Informing, entertaining
inspiring tlie Elon University community since 1974
Volume: XXIX ISSUE: 21 DATE: 3/14/02 w w w . e I o n . e d i, / p c n d i, i
Patents Council makes spring visit to Elon
Heather Graf
Jennifer Hildebrand
The Elon Parents Council met
their spring meeting March 8-10
to discuss where the school is go
ing and what they can do to help.
The Parents Council, com
posed of 133 parent representa
tives whose children attend Elon,
serves as the executive board of
the Parents Association, It keeps
parents informed of Elon activi
ties, policies, programs and de
velopment and generates an un
derstanding and goodwill among
members of the Elon community.
“We try to be ambassadors for
the university,” council member
Ed Finn said. “We try to be at
every Elon function in our area,
as well as hosting summer get-
togethers for incoming fresh
men.”
The spring meeting of the
Parents Council is the second and
final meeting of the year, and is
geared toward welcoming new
members and coming up with a
plan for the next year.
“This weekend is designed to
help you help Elon,” Mary Ruth,
director of alumni and parent re
lations, told new members at the
introductory meeting Friday.
“Your job is to tell the Elon story
to others.”
The council members stayed
busy as they toured new resi
dences in Danieley Center, dined
off campus with students and staff
and ate dessert at Maynard
House. They also listened to a
state of the university address,
attended committee meetings and
toured the Academic Village and
Cantina Roble.
“This is an opportunity for us
to touch base with what’s going
on on campus,” said Dee
D’Angelo, who along with her
husband, Larry, is co-president of
the Parents Council. “We get to
see what has been going on first
I
Annette Randall / Photo Editor
Elisabeth Knier arid Lauren Shores wait to greet arriving parents.
hand, and also see how our deci
sions have impacted the school.”
It was because of the input of
the council in the late 1990s that
Danieley Center was built, Ruth
said.
“The parents on the council
said that Elon needed more
dorms,” she said. “So we lis
tened, and that is how Danieley
Center was created.”
Similarly, Ruth said it was the
council members who first ac
knowledged Elon’s need for a
new health center and raised
$250,000 for the construction of
the facility.
On Saturday, members of the
Parents Council divided into
committees regarding admis
sions, careers, communication,
events, student life and develop
ment. These committees are run
through the council officers, and
members are encouraged to
change committees at any time.
“Parents can change commit
tees whenever they want,” Ruth
said. “There are two council
meetings a year for all four years,
and couples or individuals can
attend a different committee
meeting each time if they want
to.”
Each year, a nominating com
mittee recommends 25 parents of
incoming freshmen to join the
council, and President Leo Lam
bert confirms these recommenda
tions.
“We invite parents to join
when their child is a freshman,”
Ruth said. “Then, they remain on
the council until their child gradu
ates in four years.
“Everyone wants to be on
Parents Council,” she said. “I’ve
even had parents who, when their
child gets accepted to Elon as a
high school senior, send me a re
sume and application to be on the
Parents Council before their child
even arrives at Elon.”
“[They] are the most informed
parents in the school,” said Nan
Perkins, vice president for insti
tutional advancement. “[They]
are needed to look at a picture
larger than just your child and be
an advisory and sounding board
for the school.”
New physical therapy
doctorate program added
Sally Lynch
Reporter
A main point of the
NewCentury@Elon Strategic Plan
is strengthening the university’s
graduate program.
The DPT program joins the
Masters of Education program,
which began in 1994, the Masters
of Physical Therapy Program,
which began in 1998, and a
strengthened Masters of Business
Program.
“I think that this is a fabulous
thing for Elon,” said Elizabeth
Rogers, associate dean and chair
person of the department of physi
cal therapy. “The program will al
low Elon to reach a different type
of student and our name could
reach across the country. This will
really push Elon into a national
prescence for physical therapy. This
really makes Elon a leader, not a fol
lower.”
The department of physical
therapy began a multiple-stage pro
cess for transition to a DPT program
in 2000. In June 2001, the Board of
Trustees approved the proposal for
transition, and few months later the
university faculty approved the DPT
curriculum. In December 2001, the
Commission on Accreditation in
Physical Therapy Eduction ap
proved the transition and the South
ern Association of Colleges and
Schools granted Elon permission to
offer its first clinical doctorate.
See DOCTORATE
page 6
Annette Randall / Photo Editor
Tony Kiss and Amy Raque practice necessary physical therapy skills.
IN THIS ISSUE
Sept. 11 reflection
ESTV has a new show.
page 3
page 17
The history of Elon’s
ESPN produces
buildings.
“Season on the Brink.”
page 19
page 22