Through a contract with NASA, Graham was an IBM programmer supporting the Apollo missions, processing data for mission controllers and performing computing used to determine coordinates for the missions. When Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon, Graham recalled feeling a blend of relief, pride and the realization that something once thought unimaginable was truly happening.

“We just all of us breathed a sigh of relief that this was really happening,” Graham recalled. But as Graham told President Connie Ledoux Book on the latest episode of “�鶹��Ƶ Beyond the Bricks,” she does not believe she arrived at that moment by chance.

A few years earlier, Graham was a student at Queens College, where faculty encouraged her and her peers at the then all-women’s institution to think beyond the roles society traditionally expected of women in the 1960s. One prompt from religion professor Mary Faith Carson asked students to consider the lives they expected to lead and posed a simple question: “Is this then enough?”

“That has been my mantra, I think, probably the rest of my life,” Graham said. For her, the answer was not simply to fulfill what was expected, but to consider what she could do best and how she could continue moving forward.

Graham was still unsure exactly what she wanted to do after continuing her education in mathematics when another mentor suggested she apply for a programming role connected to the Apollo program. She had never taken a computer science course, but IBM trained her to program, and she became one of roughly 30 women among 600 programmers working there at the time.

For Graham, the Apollo missions reinforced the value of contributing to something larger than oneself. “You have to be a part of the team that makes it happen,” she said. “And every part matters.”

Her career continued to evolve after the Apollo missions. Following a move to Tullahoma, Tennessee, Graham worked in technology before spending decades teaching computer science and mathematics. “I didn’t have to change what I know,” she said. “I had to change what I did with it.”

That willingness to adapt has carried Graham through technology’s tremendous advances, from mainframe computers to personal devices and now artificial intelligence. She and Book agreed that each generation faces change, and the challenge is to understand new technology, use it thoughtfully and continue learning.

As the first Queens alumna featured on “�鶹��Ƶ Beyond the Bricks,” Graham sees a similar opportunity in the future of Queens and �鶹��Ƶ. She hopes the institutions continue educating what she calls the “whole person” by giving students opportunities to look beyond a single field, see how disciplines relate to one another and develop a lifelong desire to learn.

Graham believes that breadth helped carry her from Queens to IBM. Mathematics gave her technical knowledge, but art, culture and the liberal arts taught her to communicate and approach problems from different perspectives — skills she believes mattered on a team attempting something that had never been done.

“They were trying to get to the moon,” Graham said. “They wanted a team that could think outside the box.”

Learn more about “�鶹��Ƶ Beyond the Bricks.”

�鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles, in partnership with The Preserve, hosted 53 city planners from across the state of California this week at �鶹��Ƶ LA’s Hollywood home base. Members of the American Planning Association California convened in Los Angeles for their annual conference that explores topics and challenges facing community development in the Golden State.

With a theme focused on “Crafting Our Narrative: Planning as Storytelling,” the group spent a day-long tour of several diverse sites across Los Angeles. They were keenly interested in how The Preserve property and �鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles are using the campus’s unique design and function to offer programming, sustainability and opportunity in the revitalization of Hollywood. The Preserve main building is a designated historic landmark, designed by acclaimed architect Paul Williams, who is known for creating some of the most iconic structures in Los Angeles, including the LAX Theme Building.

�鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles Director Brad Lemack and The Preserve community manager Hayden Bernard led the group through a walking tour of the sprawling, lush two-acre urban campus, including time spent in the �鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles bungalow, where academic classes, special events, meetings and alumni gatherings take place throughout the year.

For nearly 20 years, �鶹��Ƶ, through Study USA�����Ի� National Campus Programs, has had a thriving presence in historic Hollywood, where students have an opportunity to spend either a spring semester or participate in a summer core capstone program immersed in professional development-focused academic classes, experiential learning, community service and alumni engagement.

Students consistently come away with rave reviews of how their time at The Preserve has enhanced their �鶹��Ƶ LA experience.

President Book was recognized for her commitment to expanding �鶹��Ƶ’s presence through new programming and steering the merger with Queens University. Over the last six years, �鶹��Ƶ has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for teaching, emphasizing the university’s commitment to engaged and experiential learning. Book hopes that the merger will create an even greater talent pipeline for the Charlotte community, strengthening local businesses and organizations.

