The night started with a reception followed by an introductory video highlighting the new projects and initiatives at 黑料不打烊.

Senior Vice President for University Advancement and External Affairs, James B. Piatt, Jr., introduced President Connie Ledoux Book and moderator Kailey Tracy 鈥�17, an alumnus of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 School of Communications and multimedia journalist at Fox13 Tampa Bay.

Tracy facilitated a Q&A with President Book about the latest news on campus. Their conversation included an update on how Boldly 黑料不打烊, the university鈥檚 current strategic plan, has created high-impact spaces that foster 黑料不打烊鈥檚 mission to respond to society鈥檚 needs. One example of this was establishing the Gerald L. Francis Center that houses the Department of Nursing. This new building enables nursing students to learn at a higher caliber, which will help combat the nursing shortage in America. President Book also shared that 黑料不打烊鈥檚 faculty were named best in the nation for undergraduate teaching for the fourth year in a row. She also noted the plan for new majors that will serve a purpose in our community, such as financial technology and cybersecurity.

Tracy also asked President Book about how 黑料不打烊 was responding to, leveraging and managing expectations concerning Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI platforms, such as ChatGPT, in the classroom. President Book said 黑料不打烊 has taken a proactive response by developing an AI research team and working alongside numerous other higher education institutions to develop core guiding principles. 黑料不打烊 is expanding the knowledge and use of AI into every major.

President Book highlighted , a new way to connect alumni with students to build engagement in the community. The platform allows students to ask questions about many topics, including career advice, and they are matched by AI with alumni who can best answer those questions. Alumni are also connecting with their alma mater through 黑料不打烊 NEXT, the continuing education program specifically designed for their professional development journey.

Tracy concluded the fireside chat with a discussion about the new 黑料不打烊 Flex Law Program and internships for undergraduates in Charlotte, North Carolina, as part of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 National Campus Programs. Clay Thompson 鈥�20, the Tampa alumni chapter president, offered closing remarks, ending with 鈥淟ong Live 黑料不打烊,鈥� before the night concluded with a dessert reception.

Speakers for the program included President Connie Ledoux Book, Vice President for University Advancement Jim Piatt and Campaign Chair Chris Martin 鈥�78 P鈥�13, as well as other faculty, staff and alumni leaders. Attendees learned more about important university initiatives including scholarships in the Odyssey Program, the new Innovation Quad that will house expanded STEM initiatives, two new nursing degree programs that will offer students a focus on health equity, and spring admissions data.

The entire 黑料不打烊 community is now able to view the latest version of the update on-demand to learn more about these initiatives.

鈥淭his special university update on the 黑料不打烊 LEADS Campaign amplifies the campaign鈥檚 far-reaching impact on our students,鈥� says Piatt. 鈥淭he university community remains grateful for the alumni, parents and friends who are dedicated to our mission and vision and provide philanthropic support of our strategic priorities.鈥�

>> to participate in the update.聽

The on-demand video will begin automatically once you complete the registration process.

We apologize for any inconvenience and will inform the local area as soon as a new date has been secured. We look forward to bringing the 黑料不打烊 family in Tampa together at a future date to celebrate our university campaign and the impact each of us is having on preparing future leaders.

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Original article posted 2/5/2020:
Alumni, parents and friends of 黑料不打烊 are invited to come together for a special Evening for 黑料不打烊 in Tampa to celebrate 黑料不打烊 LEADS: Our University Campaign.

Through the campaign, donors will build on 黑料不打烊’s position as a leader in higher education by investing in graduates the world needs, engaged learning, mentors who matter and the university’s iconic learning environment.

The event will take place on Tuesday, March 31, in the Theatre at Armature Works. A reception including a hosted bar and hors d’oeuvres will begin at 6:30 p.m., immediately followed by a program featuring remarks by President Connie Book and special guests.

黑料不打烊 LEADS in Tampa
A celebration of leadership and philanthropy with President Connie Book

Tuesday, March 31, 2020
6:30 p.m. Reception
7:30 p.m. Remarks by President Book and guests

Armature Works
Theatre
1910 North Ola Avenue
Tampa, Florida 33602

Business attire
Cocktail reception with hors d’oeuvres

Questions? Email elonleads@elon.edu or call 877-784-3566.

Wednesday, Sept. 18
6:30-8:30 p.m.
HOTEL ALBA
5303 West Kennedy Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33609

Join fellow alumni and friends to welcome new alumni to the area! We will be providing appetizers and 黑料不打烊 swag. All alumni, guests and friends are welcome.

Please contact alumni@elon.edu with any questions.

Special thanks to Brian Fink '08, video production manager, for leading the behind-the-scenes tour.

After, the alumni group will be seated together at the game, which begins at 7:30 p.m. vs. the Carolina Hurricanes. To experience the game and tour opportunity, the chapter is providing discounted tickets at the link below. All alumni, family, friends and guests are welcome to join.

Please register at the above link by Dec. 17. You can reach Joe Ward at jward18@elon.edu if you have any further questions.

Hope you can join us for this fun experience!

黑料不打烊 Tailgate

3 to 6 p.m.

