moseley Center – Melody Harter
Electrical, Plumbing, and HVCAR – Mark Terrell P’20
Financial Planning – Karen Walter
Graduate Admissions – Jennifer Medlin
Human Resources – Jamie Canada G’16
Landscaping – Scott Stevens ’03 G’12
NC Campus Compact – Rene Summers
New Student Transitions– Matt Olmsted
Physical Plant Administration – Tom Flood G’09 P’16 P’18
Purchasing – Paula Anderson
Registrar – Melissa Holmes
Residence Life – Aliana Harrison
School of Health Sciences Administration – Becky Neiduski
Service Learning, Student Involvement, and LGBTQIA – Lauren Feeley ’04
Student Conduct – Anita Bryant ’17
Student Professional Development Center – René Jackson
Sustainability – Kelly Harer
Truitt Center for Religious Life – Jan Register PMA ’13
University Advancement – Tricia Teter ’13 G’17  and Scott Leighty ’09

Faculty Departments

Accounting — Susan Anderson
Biology – Jen Hamel
Chemistry – Karl Sienerth
Economics — Vitaliy Strohush
Department of Education and Wellness – Marna Winter ’98 and Jennifer Strange
Physical Therapy Studies – Mary Kay Hannah
Religious Studies – Geoff Claussen
Sport Management – Shaina Dabbs