“I’m a student of the science behind innovation, and research demonstrates how cities are engines of innovation,” Book told the Charlotte Business Journal. “As people come together, they build synergies that unleash creativity. Higher education is essential to this equation…”

Senior Director of PGIM Sean Burke ’14 was recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal for his commitment to finding new ways to finance affordable and workforce housing in the Charlotte area. Over the last 25 years, PGIM has provided over $29 billion in affordable and mission-driven financing, preserving over 307,000 multifamily units. Burke hopes that affordable and workforce housing will come to be viewed as essential economic infrastructure that drives economic mobility, workforce stability, and long-term growth.

“I challenge conventional thinking because the most pressing issues rarely have simple solutions,” Burke told the Journal.

Burke graduated with a degree in finance and was a Business Fellow, a scholar in the Odyssey Program and a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. In 2024, the Office of Alumni Engagement recognized Burke with a Top 10 Under 10 award.

Submissions for funding consideration will be accepted from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31. Funds awarded will come directly from contributions by �鶹��Ƶ LA-based alumni, alumni from other geographic areas and contributions from other sources.

The 2025-26 grant competition awarded funds to �鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles alumnae Julia Boyd ’15, Bex Evans ’16 and Mirai ’07. Their films had their world premieres last July at the sold-out Inaugural �鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles Alumni Short Film Festival, at Sony Pictures Studios, in Culver City, California. For all three filmmakers, being awarded these funds and the world premiere event have been enormously impactful, both personally and professionally.

“Winning the grant gave me the seed money, a deadline and the accountability I needed to actually produce my film,” Mirai said of her project “#StopAsianKate,” which she wrote, produced and starred in. She proudly added, “Since its premiere at Sony, my film has gone on to screen at the Oscar-qualifying Hollyshorts Festival, the Catalina Film Festival and the Broad Humor Festival, where we won the Audience Award.”

Boyd, who received funds for her short film “The Life and Times of,” said, “Receiving this grant allowed me to create my narrative directorial debut and tell a story that is deeply personal to me in the exact way I want to.” She wrote, directed and starred in the film. Boyd added, “I feel so buoyed by the support I received from the �鶹��Ƶ community as I make my creative dreams a reality.”

Evans, who was awarded a production grant for their short film “Shadow Dusk,” was thrilled to get a green light for their project.

“The �鶹��Ƶ grant gave me a great base to start making a film I’d been thinking about for years,” said Evans. “It was great for requiring accountability, giving me a framework to start from and affirming for me that this was something that I could do.”

Selected filmmakers are required to make production, performance and other opportunities available in their projects for students who are participating in the �鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles Spring 2027 immersive experience.

Funding award decisions will be made by a selection committee comprised of �鶹��Ƶ community-associated and entertainment industry-affiliated individuals. The announcement of award recipients will be made in December.

�鶹��Ƶ alumnus Jordan Roman ’15, who co-chaired the selection committee for the 2025-26 grant competition, will serve as chair of the selection committee for this year’s competition.

“The dream was to create to a program to remove the barriers to (production) funding for our LA alumni grant recipients and to provide �鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles students with an opportunity for hands-on learning experiences in the professional production process,” Roman said. “With such great work coming out of last year’s competition, we’re all excited to see the great submissions we’re expecting for funding consideration this year.”

The three projects selected for production will have their world premieres at a special festival screening event at Sony Pictures Studios in July 2027.

For information about the �鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles Alumni Short Film Grant Competition and for detailed submission requirements, visit the �鶹��Ƶ Los Angeles National Campus alumni grant information page.

A conversation with last year’s grant recipients, via Zoom, will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET). The online gathering will explore how to create, craft and submit a grant award-worthy submission package with an opportunity to ask questions about the process. To receive a link to join the Zoom session, e-mail LAShortFilms@elon.edu.

For nearly 20 years, �鶹��Ƶ, through Study USA and National Campus Programs, has had a thriving presence in historic Hollywood, where students have an opportunity to spend a spring semester or summer core capstone program immersed in professional development-focused academic classes, experiential learning, community service and alumni engagement.

Rooted in the early strategic planning of internal working groups and refined through community research and conversations, the pledges provide a framework for the work ahead and include public accountability for the progress made and the investments that support it.

The university leaders also unveiled �鶹��Ƶ | Queens College as the planned undergraduate academic unit of �鶹��Ƶ in Charlotte following completion of the merger and required regulatory approvals.

