President Connie Ledoux Book presented the medallions on to Rebecca “Becky” Olive-Taylor, retired executive director of the Koenigsberger Learning Center, and retired Vice President G. Smith Jackson as part of a ceremony that formally opened the new academic year at Elon University.
Two retired university administrators were honored on Aug. 18, 2025, with Elon University’s most prestigious service award for their contributions to the university and community over careers that impacted tens of thousands of students.
Rebecca “Becky” Olive-Taylor and G. Smith Jackson were each presented with the Elon Medallion by Elon University President Connie Ledoux Book in a ceremony attended by hundreds of faculty and staff inside Alumni Gym to formally begin the new academic year.
Rebecca “Becky” Olive-Taylor
Rebecca “Becky” Olive-Taylor reshaped the way Elon University supports student learning throughout her 42 years of meritorious service to the university.
Olive-Taylor began her Elon career in 1978 as an English instructor. In 1990, she transitioned into the Office of Academic Advising, where she became assistant and later associate director.
In those roles, Olive-Taylor oversaw peer tutoring, advising center functions and the Elon 101 seminar, now called Elon 1010. Her leadership strengthened the university’s first-year signature program by recruiting and training faculty and staff, developing curriculum, managing budgets and creating assessment tools that ultimately led to increased student retention.
In 2007, Olive-Taylor was promoted to associate dean of Academic Support and Advising where she guided advising, learning assistance, accommodations, and new student registration. She also coordinated more than 100 sections of Elon 1010 annually and maintained the university’s degree audit system, ensuring students stayed on track to graduate.
Understanding the need for centralized services, Olive-Taylor envisioned and advocated for a new hub to unite academic support in Belk Library. Her efforts and collaborations helped secure a major gift that established the Koenigsberger Learning Center, which opened in 2018 with Olive-Taylor as founding executive director. She expanded programs, grew staff and coordinated with other support units to create a vibrant learning commons serving students, faculty and staff.
Known for her generosity and collaborative spirit, Olive-Taylor inspired colleagues, parents and students alike, building high-functioning teams and encouraging students to set ambitious goals. Before retiring in 2020, she was recognized with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for excellence of character and service to humanity.
Her devotion to Elon, colleagues said, was equaled only by her love for her family, including her husband, George Taylor, a retired professor of public administration and political science.
“The truth is, one individual may receive the medallion, but one individual did not do all the work,” Olive-Taylor said in her acceptance remarks. “I have been proud to lead and work beside competent, dedicated professionals who make up the Koenigsberger Learning Center. Some are retired now, but others are here, demonstrating not only competence, but a heart for college students.
“Working in tandem with Residence Life, the Registrar’s Office, Admissions, and so many more, the KLC serves Elon well. At the root of that service has been, and continues to be, an operating principle that what is best for student learning and well-being is also what’s best for Elon.”
G. Smith Jackson
George Smith Jackson dedicated 28 years of loyal service in helping to shape Elon University into a national model for student-centered higher education and a community devoted to both academic excellence and human flourishing.
Jackson joined Elon in 1994 as dean of students and coordinator of the Elon Experiences, and four years later was named vice president for student life. He led 15 departments dedicated to student development, wellness, leadership and engagement. Under his guidance, Elon increased its residential population from 1,800 to 4,000, adding new facilities including the Oaks, the Station at Mill Point, the Colonnades and the Global Neighborhood.
A champion of holistic learning, Jackson founded the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, expanded living-learning communities and helped implement the Elon Experiences transcript. He also guided the creation of the Call to Honor ceremony and advanced the residential campus initiative that now defines Elon’s educational model.
Beloved for his calm leadership and deep compassion, Jackson’s commitment to diversity and inclusion led to the creation of the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education, the Gender and LGBTQIA Center, and the vision for the Numen Lumen Pavilion.
Smith’s contributions have been honored with the Residence Life Golden Key Award, the Phillips-Perry Black Excellence Lifetime Service Award, the LGBT Alumni Community Enrichment Award, and the Civic Engagement Professional of the Year Award from what was then known as North Carolina Campus Compact. His legacy endures through the Outstanding Student Mentor Award and the National Residence Hall Honorary that bear his name
After stepping down as vice president in 2017, Jackson designed and founded Elon’s Master of Arts in Higher Education program, leading it until his retirement in 2022. Alongside his wife René, a retired Elon University career services administrator, he also established two experiential learning funds supporting undergraduates and graduate students.
In 2018, Elon University named the G. Smith Jackson Residence Hall in the Global Neighborhood in recognition of Smith’s prolific contributions to the growth of the university and his commitment to student success.
“When I arrived at Elon in January of 1994, I found a place unlike any other,” Jackson said in his acceptance remarks. “I saw that Academic Affairs and Student Life were not divided, but instead, they were united in the common purpose of creating a seamless learning environment with students at the center and the world as the classroom.
“That was really exciting to me, and over the years, Elon has far surpassed my greatest hopes. I was welcomed by highly talented senior staff, an astonishing team whose high expectations and belief in me stretched me to grow. I felt at home in the best division of student life anywhere.”
Jackson offered parting advice for his Elon University friend and colleagues.
“Since retiring, I’ve lived more in the present, and have reflected on what matters most,” he said. “Three aspirational values have shaped my thinking and outlook on life. First, let compassion be the first response no matter how difficult the circumstance. Two, remember, there is goodness in every person. Let’s be open to affirming it and to receiving it.
“Third? Simply be grateful for what we have.”