Known as “the little old lady in tennis shoes” when she made history as the first female mayor of Raleigh, N.C., Isabella Cannon ’24 led a life of leadership that still stands as a model for Elon students to follow, current school leaders said March 10 in a Founders Day ceremony to honor the late alumna.
Cannon served as mayor of Raleigh, N.C., from 1977-1979, an accomplishment that garnered international media attention. The Isabella Cannon Centre for International Studies, and the Isabella Cannon Pavilion in the Academic Village, are both named in her honor.
And on Tuesday, one day shy of Elon’s 120th anniversary as a North Carolina institution of higher education, university leaders honored her legacy with a special College Coffee and tree planting ceremony in the Academic Village attended by Cannon’s relatives and friends.
“For Isabella Cannon, leadership was never an end in and of itself,” said Noel Allen ’69, a member of the board of trustees who spoke about his friend and her mark on Elon. Leadership, he said, was a way for Cannon to shape her community and make a difference in the lives of those around her.
“Your life of leadership must begin now,” Allen told the crowd. “That’s what Isabella would tell us.”
Rex Waters, associate dean of students and director of the Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows Program, offered his own brief remarks on Cannon.
“Dr. Isabella Cannon had an uncanny ability to take command of any setting. She knew where to be, what to say, when to look and how to listen,” he said. “This time of year the place most likely would be sharing her beautiful garden. She was so excited to be alive and could not wait to discover the possibilities of tomorrow.”
Born May 12, 1904 in Dunfermline, Scotland, Cannon emigrated with her family to the United States at age 12. She graduated from Winecoff High School in Concord, N.C., before graduating second in her class from Elon in 1924 with a bachelor of arts degree (English and science majors).
She married Claude Cannon, Elon’s registrar and business manager. His subsequent career in diplomatic service took the couple around the state and the world. They lived in Liberia, West Africa and Iraq before returning to Raleigh, where Claude Cannon died in 1954.
Cannon held jobs in a variety of fields related to education and community service. She was a teacher at Elon College High School and Burlington Business College, served as assistant registrar and manager of the bookstore at Elon College, and was a bookkeeper and payroll manager at WRAL radio station in Raleigh.
She also worked in Washington, D.C., as a supervisor with the French Supply Council and as an interviewer with the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Cannon was active in many community organizations and a member of the Community United Church of Christ in Raleigh.
Cannon’s commitment to service earned her recognition and accolades around the state, nation and world. She was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Elon in 1978. In 1999, she was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Gov. Jim Hunt, one of the state’s most prestigious awards, for her dedicated service to North Carolina. She was elected to the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1998.
She was devoted to her alma mater and served Elon in many ways.
In 1999, her $1 million gift endowed the Isabella Cannon Centre for International Studies at Elon, which offers extensive study abroad opportunities for students and recruits international students and visiting scholars to campus. She endowed two scholarships; the Isabella Cannon Room, which serves as the university’s art gallery and formal meeting space; and the Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows program, which identifies and prepares students to share their leadership skills with others. Cannon received Elon’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 1983 and was awarded the Elon Medallion by President J. Fred Young in 1991.
Cannon was a frequent visitor to Elon and loved to meet students and talk about their life plans. In 2000, at age 96, she delivered the commencement address at Elon, reflecting on her life’s experiences. She urged graduates to think globally and act locally, getting involved in their communities and neighborhoods.
Cannon died on Feb. 13, 2002, at the age of 97.