The announcements were shared during a Sept. 23, 2026, campus update at Queens’ historic Myers Park campus, marking one year since the universities announced their intention to merge.

“The value of this merger will not be measured by whether it creates a larger university. It will be measured by whether it creates better opportunities for students, stronger connections to employers and communities, and greater capacity to serve Charlotte for generations,” said �鶹��Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book. “Queens College will carry forward the Queens name, residential experience, Royals tradition and deep relationship with Charlotte while drawing on the reach and resources of the broader �鶹��Ƶ community.”

“For generations, Queens has been woven into Charlotte through its students, faculty, staff and alumni and through an enduring commitment to service,” said Queens University of Charlotte Acting President Jesse Cureton. “Queens College is intended to preserve that legacy as a living academic community – with students learning on this campus, faculty mentoring them, Royals competing and longstanding traditions continuing for generations to come.”

Queens College and the future of the Myers Park campus

Queens College will carry forward Queens’ nearly 170-year tradition of close-knit residential undergraduate education on the Myers Park campus. The Queens name, the Royals tradition, the residential experience and the institution’s historic commitment to service will remain central to the campus’ future.

A vibrant undergraduate community will remain at the heart of the campus, with students studying across the arts and sciences and professional fields, living and learning together, participating in campus traditions and competing as the Royals. Athletics will remain an important part of the undergraduate experience and Queens tradition as the broader merger advances.

The Myers Park campus will also remain an important home for graduate and professional education in areas including law, health sciences, counseling and business. The longer-term strategy and structure for individual programs are still being developed.

Four pledges to Charlotte

The four pledges are rooted in the early strategic planning work completed through SOAR and reflect priorities identified through research and conversations with Charlotte-area leaders and residents, including career preparation, internships, employer partnerships and broader access to educational opportunity. Together, they provide a framework for the work ahead.

1. To be the national leader in engaged learning. Queens has long required every undergraduate to complete an internship. We will build on that foundation, making Charlotte a classroom without walls, deepening the quality and mentorship of every internship, co-op, research and service experience, and bringing students from �鶹��Ƶ’s campus to Charlotte for signature academic and professional experiences.
2. To be a true partner to Charlotte’s employers, schools and civic organizations. We will listen to regional needs and connect students, programs and university expertise with Charlotte’s changing workforce priorities in business, health care, technology and education. We will work with schools, community colleges, universities, employers and nonprofits to build stronger pathways into higher education and expand opportunity for Charlotte-area students.
3. To be an intellectual, cultural and civic resource. We will build on Queens’ legacy of thought leadership, arts, public programs and civic engagement, keeping the campus’ theaters, galleries, classrooms and gathering spaces active parts of Charlotte.
4. To make the necessary investments in people and long-term strength. We will become a top talent destination and employer of choice through competitive compensation and benefits, professional development, and a culture in which expertise is respected and employees from both campuses shape new ways of working. And we will secure the campus’ future through disciplined planning, enrollment strategy, philanthropy, responsible budgets and sustained investment in students, programs, facilities and people.

“Pledges made publicly should be measured publicly,” Book said. “We intend to return to the Charlotte community with evidence of progress – the experiences students complete, the partnerships we build, the people we serve and the investments we make in this campus and its future.”

Progress during the first year

During the first year, the merger moved from intention to implementation. In June, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges approved the substantive change for the merger, the most significant accreditation milestone in the process to date. An expanded governance structure is in place, and the first phase of shared services began this summer in admissions, facilities, human resources and career services.

Academic initiatives are also advancing. �鶹��Ƶ Law’s full-time Charlotte program plans to welcome its first cohort in 2027 on the Myers Park campus. The university’s clinical mental health counseling master’s program has expanded to Charlotte, and Charlotte’s first graduate physician assistant program is preparing to welcome its inaugural class in January. Faculty and academic leaders from both institutions are also exploring new pathways connecting the residential undergraduate experience at Queens with �鶹��Ƶ’s broader academic network and Charlotte-based graduate and professional education.

The U.S. Department of Education review is continuing, and additional academic, operational and organizational decisions require further planning. Until all required approvals are complete, �鶹��Ƶ and Queens will continue operating in coordinated but legally distinct ways. The universities will communicate directly with students, employees and alumni as implementation milestones are finalized.

