Elon’s 133rd Commencement exercises will be held in Schar Center on Friday, May 19, 2023.
C. Ashton Newhall ’98, a third-generation venture capitalist and ardent supporter of his alma mater, will deliver Elon University’s undergraduate commencement address to the Class of 2023 on Friday, May 19.
A sociology major at Elon who minored in anthropology, Newhall served as president of the Student Government Association during his time at Elon and completed study abroad programs in Ghana and Australia. He was a member of the Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity and the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.
Following graduation from Elon, Newhall worked at T. Rowe Price, where he was one of the youngest marketers of investment management, before co-founding Greenspring Associates, a leading global venture capital investment firm, in 2000. He is now a partner with StepStone Group Inc., a global private markets investment firm that manages more than $150 billion in assets that acquired GreenSpring in July 2021.
Newhall was named Elon’s Alumnus of the Year in 2007 in recognition of his professional achievements, his contributions to his community and his support of Elon. He served on Elon’s Board of Trustees from 2009 until 2017 following service on the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Advisory Board from 2003 until 2009. He has been a member of the Elon Mentor Network since 2011.
Ashton and his wife, Becky, have been steadfast supporters of the university, its programs and its people through the years. Becky Newhall is the owner of NewAley Pictures and serves as a producer and filmmaker. The Newhalls endowed The C. Ashton Newhall Endowed Lecture Series in the Love School of Business, which each year brings noted leaders in entrepreneurship to campus to share their knowledge. In fall 2022 the series featured MIT Media Lab graduates Nan-Wei Gong and Anirudh Sharma.
The Newhalls provided a major gift to support the construction of the Schar Center, the university’s convocation center, and the couple has also supported Elon Athletics, the Elon Academy, the Koury Business Center and other university priorities.
The 133rd Commencement Exercises will include two ceremonies for the Class of 2023 in Schar Center. The 9 a.m. diploma ceremony will be for the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education and Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences. The 2:30 p.m. diploma ceremony will be for the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business and the School of Communications. Visit the Elon University Commencement website for more details.