This video is titled, Elon College Centennial Convocation: Vision for a new Century (Reaffirming a Tradition of Service) in the Alumni Memorial Gymnasium on Tuesday, April 25, 1989. This video missed the opening of the Centennial Convocation ceremony. The video recording missed the first Elon College Medallion Ceremony. The Elon College Medallion was bestowed for the first time, on April 25, 1989. The Elon College Medallion was awarded to individuals who in some official capacity have rendered outstanding service to the college. Recipients of the medallion award are persons who are distinguished by the unusual length and quality of their service to Elon College. The medallion featured the college seal surrounded by a wreath of oak leaves with a single acorn at the top. The medallion is three inches in diameter and has been cast in bronze with an antique finish. The first recipient was presented to James (Earl) Danieley by President J. Fred Young (Danieley’s receiving of the Elon Medallion was not on the video). Dr. James (Earl) Danieley was elected the sixth president of Elon College in 1957 at the age of 32, making him the youngest college president in the nation at the time. During his tenure, the college gained sound financial footing, integration was successful, student enrollment increased dramatically, and several major buildings were added—Iris Holt McEwen Library, Long Student Center, Powell Building, Jordan Gym, and Harper Center (replaced by the Global Village in 2015). Danieley’s contribution to the college as a member of the faculty was equally significant. After his graduation from Elon College in 1946, he was immediately invited to join the Elon Chemistry Faculty. He went on to earn the master’s and Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). When he resigned the presidency in 1973, he returned to the classroom and in 1983, he was named the Thomas E. Powell, Jr., Professor of Chemistry. In 1987, he retired from teaching to assume a position as Director of Planned Giving at Elon College. Danieley was a former member of the Board of Trustees of East Carolina University and served on the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was a member and former president of the Burlington Rotary Club and a former member of the Board of Trustees of Alamance County Hospital. A former Alamance County Commissioner, he was a lifelong Republican and has served twice as Secretary and once as Parliamentarian of the North Carolina Republican Party. Danieley was a member of the Elon College Community Church, where he served five terms as Chairman of the Board and Moderator. The video began with applause from the audience after Thaddeus (Thad) Armie Eure received the second Elon College Medallion presented by J. Fred Young (7th Elon College President). Thaddeus (Thad) Armie Eure was born in Gates County, North Carolina, in 1899, and was a lifelong member of the United Church of Christ, the connection which originally introduced him to Elon College. In 1943, Eure was first elected to the Elon College Board of Trustees and in 1955 he was named Chairman. In June of 1989, Eure retired as Chairman, vacating the post he held for 34 years, longer than any person in Elon’s history (as of 2015). In 1958, Elon awarded Eure an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree and in 1980, its Citizen Service Award. During his 47 years on Elon’s Board, the college enrollment increased from 542 students to 3,300. The endowment grew to $11 million and the operating budget exceeded $23 million. Throughout this time of growth, Eure had been a tireless and eloquent ambassador for Elon College (at the 1989 Commencement Ceremony, Eure captured the phase LONG, LIVE, ELON). In September 1988, Elon established the Thad Eure Centennial Scholarship in honor of his devoted service and leadership. Eure’s interest in law led him to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he received his undergraduate and law degrees. By 1929, he was a member of the General Assembly and was elected Secretary of State for North Carolina on November 3, 1936. He served in that office until December 1988 – a record which distinguished him as the senior American Statesman, the elected official with the longest record of public service in the nation. In addition, The Centennial Convocation marked the inauguration of the Elon College Mace. The Elon Mace was a gift from the estate of E.M. Martin in memory of Elon College Professor Alonzo L. (A.L.) Hook. Dr. J. (Earl) Danieley, former president of the college and senior member of the faculty, carried the mace in the procession (not seen on the video). The mace is described by ancient symbol of authority; the mace is an ornamental staff featuring Elon’s most representative symbols. The Elon College seal tops a five-side replica of the brick colonnades, complete with open arches and chasing to imitate the brickwork. The colonnades represent the strength and stability of the college, as well as the five dimensions of a liberal arts education. The five-sided figure forms a pentagon, the Greek symbol of the universe. The shaft of the mace has four distinct sections representing the four years of study and is decorated with symbols of the oak, Elon’s namesake. Included is a fluted silver band alternate with banks of oak leaves and bright silver. An acorn, representing the seed of learning, is carved at the end of the shaft. The mace, which was handcrafted in Portugal, is approximately 40 inches in length and weighs 12 pounds. The original model was designed by an Elon Alum graduate, Gayle Fishel (Class of 1978). In addition, the Oxford edition of the Washburn College Bible was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Price of Burlington, North Carolina, in honor of their sons: David, Mark, and Bill II (Class of 1978). The Oxford edition of the Washburn College Bible was used for the first time at the Centennial Convocation and became part of the college’s permanent collection. The Centennial Ceremony continued with the introduction by an Robert C. Borgstrom (Class of 1989), Student Government President of Elon College, of Former President, James (Jimmy) Earl Carter, Jr. (39th President of the United States, 1977 – 1981, and later was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002). Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. His father, James Earl Carter, Sr., was a peanut farmer who owned his own small plot of land, as well as a warehouse. His mother, Bessie Lillian Gordy, was a registered nurse who in the 1920s, had crossed racial divides to counsel black women on health care issues. Carter was a student of engineering at Georgia Southwestern Junior College before he joined the Naval program to continue his engineering studies at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He then applied at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, which accepted him to begin studies in the summer of 1943. Carter only stood at five feet and nine inches compared to his Naval Academy fellow cadets. Carter continued to excel at his academics, graduating in the top ten percent of his class in 1946. During the summers, Carter had reconnected with a woman named Rosalynn Smith whom he had known since childhood. They married in 1946. In 1970, Carter (Democrat) defeated Carl Sanders (Republican) to become the Governor of Georgia. Carter was one of ten democratic presidential candidates in 1976, and at first, he was probably the least well known. Carter became the 39th President of the United States in 1977. Carter’s most notable foreign policy achievement was his successful mediation of the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, leading to a historic peace treaty in which Israel withdrew from the Sinai and the two sides officially recognized each other’s governments. Carter is extremely involved in Habitat for Humanity, writing poetry, and teaching Sunday school at his church in Georgia. Carter uses the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia, as a library, but for American studies in priorities and values. Borgstrom acknowledged and thanked President J. (Fred) Young.