�鶹��Ƶ the Merger

�鶹��Ƶ and Queens University of Charlotte announced their intention to merge in September 2025. The long-term vision brings together Queens’ deep history and relationships in Charlotte with �鶹��Ƶ’s national leadership in engaged learning and record of strong student outcomes. The institutions are working toward a combined university that preserves distinctive campus identities while expanding opportunities for students and increasing the capacity to serve Charlotte and the region.

�鶹��Ƶ �鶹��Ƶ

�鶹��Ƶ is the nationally recognized leader in engaged, experiential learning that prepares graduates to be creative, resilient, ambitious and ethical citizens of our global culture. At �鶹��Ƶ, approximately 7,000 students learn through hands-on experiences and close working relationships with faculty and staff whose priorities are teaching and mentoring. The �鶹��Ƶ curriculum is grounded in the traditional liberal arts and sciences with an emphasis on global experiences and career development. More than 80 undergraduate majors are complemented by professional and graduate programs in law, business, education and health care. �鶹��Ƶ is ranked among the Top 100 national universities by U.S. News & World Report, with a No. 1 ranking for excellence in undergraduate teaching for six consecutive years.

�鶹��Ƶ Queens University of Charlotte

Queens University of Charlotte is located in one of America’s fastest-growing cities, offering an extended classroom to students and a direct pipeline to meaningful careers for graduates. Queens University serves around 2,000 students in undergraduate and master’s-level programs across the liberal arts and sciences as well as the professional fields of business, communication, nursing, health and education. Queens’ unique General Education model teaches students to think critically about some of the world’s biggest problems, beyond the boundaries of what’s expected in a college classroom.

Vision — the creation, then pursuit of it — changes the world.

In recent months, I have had the pleasure of experiencing the culmination of faculty vision for student success in profound moments. One was this past spring in New York City’s Carnegie Hall, where the �鶹��Ƶ Wind Ensemble performed the closing act of the 24th Annual New York Wind Band Festival. Faculty members worked closely with students to produce a magnificent performance that filled the hall with breathtaking joy and marked the university’s first appearance in the storied venue — a historic and wonderful realization of our vision for excellence in the performing arts.

This summer, sitting in the heart of the Medici Palace in Florence, Italy, I watched another vision come to life as students, joined by Italian and American performers, brought a first to the city: a production of the musical “The Light in the Piazza.” Associate Teaching Professor of Music Polly Cornelius first imagined the idea two years earlier, then worked with our partners in Florence and her colleagues in the Department of Performing Arts to make it a reality. Her vision was felt by us all as we watched the students and actors perform to the sold-out audience.

These are among the many visionary moments inspired by our mission to engage and mentor students throughout their learning journeys and help them achieve more than they imagined for themselves during college. Possibility begins with learning and experience, and it ultimately leads to growth.

This year I’ve also been working diligently with the university’s trustees on a different kind of vision — one that adds another pillar to our foundation, looks out ahead to the next century and asks how we can prepare �鶹��Ƶto meet the emerging landscape of higher education from a continued position of strength and innovation. Our merger with Queens, successfully approved by our accreditor and now in process with the Department of Education, brings that vision closer to reality.

Faculty and staff members from both campuses have been imagining potential programs together, and the growing list is full of exciting possibilities.

When people imagine innovation, they often think of a single “eureka” moment, like Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone call or Thomas Edison’s filament beginning to glow. But scholars have shown that innovation is more often one idea leading to another until, further downstream, someone shouts “eureka!” and a vision becomes reality, perhaps in Carnegie Hall or the Medici Palace.

Most importantly, through bold vision and shared commitment to our mission, ideas advance, lives are transformed and the world becomes a better place.

�鶹��Ƶ will host “United in Purpose” on Thursday, Nov. 5, bringing together alumni, parents and friends of �鶹��Ƶ and Queens University of Charlotte for an evening of connection and community.

The event will be held at Urban Garden in Charlotte and begin at 6:30 p.m. with a hosted reception featuring hors d’oeuvres. Guests will gather at 7:30 p.m. for a special program featuring remarks from �鶹��Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book. A dessert reception will follow the program and conclude the evening. Business attire is requested.

United in Purpose
Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026
6:30 p.m. — Hosted reception with hors d’oeuvres
7:30 p.m. — Program
Dessert reception to follow until 9 p.m.

Urban Garden
150 N. College St.
Charlotte, NC 28202

Register at or contact advancement@elon.edu.

