WEDNESDAY
OCTDBER 11, 2017
Community reflects on Book
Many members of the
Elon community happy
with incoming president
Margaret Malone
News Editor | (amegretjeane
Though Elon University stu
dents and faculty prepare for a
tearful farewell when President
Leo Lambert departs in March
2018, his replacement, incom
ing president Connie Ledoux
Book, has pacified many of
their fears.
The Elon University board
of trustees announced Mon
day morning, Oct. 9, that Book
would step into Lambert’s
shoes March 1, 2018 as Elons
ninth president. Students and
faculty are most excited to see
the university appoint the first
female president in its 128-year
history.
Senior Rachel Tinker is
one of the students excited to
see a woman fill a historically
male role.
“I think that’ll bring a new
perspective to Elon that we ha
ven’t had with our past eight
presidents,” Tinker said. “But
I think she’s going t6"aIso'cbn-
tinue leading Elon with the
great integrity the rest of them
have.”
Book steps into this position
during a time when less than
half of university and college
presidents are women. Accord
ing to the American Council
on Education, just 30 percent
of college and university pres
idents in the United States are
female. Out of 130 college and
university presidents in North
Carolina last year, only 23 per
cent were women.
Claudine Moreau, a lecturer
in physics, said she relates to
Book in regards to working in
a male-dominated field.
“As a female in a field where
there are not many women, it
is really great to see Elon’s first
female president and seeing
women making their mark,”
Moreau said. “For me it is
something to look up to.”
Moreau said she hopes fe
male students will have similar
feelings.
“Most of our student body
is female, so this will give
Elon women a very strong role
model, someone to look up to,”
Moreau said.
Junior Anthony Chatman
said the board of trustees’ elec
tion of Book was a demon
stration of how Elon’s com
munity is taking a step in the
right direction.
“Tm very excited for the
new president [and] that they
found somebody sooner rather
than later,” Chatman said. “I’m
excited that she’s a woman —
that’s very progressive. [And
I’m] very proud of Elon for go
ing in that direction.”
Thomas Arcaro, a professor
of sociology, said he thinks oth
ers will be similarly impressed
with the trustees’ decision.
“In terms of our national
reputation, it will be an abso
lute plus,” Arcaro said. “If we
had had another white male
as president, there would have
been some eyes rolling. ... I
can’t read what the newspapers
have said yet ... but I can’t see
it being seen as anything other
than a total plus.”
I AM EXCITED TO SEE
A NEW PRESIDENT
IN ACTION, I HOPE
SHE ADDRESSES
ISSUES REGARDING...
MINORITY STUDENTS
ON CAMPUS
ZEKE GONZALEZ
FRESHMAN
[BOOK] TRANSCENDS
GENDER AS AN ISSUE,
AS AN ADMINISTRATOR
AND AS A PERSON.
SHE IS THE BEST
PERSON FOR THE JOB
REGARDLESS, IN ALL
KINDS OF WAYS
THOMAS ARCARO
PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY
NOAH OYSON
FRESHMAN
SHE IS THE RIGHT
PERSON REGARDLESS
OF GENDER, BUT SHE
ALSO BRINGS GREAT
HISTORY AND CONTEXT
GLEN scon
ASSOCIATE COMMUNICATIONS
PROFESSOR
“[Book] transcends gender
as an issue, as an administrator
and as a person. She is the best
person for the job regardless,
in all kinds of ways. I feel very
positive about [Book].”
Book comes to Elon from
The Citadel where she has
served as provost for the past
two years, but this will not be
her first time on campus. Book
was a member of Elon’s faculty
from 1999-2015.
She began her career at Elon
as a communications faculty
member and was later promot
ed to associate professor and
department chair, then again
to associate dean of the School
of Communications.
Book became associate
provost for academic affairs
in 2010 and managed numer
ous academic programs while
also leading the creation of the
Student Professional Develop
ment Center and the residen
tial campus plan.
“Knowing that she has his
tory with the school makes me
sure that she knows the envi
ronment and student values,”
said freshman Noah Dyson.
Junior Jessica Pusch agreed
that her previous experienc
es — at Elon and elsewhere
— have prepared Book for
this role.
“She’s a really qualified
woman for the job,” Pusch said.
“I think it’s going to bring a lot
to the university at a time a lot
of changes are going on. We
need someone that’s really sta
ble and has a lot of experience.”
Glenn Scott, associate pro
fessor of communications, said
he thinks Book is the right per
son for this position.
“She is the right person re
gardless of gender, but she also
brings great history and con
text,” Scott said.
Scott said Book’s father left
a big impression on his daugh
ter. He told her “that she could
do whatever she wanted and
she didn’t have to let gender
have any effect on that,” Scott
said. “She has carried that mes
sage through in her life, and I
think it is a timely and great
message to share with all of our
students.”
