In her first opening address as Elon's president, Connie Ledoux Book focused on planning for Elon's future while being mindful of the past. Book delivered the address August 20 to a crowd of faculty and staff gathered in the new Schar Center.
With the traditional ringing of a bell that dates back to 1854, Elon University marked the start of a new academic year on Monday, with President Connie Ledoux Book providing an overview of a variety of initiatives Elon will be undertaking during the years to come.
Book laid out plans to increase the emphasis on student wellness and well-being, to better understand and preserve the university’s history, and to complete the university’s current strategic plan while preparing its next one.
“We have a good habit at Elon of asking ourselves, ‘how can we do this better?” Books said Monday morning to faculty and staff gathered in the new Schar Center. “And we have a strong tradition of looking at the horizon and beyond, strategically thinking about what’s next and what’s ahead.”
Book offered thanks for the reception she has received from students, faculty, staff, alumni and university supporters since her selection as Elon’s ninth president. “I have repeatedly been reminded about the connectedness, the insight and creativity of this community,” said Book, who began her service as president on March 1. “Thank you for the warm welcome and for this opportunity to partner together as we continue to advance Elon University.”
Elon is beginning its 129th academic year with its largest class of first-year students, who will arrive Friday to move into their residence halls and begin their studies, Book said. They arrive at a time when all colleges and universities are facing challenges, and the Elon community is prepared to work together to overcome obstacles and continue its growth, she said.
As Elon completes work on the 10-year Elon Commitment strategic plan, work has already begun to craft the next plan that will guide the university going forward. The strategic planning timeline includes four phases, Book said, with an invitation to participate this fall that will include disseminating information about the process and unit-, department- and program-level strategic conversations. Spring 2018 will see the process move to generating ideas, with the timeline calling for the plan to be drafted and fine-tuned during summer and fall 2019. The finalized plan will be implemented in 2020.
More information about the strategic planning process is available at a new website, www.elon.edu/strategicplan2030.
“Elon’s long history of strategic planning success is effective because it includes everyone,” Book said. “This gives us the diversity of ideas critical to the success of building a plan that represents all of our stakeholders. … We know we can reach our goals because we created them together and we have a sense of ownership of them.”
One of those goals is to be supportive of students arriving at Elon as members of Generation Z, those born between 1995 and 2012. They grew up with their lives shaped by 9/11 and the financial crisis, and many are delaying life experiences that have been crucial to finding independence for members of previous generations.
“These ‘first experiences’ are now being delayed until college and colleges, including Elon, are feeling the impact, with large increases in student anxiety, more visits to campus counselors, cases of depression, and tragically, increases in the rates of suicide,” Book said.
Elon is taking “determined and informed action,” and a student wellness and well-being working group this summer completed its final report. Among the group’s recommendations that will be implemented include the addition of three new counseling positions, the merger of campus recreation and student wellness programs in the Koury Center and a review of Elon’s fraternity and sorority experience. Elon is also joining the JED Foundation, a leading organization focused on reducing suicide on college campuses.
Members of the Class of 2022 will participate in the new Well-Connected campaign, a comprehensive effort focused on the first six weeks a student spends at Elon. The goal is to help students form strong relationships and develop healthy habits. Additionally, Book is launching Phoenix Walks, a 7 a.m. fitness walk around campus with her each Tuesday that everyone is welcome to join.
Much of what Elon is undertaking centers around change, but Book emphasized the importance of never losing sight of Elon’s past. That means undertaking new initiatives to better understand the university’s history that might not be as well-known, she said.
Elon has launched a new “Before Elon” page on its website looking at the history of the location that would become home to Elon College in 1889. Also, the university has placed seven new historical markers around campus that detail campus features that no longer exist. And Elon is undertaking the broader “Elon Commemoration Project” to explore previously unexamined or forgotten aspects of the institution’s history.
There is much to do in the coming years, but “we are awake, and we are ready,” Book said. “We have the privilege of changing lives and building a brighter future. We are truly fortunate to be able to do this work together.”