For Jacob Bradshaw ’27, the answer turned out to be milk.

During his first weeks at �鶹��Ƶ, Bradshaw was eating lunch in McEwen Dining Hall with two new friends when they noticed that all three happened to be drinking glasses of milk. They joked about making it a regular gathering. Days later, Bradshaw brought the idea to �鶹��Ƶ’s Organization Fair. Armed with little more than a handwritten interest sheet, he collected 68 signatures in two hours.

What began as a spontaneous idea has since become an award-winning student organization whose events have brought hundreds of students together. But as Bradshaw and President Connie Ledoux Book discuss in the latest episode of “�鶹��Ƶ Beyond the Bricks,” Milk Club has never really been about the milk.

“The real magic of the Milk Club is that it’s the relationships that form,” Book said during their conversation. “Milk is really just the vehicle for forming the relationship.”

That vehicle has taken many forms, including Spilled Milk Poetry Night, the Cownival and the Milk Soirée, where roughly 300 students dressed formally to listen to live jazz and drink milk — and dairy alternatives — from wine glasses. The organization also collaborated with Student Union Board on Milk Bingo, filling Sato Commons with roughly 500 students. Book remembered the event, too, because she announced a few of the rounds that evening.

Behind the playful names, however, is something Bradshaw and his fellow club leaders have taken seriously: cultivating an inclusive environment that gives students a reason to spend time together.

Bradshaw said the club’s executive board often begins with an activity and asks a simple question: How can they make it milk-related? Those conversations have helped the students create events around a theme almost anyone can join, regardless of whether they prefer whole milk, chocolate milk, oat milk or no milk at all.

That low barrier to participation has helped Milk Club become a place where students can form friendships and shared memories without needing a particular academic, professional or athletic interest to bring them together. It also connects closely with �鶹��Ƶ’s broader focus on well-being.

During the episode, Book connected Milk Club with HealthEU, �鶹��Ƶ’s university-wide initiative centered on six dimensions of well-being. For Bradshaw, those ideas have shaped more than the organization he founded.

An Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellow studying neuroscience and psychology on a pre-med track, Bradshaw has also served as an Orientation Leader and biology teaching assistant. He said conversations about the dimensions of well-being through Leadership Fellows helped shape how he approaches his different roles at �鶹��Ƶ.

“Trying to integrate all of that has been one of the most valuable things that I have been able to take away from my �鶹��Ƶ experience,” Bradshaw said.

That intentionality extends into his everyday life. During the episode’s recording, Book noticed a wall behind Bradshaw covered in colorful sticky notes. For roughly a year, he had been writing down one thing each night that made him happy or grateful that day. The practice gives him another reason to stop and reflect on the people and experiences filling his life.

Milk Club operates on a similar principle. Milk may provide the theme, but the reason students return is the opportunity to laugh, participate and spend time with one another.

As Bradshaw begins his senior year, the organization that started around a dining hall table has become part of his �鶹��Ƶ legacy, serving as an example of how even the simplest idea can give people the reason they need to come together.

Learn more about “�鶹��Ƶ Beyond the Bricks.”

University Chaplain and Dean of Multifaith Engagement Rev. Kirstin Boswell opened the event with the invocation, followed by the tradition of the bell ringing by Student Government Association President Michael Swartz ’27. The bell arrived in North Carolina in 1854 on one of the first North Carolina railroad trains. It was later used at Graham College, a predecessor institution to �鶹��Ƶ College.

During the event, three individuals with strong ties to the university were awarded the �鶹��Ƶ Medallion, the university’s most prestigious service honor: Jim Donathan, longtime associate director of academic advising and academic support; Mary Thornton, founder and president of Harvest Table Culinary Group; and Don Grady, associate professor emeritus of cinema and television arts.

Katy Rouse, professor of economics in the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, was named the Trustee Chair for Excellence. For seventeen years, Rouse has taught �鶹��Ƶ’s Principles of Economics and Intermediate Microeconomics courses, along with a capstone she built herself on educational disparities in the United States, earning student evaluations among the highest in her department for more than a decade.

She has personally mentored more than 30 senior and honors theses, co-authored research with undergraduates, chaired the Love School’s curriculum committee and published her teaching scholarship in the Journal of Economic Education.

