Connie Book (fourth from left) smiles with Walter Cronkite (center] and other Elon faculty during Cronkite's visit to campus April 8,2003. Book was an assistant professor of communications at the time.
PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
BOOK I from cover
FACTS ABOUT ELON AND THE CITADEL
Growing into a star
UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT
mously successful.”
Building on her legacy
i
Having already spent six
years working in higher ed
ucation at Georgia College &
State University, North Caro
lina State University and Mer
edith College, Book arrived at
Elon in 1999 with vast expe
rience. But almost instantly,
she continued to grow her
reputation. Many of her col
leagues, including President
Leo Lambert, took notice of
her potential. He said it was
her enthusiasm and attention
to detail, among other things,
that distinguished her.
“Early on, she emerged as
an incredible bright young
talent,” Lambert told Elon
News Network. “She quickly
rose through the ranks.”
In 2004, she was promot
ed to associate dean of the
School of Communications,
where she originally start
ed as an assistant professor.
Then, the responsibilities ex
panded.
In 2008, Lambert tapped
Book to join his senior staff
as a faculty fellow, a program
that gives promising faculty
members a challenging task.
Hers was to help craft the Elon
Commitment strategic plan,
a 10-year plan composed of
eight themes for advancing
the institution. Book said her
leadership and collaborative
instincts fully spiked during
this 24-month process.
“That was the first time I
worked on other units out
side the School of Commu
nications,” Book told Elon
News Network in an exclu
sive interview. “I was so excit
ed. All the energy that people
had here about excellence and
prospering excellence was ad
dictive. I wanted to do more.”
In 2010, Book was named
associate provost for academ
ic affairs. In that role, she
implanted programs that are
still in tact today. She creat
ed the Student Professional
Development Center and
established the Elon in New
York and Elon in Los Angeles
programs. She also enhanced
Elons residential campus
plans, and digital learning
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THERE ARE 6,008 UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS AT ELDN
THERE ARE 2,323 UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS AT THE CITADEL
• = 100 STUDENTS
STATISTICS COURTTSV OF THE ELON FACTBOOK
GENDER BREAKDOWN
41% of Elon
students are male
lale^^
^59%J ^92% J
8% of Citadel students
are female
OF ELON STUDENTS OE CITADEL STUDENTS
ARE EEMALE ARE MALE
I female ■ male
BOOK vs. LAMBERT SALARY
IN 2017, AS PROVOST OE THE CITADEL,
CONNIE BOOK EARNED $165,200
IN 2015, AS PRESIDENT OF ELON,
LEO LAMBERT EARNED $551,419
HE EARNED JUST OVER 3 TIMES MORE IN 2015
THAN CONNIE BOOK DID IN 2017
STATISTIC COURTESY OF THE ECONOMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE
LEAH KALLAM AND STEPHANIE HAYS | DESIGNER AND DESIGN CHIEF
and civic engagement initia
tives. Yet while she constant
ly worked, she still cultivated
personal relationships with
students. One of them was
Nneka Enurah ’ll, vice presi
dent of multiplatform content
and partnerships at Authentic
Entertainment in Los Ange
les. She worked with Book
in the School of Communi
cations. And the thing she
remembers most about Book
is her passion about seeing
students succeed.
“She’s a true friend and a
great mentor,” Enurah said.
“She thinks things through
and she is really connected to
us. She can really inspire a lot
of people.”
But while her tangible leg
acies at Elon were obvious,
Book said she wanted anoth
er challenge.
In 2015, she became the
first female provost and dean
of The Citadel, a military
college in Charleston, South
Carolina. Her leadership
roles at Elon weren’t scripted
— they were offered to her.
But The Citadel presented an
opportunity to hone her skills
in a different setting. It was
hard, she said, but she wanted
to take a chance on herself
“That was my first inten
tional move into a leadership
role,” Book said. “It was diff
ficult, new and something I
wanted to try. I was banking
on that to help me grow and
advance at that time.”