Freshman Jacob Hayward
said he hopes Book’s familiar
ity with the Elon community
combined with her experiences
at other universities will help
her to make progress on issues
weighing on students’ minds.
I hope they do something,
and 1 know they’ve kind of
starting touching on this,
about the lack of diversity on
Hon’s campus,” Hayward said.
“That’s something that could
always use improvement.”
KNOWING THAT [BOOK]
HAS HISTORY WITH
THE SCHOOL MAKES ME
SURE THATSHE KNOWS
THE ENVIRONMENT AND
STUDENT VALUES
I HOPE [THE NEW
PRESIDENT DOES]
SOMETHING...
ABOUTTHELACKOF
DIVERSITY ON ELON’S
CAMPUS
JACOB HAYWARD
FRESHMAN
MOST OF OUR
STUDENT BODY IS
FEMALE, SO THIS WILL
GIVE ELON WOMEN A
VERY STRONG ROLE
MODEL, SOMEONE TO
LOOK UP TO
CLAUDINE MOREAU
LECTURER IN PHYSICS
Freshman Zeke Gonzalez
expressed a similar optimism.
I am excited to see a new
president in action,” Gonzalez
said. “I hope she addresses is
sues regarding low income stu
dents [and] minority students
on campus in general.”
“I know this campus is pre
dominately affluent and Cauca
sian ... I know Elon has a long
history with a little bit of ten
sion between different ethnic
and minority groups ... I am
looking forward to a president
who will address those issues
in particular.”
Dyson said it is important
to remember that the promo
tion of inclusivity goes beyond
facts and figures.
“Inclusivity. I think we can
always grow in that area, not
just with numbers and not just
diversity numbers, but actually
building a community where
empathy and understanding of
others is important, where it is
encouraged,” Dyson said. “And
*ere are platforms set aside to
build that within the commu
nity here at Elon.”
Alexandra Root and Jared
Mayerson, contributors Al
exandra Schonfeld. lifestyle
editor, and Anton L. Del
gado, assistant news editor
contributed reporting.
iNEWPRESIDEm
SPDC looks
forward to
Book’s return
to Elon
Deirdre Kronschnabel
Contributor | @kronclid
CAREER
CONTRIBUTIONS
Book’s
establishment
of the SPDC
contributed to
her acheivment
as recipient of
Elon’s Ward
Family Excellence
in Mentoring
Award
tenure as professor
and associate provost
for academic affairs
in 2010, her respon
sibility extended to
overseeing Elon Core
Curriculum, the Elon
Experiences and stu
dent engagement.
This included, among
other initiatives, fos
tering student profes
sional development.
“She was able to turn career services
upside-down,” said Kim Giles, Student
Professional Development Center (SPDC)
communications manager. “She actually
tapped me to lead the team of student am
bassadors for the new career services offic
es, and I felt very privileged to be put in that
position. With her guidance, we were able
to really become a premiere department on
campus. And not only on campus, but also
known throughout the United States.”
Book completely redesigned career ser
vices with the establishment of the SPDC,
and this contributed to her achievement as
a recipient of Elon’s Ward Family Excellence
in Mentoring Award in 2009 for a “sustained
commitment to undergraduates.”
Thomas Brinkley, executive director of
the SPDC has known Book since she joined
the Elon community six years ago.
“I always enjoyed her support in the
Provost Office and missed her energy and
enthusiasm for the past 2 1/2 years,” Brin
kley said. “I’m delighted that she has re
turned to Elon.”
The sentiment is shared throughout the
SPDC office.
“This morning when I came into work
I heard cheers in the office, and that was
when I realized that Connie Book was go
ing to be Elon’s next president,” Giles said.
The SPDC faculty know what Book is
capable of and are excited to see where she
takes the university.
“Connie will be a fantastic president at
Elon,” Brinkley said. “She is approachable,
listens to and evaluates ideas as well as any
one I’ve worked with, and empowers peo
ple to act for the betterment of Elon.”
ii
[BOOK] WILL BE A FANTASTIC
PRESIDENTATELON.SHEIS
APPROACHABLE, LISTENS TO
AND EVALUATES IDEAS AS
WELL AS ANYONE I’VE WORKED
WITH, AND EMPOWERS PEOPLE
TOACTFORTHEBEmRMENT
OF ELON
THDMAS BRINKLEY
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF STUDENT
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER
ConniB Book was a pivotal paFtofttie
SPDC’s redesign
Incoming president Connie Ledoui
Book was a member of Elon University’s
faculty for more than 16 years before serv
ing as provost of The Citadel, and one de
partment in particular holds her in a special
place of reverence, pride and friendship.
During Book’s
I