“I truly believe that being a teacher scholar mentor at �鶹��Ƶ is one of the best careers I’m going to have,” Rouse said. “Every day we come to work, we have the opportunity to make a lasting impact on students during one of the most pivotal points in their lives.”

Mapping the course

During her annual Opening Day address, Book reflected on �鶹��Ƶ’s progress while looking toward a year that will include the launch of new academic initiatives, continued work surrounding artificial intelligence, the opening of the Roberts Academy and the planned merger with Queens University of Charlotte.

Book centered her remarks around the idea of a map — the markers that show where �鶹��Ƶ has been and the guideposts that will help the university navigate what comes next. The theme was inspired by a visit this summer to �鶹��Ƶ students participating in the Summer Opera Workshop at the Accademia Europea di Firenze. The students came together for a historic production of “The Light in the Piazza” in Florence, Italy, where the musical is set.

As part of their work, students were also tasked with creating a map of the city, something that inspired Book.

“There is something powerful in this mapmaking assignment, and it left me wondering about our collective �鶹��Ƶ map,” Book said. “How would we each draw it?”

At the center of that map, Book said, is �鶹��Ƶ’s mission. She highlighted several markers of progress during the past year, including the Odyssey Program surpassing 300 scholarships, record participation in undergraduate research, strong Fulbright success and new academic programs, including cybersecurity, Clinical Mental Health Counseling and the Charlotte PA program. She also celebrated the upcoming launch of the School of Engineering and Computing under inaugural Dean John Walz and the growth of the university’s nursing program.

Mapping new territory (together)

On Tuesday, Aug. 18, the first students of the Roberts Academy at �鶹��Ƶ will arrive at the school’s temporary home in Trollinger House. The school will be the state’s only university-based private school for children with dyslexia. Book described the academy and the Center for Dyslexia and Engaged Learning as an opportunity that “will change lives from day one.”

Among the most significant new territory is �鶹��Ƶ’s planned merger with Queens University of Charlotte. Book noted that the institutions received accreditation approval this summer to proceed with their merger, with a single Board of Trustees now overseeing both universities. Sixteen administrative units are also becoming shared teams supporting the two campuses, while a federal review of the merger is expected to take 18 to 24 months.

Megan Isaac, professor of English, and Senior Vice President for Advancement and External Affairs Jim Piatt gave brief updates on the merger as part of the SOAR Strategic Planning Committee.

“Our two institutions will be stronger together, will better serve students together, and will have a brighter future together,” Book said. “And now, we are working to build that vision together, to grow opportunity to advance learning — together.”

Mapping a new look

Athletics Director Jennifer Strawley was also invited to the stage to announce a for the university’s athletics program, which had what Book called a “formidable year,” with seven �鶹��Ƶ teams, the most in the university’s history, winning conference titles. A new physical mascot will be unveiled at the first College Coffee of the academic year on Aug. 25.

“The new Phoenix wears a gold sweater with a monogram ‘E,’ paying tribute to our first mascot, the Fighting Christian,” Strawley said. “The focused expression conveys the determination, confidence and purpose that defines our university community. The Phoenix continues to be fueled by the flames, symbolizing our rebuild from the ashes, and capturing the spirit and resilience of the �鶹��Ƶ community.”

Book acknowledged that the changing higher education landscape brings challenges, from enrollment pressures and federal regulations to declining public confidence. But she reminded faculty and staff that adapting to change has long been part of �鶹��Ƶ’s history.

“I understand change can be daunting. Shifting national headwinds are challenging higher education,” Book said. “Fortunately for us, �鶹��Ƶ has never succeeded by standing still. We’ve joined together, developed new strategies and guided by our mission — built the number one institution for engaged learning and student success.”

She closed by returning to the journey ahead, and the role faculty and staff play in shaping the lives of �鶹��Ƶ students.

“It is not simply education; it is a journey of human transformation,” Book said. “Thank you for the everyday commitment, kindness and integrity that are our enduring guideposts.”

Jim Donathan, longtime associate director of academic advising and academic support; Mary Thornton, founder and president of Harvest Table Culinary Group; and Don Grady, associate professor emeritus of cinema and television arts, heard from former mentors, friends and colleagues before being bestowed the honor by �鶹��Ƶ President Connie Ledoux Book.