The prodigal daughter
But almost three years lat
er, Book set her eyes back on
Elon.
At The Citadel, she contin
ued her success as the second
ranking administrator. New
programs in cybersecurity,
nursing, intelligence security,
engineering and advanced
STEM education launched
under her watch. She also
established an office of study
abroad and undergraduate
research. But when Lambert
announced in February he’d
be stepping down, the pros
pect of returning to Elon in
trigued her. With her newly
polished resume, she knew
she’d be an attractive candi
date for his successor.
“You find yourself in sit
uation where opportunities
open themselves up and you
realize, ‘Oh, I have the skillset
necessary to do this, and fun
damentally, I have the itch to
lead,”’ Book said. “As a lead
er at The Citadel, I learned
a different set of structure,
a different set of policy and
learned to value a different
approach to leadership.”
The vetting process was
strenuous. Chaired by Trust
ee Wesley Elingburg, Elons
16-member search commit
tee embarked on an eight-
month process. Initially, the
committee solicited input
from the public through open
forums and surveys. Book
received the most nomina
tions, Elingburg said. But
toward the summer months,
the search closed as the com
mittee collected a pool of
more than 100 candidates.
Elingburg said he wished
the process was more open,
but he suggested many of the
candidates wanted to remain
anonymous.
“It’s what the market dic
tated,” Elingburg said. “One
of the things they asked for is
confidentiality. They couldn’t
afford for their employer to
find out about this or they
would lose their job.”
Kerrii Anderson, chair of
the board of trustees and a
member of the search com
mittee, said Book stood out in
their meetings. The commit
tee recruited active university
provosts, presidents and peo
ple outside of academia. At
the finalist stage, the commit
tee opened the process to 60
Elon students, faculty, alumni
and trustees.
“What impressed me the
most were her leadership
accomplishments,” Ander
son said. “She has a strong
vision and a deep connec
tion toward students. To me,
it was imperative that we
pick someone that embodies
Elons values. And to me, she
fit the mold.
“It only took us 128 years
to get our first women presi
dent, but I really wanted the
best candidate and that was
Connie.”
Book was unanimous
ly elected by the Board of
Trustees. And when Lambert
learned who his successor
would be, he was ecstatic. He
notified about 30 people be
fore Elon publicly announced
her selection. He heard noth
ing but great things.
“I don’t think there is
anyone happier than I am
because I think it is a splen
did choice,” Lambert said. “I
think she is going to be enor
But the Elon that Book in
herited from Lambert is dif
ferent from when she left.
The Schar Convocation
Center was just a thought
— now it’s almost complete.
Every year, the size of the
freshman class gradually in
creased. And with an influx of
more people, ideologies clash.
Last spring, divisions
throughout the student body
became apparent — particu
larly with regard to matter of
race and socioeconomics.
Fred Young, Elons presi
dent from 1973-1998, said he
doesn’t know Book, though
he’s heard a lot about her. And
while he believes in her, he
doesn’t have any advice. She
has to address these problems
in her own way, he said.
“My advice would be real
ly out of date,” he said. “The
Elon I know has changed
significantly since I was pres
ident.”
Book said she’s already
thinking of her next initia
tives. Chief among them is the
next 10-year strategic plan,
making Elon more financial
ly accessible and building a
more inclusive community.
Lambert said she does have to
start on these things immedi
ately. Once the celebrations
end, Book said she’s ready to
tackle these issues head on.
The risk she took on her
self — like her father — ul
timately paid off. When she
was sitting in that cramped
car, she never thought she
would be a university pres
ident. And now that she is
in this position, she said she
wants to do everything she
can to advance Elon forward.
“College campuses are
complex places and a lot of
it has to do with emerging
ideas that challenge previous
ideas,” Book said. “ We need
to prepare our community
for that. For me one the most
critical aspects about the next
vision is ensuring that the
Elon experience is available
to a broad spectrum of peo
ple and that we are able to ef
fectively recruit and resource
young people who desire an
Elon education.”