ELON COLLEGE, N.C. – Isabella Cannon, former mayor of Raleigh, N.C., will reflect on her 95 years of life experiences in a commencement address Saturday, May 20 at Elon College.
Cannon is likely the oldest commencement speaker in the nation and is able to relate personal experiences from each decade in the 20th century. Standing only about 4-foot-eight, she has the energy and ideas of a 20-year-old and a quick wit that charms students.
A 1924 Elon graduate, Cannon has spent most of her life involved in leadership and public service. In 1977, at the age of 73, she became the first woman elected mayor of Raleigh and the first female mayor of a state capital city.
Cannon gives the principle “think globally, act locally” true meaning. A native of Scotland, she moved to North Carolina at the age of 12. She lived abroad with her husband, who was in the diplomatic service, in Liberia, West African and Iraq. She has traveled extensively throughout the world and was in China during the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989.
As populist mayor of Raleigh, she was known as the “little old lady in tennis shoes.” She had never before run for office and gained coverage on world media including “60 Minutes,” Time, Newsweek and more than 50 major metro newspapers. Working 16-hour days, she developed a comprehensive plan that still guides the growth of the city. Her sensible, no-nonsense style made her the perfect foe for the city’s business and development interests. Cannon is still courted by liberal politicians and speaks out on issues ranging from Social Security reform to the placement of
telecommunications towers in residential areas.
She was named to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca, N.Y., in 1998, and was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest honor, in 1999.
Cannon has been a staunch supporter and benefactor of her alma mater. In
September she gave the college $1 million to endow the Office of International Programs, which has been renamed the Isabella Cannon Centre for International Studies.
She has supported the college’s student leadership fellows program and two scholarships are named in her honor. A room in the Faith Rockefeller Model Center for the Arts also bears her name. She was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from the college in 1978. On her frequent visits to campus, she is a favorite of students who love to crowd around to catch her infectious enthusiasm for life.
Her recent gift will allow the college to enhance its international programs in several ways. The center will offer more study abroad opportunities for students, recruit more international students by offering additional scholarships and invite more visiting scholars to campus.
Elon College is ranked first in the nation among comparable institutions in the percentage of students who study abroad. About 46 percent of the college’s 1999 graduates spent at least one term studying in a foreign country.
With an enrollment of 4,000 students, Elon College is North Carolina’s third largest private institution. It is ranked #15 among Southern Colleges and Universities by U.S. News & World Report and is emerging on the national higher education scene with a distinctive blend of liberal arts and professional programs.
The May 20th commencement exercises will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the historic area under the oaks in front of West Residence Hall.
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