Jim Donathan

Jim Donathan arrived to �鶹��Ƶ in 1994 as associate director of academic advising and director of academic support, drawn specifically to work with mentor Lela Faye Rich. He carried the largest advising load in his department, taught �鶹��Ƶ 101 (now �鶹��Ƶ 1010), and was known for his sustained support of students on academic probation and for mentoring students well beyond the classroom.

Rich, who served �鶹��Ƶ for 29 years and received the �鶹��Ƶ Medallion in 2008, read Donathan’s citation for the award.

“Jim Donathan is the only one on this stage that has two medallions. I just happen to be wearing one of them,” Rich said. “In the advising center, I was the loudmouth. I was a loud-mouthed advocate for students. Jim was the listener. The heart, the soul of academic advising. Without his total commitment to students’ success, to our academic advising staff, to mastering all those intricacies of creating an online degree audit. I would never have received this medallion.”

Donathan advised �鶹��Ƶ’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Order for 25 years and received the university’s Ward Family Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2012. His mentorship of one �鶹��Ƶ family led to the establishment of the Donathan-McAllister Endowed Scholarship in his honor. He retired in 2020, having shaped the academic support and mentoring experience for generations of �鶹��Ƶ students.

“I recently came across this quote from one of my favorite novelists, Pat Conroy: ‘I had read like a man on fire my whole life, because the genius of English teachers touched me with the dazzling beauty of language,’” said Donathan when accepting the honor. “�鶹��Ƶ does that for students. It touches them with the dazzling beauty of language. That might be the language of literature or biology, or political science, or art history, or so many other disciplines. Students can carry that language into their lives and into their future.”

Mary Thornton

Mary Thornton is the founder and president of Harvest Table Culinary Group, the dining partner that has served �鶹��Ƶ since the company’s founding. She spent years in leadership roles at Aramark, including vice president of compliance beginning in 2007, before proposing in 2016 the creation of a culinary group built around healthy, sustainable food and transparency about where food comes from.

Harvest Table launched in 2018 as an independent division of Aramark, with �鶹��Ƶ among its earliest partner institutions alongside Wake Forest and the University of Rochester. Under her leadership, Harvest Table has emphasized locally sourced ingredients, chef-driven menus tailored to each campus, and deeper engagement with student communities.

“Highly respected for her work ethic, expertise, relentless commitment to excellence, Mary has demonstrated a deep understanding of �鶹��Ƶ’s mission and the critical role dining plays in building community and contributing to a welcoming campus environment,” said Janet Williams, vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer.

Most recently, Harvest Table Culinary Group made a gift supporting �鶹��Ƶ’s Slattery Center, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to student health and wellness. Her partnership has helped shape the dining experience for generations of �鶹��Ƶ students.

“I accept this medallion with humility and deep appreciation and as a reminder to continue serving others, leading with purpose and striving to make a positive difference,” said Thornton, upon accepting the award. “Thank you very much for this incredible honor. It means more to me than words can express.”

Don Grady

Don Grady served �鶹��Ƶ for 35 years. He arrived in 1985, before �鶹��Ƶ had a formal communications department, and taught broadcast courses and senior capstone classes throughout his career. He chaired the communications department from 1987–1993 and again from 2004–2009, became associate dean in 2010, and helped guide creation of the nation’s first undergraduate major in media analytics. He was twice elected to the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications and received the Broadcast Education Association’s Distinguished Education Service Award in 2022.

Gerald Gibson, the university’s first full-time communications professor and Grady’s undergraduate roommate at NC State University, read Grady’s citation.

“Dr. Grady distinguished himself as an outstanding teacher, mentor, and advisor, by teaching broadcasting, senior research capstone, … and study abroad courses, supervising as many as 50 internships a year,” said Gibson. “Mentoring students through research, internships, and professional employment, leading study abroad programs in Great Britain and Europe, and becoming much loved by students who sought him out for guidance, encouragement, and wise counsel, even long after graduation.”

Grady’s administrative leadership and personal investment in students and faculty helped build �鶹��Ƶ’s School of Communications into a nationally recognized program. He retired in 2020, leaving a legacy colleagues describe as foundational to the school’s success.

“So many of our graduates (are) doing great work in media markets all over the country. 
They’re the reason we do this work,” Grady said. “Toward the end of my time, it was my privilege to regularly teach the senior theory and research capstone course that gave students the opportunity to dig into why communication professionals do what they do, and how what they do ripples through the lives of individuals and society.”