Dan Anderson

Robert E. LaRose, a 1966 Elon graduate and former chair of the board of trustees, died Jan. 11. LaRose was a successful entrepreneur from Clifton, Va., who was a loyal and generous Elon supporter and played an important role in the university's development.

Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof will headline a daylong celebration of the liberal arts and sciences on April 13, as Elon University installs its new chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

About 2,500 books donated by Elon students faculty and staff are headed to the library at the University of Ghana. The book drive was coordinated by Brian Digre, professor of history and leader of Elon's Ghana Winter Term program.

Elon alumnus and well-known local restaurant entrepreneur Chris Russell will open his newest establishment this spring at the Williamson Avenue location previously occupied by Brown & Company, which has closed. The restaurant will be called "The Town Table, food and drink," and is part of the university's plan to attract more privately owned businesses to the areas surrounding campus, serving Elon's students, faculty and staff and the entire local community.

A team of Elon journalists led by Janna Anderson, associate professor and director of Elon's Imagining the Internet Center, is providing daily online news coverage of the fourth Internet Governance Forum facilitated by the United Nations in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

Jerry Tolley, who retired Dec. 31 after a 31-year career of service to Elon, donated a special clock to the university archives on his last day on the job.

In its annual "Year in Photos" feature, the Office of University Relations has collected some of the best Elon pictures from 2009 in a retrospective slide show.

With a winter storm scheduled to hit our area this afternoon and tonight, tonight's Elon faculty/staff holiday party has been rescheduled for 1 p.m. Please gather at the Moseley Center for some festive food and fellowship and feel free to bring along your family members if they're available. After the party, get an early start on the holiday break and take the rest of the afternoon off!