President Leo M. Lambert and senior staff members previewed the upcoming academic year on Aug. 14 for university employees who filled Whitley Auditorium for the annual briefing. Senior staff provided a summary of recent work and initiatives planned for the next year.
Vice President for Admissions and Financial Planning
* Projected size of the freshman class is 1,285; applications increased 1 percent to a total of 9,433
* Elon now enrolls about 650 graduate students in law, business, physical therapy and education programs
* Incoming freshman grade point average in core courses is 3.9 with an SAT average of 1853 (verbal, math and writing)
* The class gender ratio is 40 percent male, 60 percent female; 14 percent are minority or international students
* The most popular intended majors are business, communications and education
Smith Jackson
Vice President for Student Life
* The Office of Civic Engagement debuts this academic year and will be located in Mooney building; Professor Deborah Long is the founding coordinator
* This year will include a “Celebration of 120 Years of Service, Leadership and Civic Engagement,” with events commemorating the 20th anniversary of Elon’s Habitat for Humanity program, debates connected with the fall election, a muralist, a variety of speakers and other activities
* The new Odyssey program will coordinate programming for five scholarship programs, providing academic and social support for academically talented students with financial needs whose access to an Elon education would otherwise be limited
* Renovations to The Lighthouse are on schedule for a Sept. 5 reopening with new bathrooms and an outdoor patio; the tavern will be managed by ARAMARK with alcohol for students who are of legal drinking age and food service
* Initiatives continue to advance a healthy culture of alcohol use on campus: In the past year, binge drinking has dropped 25 percent and the number of classes missed because of alcohol-related issues has dropped 60 percent
* University housing is at capacity with 57 percent of undergraduates living on campus
* A meditation garden is under construction near Holt Chapel on South Campus and is scheduled for completion by the start of school
* Parts of Moseley Center have been renovated and expanded over the summer, including the Multicultural Center and the Kernodle Center for Service Learning
Nancy Midgette
Associate Provost (speaking on behalf of Provost Gerry Francis)
* The new graduate program in Interactive Media will enroll its first students in summer 2009, and will be housed in the second floor of Powell Building
* The process for hosting a Phi Beta Kappa chapter at Elon is underway with a decision likely by October 2009
* The Love School of Business will undergo its AACSB re-accreditation process this year, with a site visit in spring 2009
* Elon opens a new semester program in Florence, Italy, beginning this fall with more than two dozen students taking part
* The “Elon in L.A.” program was successfully completed this summer by the School of Communications and the Love School of Business is organizing a similar summer program in New York – “Elon in New York” – to start in 2009
* Gary Palin has been named the new executive director of the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Love School of Business
* Angela Lewellyn Jones will be the academic coordinator for the Social Entrepreneurship Scholars Program, which will teach students how to conduct community-based research, analyze social issues and develop partnerships with local agencies to address community needs
* Christopher Gergen will join the university to help pilot a Life Entrepreneurship program for sophomores
* Lindner Hall is on schedule to open in the Academic Village in summer 2009, providing offices for the Dean of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences; the department of history; the department of sociology and anthropology; and other interdisciplinary programs
Gerald Whittington
Vice President for Business, Finance and Technology
* Plans for a pedestrian underpass from South Campus to Main Campus remain in place but are moving slowly, with construction to get under way as early as this fall
* Elaine Durr has been hired as Elon’s sustainability coordinator
* Robert Buchholz has been hired as the new director of the Physical Plant
* Road improvements on North O’Kelly Road continue as planned; when finished, an island will separate both directions of travel on the road leading into campus from University Boulevard, with a roundabout at Phoenix Drive and a gate house near the Koury Business Center
* Video cameras are being installed in several parking lots for enhanced security
* Renovations are ongoing to the restaurant formerly known as Cantina Roble on Williamson Avenue; Brown & Co., a popular eatery from earlier years, will return with menu favorites that were recommended by alumni, along with the most popular dishes from the Cantina menu
* Additional campus buildings will be outfitted with card access security features
* Crews refinished the floor of Jordan Gym over the summer, resurfaced the Powell tennis courts, and remodeled the Octagon area in Moseley Center
Nancy Midgette
Associate Provost (speaking on behalf of Athletics Director David Blank)
* 54 percent of student athletes had a 3.0 GPA for at least one semester in 2007-08
* The football team opens its 2008 season against Richmond on Aug. 30
* Fundraising is under way to increase the number of scholarships for student athletes; the Phoenix Club intends to raise $800,000 this year for scholarships
Nan Perkins
Vice President for University Advancement
* University Advancement raised a record $16.5 million in cash gifts from donors during the last fiscal year; $9 million of that total is designated for the endowment
* Oct. 11 is the kickoff of the public phase of Elon’s next campaign, with a town meeting hosted by trustees, a gala ball, a campus kickoff event and several other activities
* Two new giving programs have launched in recent months – the “Ignite” program for young alumni and a grandparents program