Two recent gifts will benefit the international studies program at Elon and provide study abroad opportunities for deserving students.
A $100,000 gift by Mary Behrend Straub ’82 and her husband, Dennis, of Great Falls, Va., will honor her mother, Jeanne Allen Behrend, a teacher for more than 40 years. The gift will assist in the renovation of Carlton Building, which will house The Isabella Cannon Centre for International Studies, El Centro de Espanol and a language media center. The space housing El Centro de Espanol will be named in honor of Jeanne Allen Behrend.
Mary Behrend Straub serves on the board of trustees and formerly served on the National Alumni Executive Board.
A $90,000 gift by Don and Lucy Dancer of Suwanee, Ga., will create the Gordon Dancer Endowment for International Study. The fund will provide annual international study grants to deserving students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to study abroad. Preference will be given to students who have financial need and have not previously studied abroad. Don Dancer’s mother, Loretta, also contributed to the gift. The Dancers’ daughter, Dana, is an Elon freshman.
Gordon Dancer was a successful business executive and close associate of W. Clement Stone, a Chicago insurance magnate.