Dan Anderson

Vice Adm. William E. Gortney, director of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon and Elon's Commencement speaker this spring, is serving as the Pentagon's official spokesman for the U.S. military operations in Libya. Gortney held a media briefing on the combat operations on March 19.

Two Elon alumni are providing our community with their perspectives on the disasters in Japan and the effects on the people there. Amy Jo Jenkins '05 expressed her thoughts in a telephone interview and Asami Sudani '06 provided a written message via Facebook.

Elon University President Leo M. Lambert held a session March 30 with about 60 local community leaders to share details of the university's campus development that is guided by the Elon Commitment strategic plan.

General admission tickets to Elon University's Convocation for Honors on Thursday, April 7, are available at Elon's box office. Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, will moderate a discussion titled "We can be better: Courageous voices confront our greatest challenges." Read this note for important ticket information.

Elon University President Leo M. Lambert is one of five men being honored with a 2011 Father of the Year award by the Greater Greensboro Area Father’s Day Council.

The Office of University Relations has launched a major enhancement of the E-net news and information system, organizing videos produced by offices and individuals across campus into a central viewing system that includes a variety of video categories. All members of the campus community are invited to submit videos to this site and to explore the creative projects produced by others. Access the site with the tab at the top of the E-Net page, or go to: video.elon.edu

David C. Porter of Sudbury, Mass., will be installed as the newest member of the Elon University Board of Trustees at the board's spring meeting, April 15-16. Porter and his wife, Jen, are the parents of Elon senior Tim Porter, and have served on the university's Parents Council and are members of the Founder's Circle of the Elon Society.

The Phoenix women’s basketball team built an early double-digit lead and never looked back on March 17, as the third-seeded Phoenix registered a 103-72 victory over the sixth-seeded USC Upstate Spartans in the first round of the Women’s Basketball Invitational. The Phoenix moves on to the second round of the WBI to face second-seeded UAB on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Alumni Gym.

Five Elon students from Japan were joined by about 75 fellow students on March 15 in planning the community's response to the earthquake and tsunami in that country. The brainstorming session was held in the Isabella Cannon International Centre, where students came up with many ideas to raise relief funds and send messages of encouragement to those who are suffering in the wake of the disaster.

The Elon campus community is planning efforts to provide support from those suffering the effects of a massive earthquake and tsunami. The efforts were launched at the March 15 College Coffee, where students from Japan spoke about the disaster in their homeland.