As Elon steadily expanded its residential campus during the Elon LEADS Campaign, donors provided funding to complete projects that house academic and athletic pursuits, as well as welcoming spaces for students and visitors to gather.
School of Communications Expansion: Dwight C. Schar Hall & Steers Pavilion
Lead gifts: Dwight and Martha Schar P’16 P’19 | Bob and Lauren Steers P’15 |
David and Lynette Snow P’15 | Cindy and Rob Citrone P’17 | Toni and Jim Turner P’06 P’08 | Parker Turner ’06 and Garrett Turner ’08 | Jane and Brian Williams P’13
The School of Communications dedicated its renovated and expanded facilities in 2016. These included the new Dwight C. Schar Hall, which houses the two-story Snow Family Grand Atrium and Turner Theatre; and the refurbished McEwen Building, which houses the Jane and Brian Williams Studio alongside newsrooms, classrooms and faculty offices. The nearby newly constructed Steers Pavilion is home to the internationally known Imagining the Internet Center and a media analytics lab, as well as faculty offices and a student gathering space. The Department of Sport Management and the Interactive Media graduate program can be found in the refurbished Long Building.
Schar Center
Lead Gift: Dwight and Martha Schar P’16 P’19
The men’s and women’s basketball programs and the volleyball team made Schar Center, a 5,200-seat convocation center/athletics facility, their home in 2018. Robertson Court, Maurice J. Koury Practice Facility and Robert V. Gill Room offer playing space and reception
space for events ranging from basketball and volleyball contests to convocations and commencements.
Elon parents Dwight and Martha Schar named the overall project, while local families, alumni and parents contributed named spaces within the building.
Koenigsberger Learning Center
Lead gift: Robert and Dilek Koenigsberger P’17
The Koenigsberger Learning Center added an additional 16,000 square feet over two stories to the Carol Grotnes Belk Library in 2018, with space devoted to assistive technology and programming that ensures student success. This new facility brought the Academic Advising, Disabilities Resources and Learning Assistance programs under one roof.
Richard W. Sankey Hall
Lead gift: Jim and Beth Sankey P’12 P’13 P’20
Located near Ernest A. Koury, Sr. Business Center, Richard W. Sankey Hall also came online in 2018, providing a new home for the Doherty Center for Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Chandler Family Professional Sales Center, as well as collaborative spaces and classrooms, both large and small, and faculty offices. Elon parents Jim and Beth Sankey, whose three children (Clay ’12, Wes ’13 and Brooke ’20) are all Elon alumni, named the facility for Jim’s father to honor his strong values and success as a businessman.
LaRose Student Commons
Lead gift: Gail LaRose ’64, Michelle LaRose and Nathan Sowden
Students in the Historic Neighborhood welcomed LaRose Student Commons when it opened in 2019, providing recreation facilities and a well-appointed kitchen and vending area, as well as a large gathering space on the second floor for meetings, dinners and other events. This building was made possible through a family gift from Gail Hettel LaRose ’64, widow of Bob LaRose ’64, and their daughter and Elon Trustee Michelle LaRose and her husband, Nathan Sowden.
The Inn at Elon
Lead gift: Mark and Marianne Mahaffey P’97 P’01
The Inn at Elon, the university’s on-campus boutique hotel, opened in January 2020. With 10 suites and 70 rooms, a ballroom, conference room and fine dining and lounge facilities, the inn provides an upscale and welcoming location for campus visitors, including alumni, speakers, parents of current students and prospective families. The restaurant is named The Mark for lead donors Mark and Marianne Mahaffey p’97 p’01, and many of the public spaces as well as suites and guest rooms have been named by more than 55 donor families. All hotel and dining profits support scholarships, making the tagline “A Stay with Purpose” more than a motto. So far, Elon has awarded more than $1.3 million in need-based scholarships thanks to income from the inn.
Innovation Quad: Founders Hall & Innovation Hall
Lead gift: Furman ’56 and Susan Moseley
Collectively known as the Innovation Quad, Founders Hall and Innovation Hall opened in the fall, providing state-of-the-art facilities for the university’s newly accredited engineering program and its physics department. Founders Hall, named by Furman Moseley ’56 and his wife, Susan, features the welcoming Hunt Atrium, flanked by two large labs named for Elon Trustee Larry Clark and his wife, Anne. The Clarks are parents of Elizabeth ’19. With labs, study rooms, faculty offices, classrooms and numerous collaboration spaces, the connected buildings stand opposite Richard W. Sankey Hall and near Dalton L. McMichael, Sr. Science Center, bridging the space where business, liberal arts and science collide to provide a center for true innovation.