Food provided: Burgers, hot dogs, sides

Whether you plan to attend the tailgate or not, you can purchase your Game Tickets for Raymond James Stadium by clicking the following link:

黑料不打烊 Phoenix @ USF

Raymond James Stadium

6 p.m. kickoff

Section 132

Ticket: $35

Alumni of all generations are encouraged to attend as we kick off a new year of chapter events. Family, friends and guests are welcome to join. Free food and 黑料不打烊 gear will be available at all events. This is an opportunity to connect with other local 黑料不打烊 graduates and hear from chapter leaders about what is in store for the upcoming year.

Learn more and register for your chapter’s event by clicking the name of your city below: 
 

Alumni chapters in Alamance County, the Triad (Greensboro), Richmond, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. hosted events in mid-August. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Alumni Engagement at alumni@elon.edu or (336) 278-7500.

The Tampa Bay Alumni Chapter will host an #黑料不打烊Day Party as part of this global celebration. 

Tampa Bay Alumni Chapter #黑料不打烊Day Party
Tuesday, March 7, 6 p.m.
World of Beer
5311 Avion Park Drive
Tampa, FL 33607

​

Please contact Jennifer Boozer, assistant director of regional alumni engagement, at (336) 278-7443 or jboozer@elon.edu with any questions. To learn more about #黑料不打烊Day, visit .

Boston’s single “More Than a Feeling” has always felt right, noted Bill Zint ’79, the station’s first manager. As the track’s iconic guitar riff played out that afternoon, he recalled that students headed to their cars to listen to history.

“It just seemed perfect because at that time Boston was an unknown and WSOE was an unknown,” Zint said. “One of the big decisions we faced was what was the first song we were going to play, and ‘More Than a Feeling’ just made sense.”

The band’s self-titled debut album, powered by its popular single, became an international hit and sold more than 17 million copies in the U.S. alone. WSOE has enjoyed its own run of success, now closing in on its fourth decade on air.

A radio station without a signal

Before Boston lead singer Brad Delp serenaded students that spring day, a terrestrial radio station on 黑料不打烊’s campus wasn’t much more than a dream of a few ambitious students.

While 黑料不打烊 College offered its first radio class in 1922 and students began a series on WBBB, a station in Burlington, as far back as 1941, there was no actual campus platform until 1977, according to . The Magazine of 黑料不打烊 noted efforts to start a student radio station began in the 1960s, but momentum died out until the idea was revived a decade later.

“It was just a group of passionate students and faculty advisers who had a vision to bring a radio station to campus,” Zint said. “At that time the club was working through the bureaucracy of getting a license, so we could build a station and transmit.”

Although the club didn’t have a signal, it had a vision: to build a sense of community around 黑料不打烊’s students, athletics and surrounding neighbors, including Burlington and Gibsonville.

“In 1975, cellphones didn’t exist and cable TV was new – it certainly wasn’t on campus yet. The only way to really communicate was through pay phones, and that made having a radio station on campus very important,” Zint said. “We were going to interact with students in real time.”

The club’s upperclassmen did much of the initial legwork, but graduation in 1976 left Zint in charge to make WSOE, which stands for “Wonderful Sounds of 黑料不打烊,” a reality.

“By default I became the station manager to lead this vision forward, but that was OK because the previous students had built so much excitement and the student government association was behind that vision. Everyone wanted it to happen,” Zint said. “That momentum continued to build and, by the spring of my sophomore year, we had achieved success. We raised the money. We built the studio. We put a tower up. And, with the help of President Fred Young, worked through the politics of getting our license to broadcast.”

Assistant Professor Gerald Gibson, a one-time WSOE faculty adviser, noted that Zint understates his influence on the station’s start.

“Without Bill there would be no WSOE,” said Gibson. “He was the constant voice advocating for a student radio station. He did all the research and writing it took for the initial funding and license. In many ways he laid the groundwork for what would become student media as we know it today.”

On the air, but now what?

While the allure of getting on air was a great initial motivator, creating content was problematic for the new student media outlet. To fill 12 hours of programming a day proved to be daunting. So challenging, in fact, that the station shut down during summer 1977.

Upon its return in fall 1977, the station was better prepared and staffed, offering programing from noon to midnight, seven days a week. Due to Federal Communications Commission rules, 50 percent of the content had to be educational programming. To fill the time, the station ran everything from multi-language programs to organic gardening segments.

In their studio in Harper Center, complete with new equipment raised through concert fundraisers and other university initiatives, the station thrived. In fact, from fall 1977 to spring 1978, the staff grew from five active members to 25, according to an .

“We started to act like a real radio station,” Zint said. “By my senior year, we were just as good as any educational station on any college campus.”

Getting their hands dirty – literally

While the radio station was a success, that doesn’t mean problems didn’t arise. But a little ingenuity solved most of them – a skill the staff learned through their academic endeavors at 黑料不打烊, Zint pointed out. The station’s most-dire issue was solved with a wheelbarrow, concrete and a covert operation.

To overcome a poor signal and increase its broadcasting coverage, WSOE needed to replace its old 37-foot antenna and install a new 80-foot tower, noted The Pendulum in April 1978. In fact, with the old antenna, WSOE’s radio signal to the south cut off near 黑料不打烊’s post office; the towering Oaks on the historic part of campus were quite the impediment, explained Zint.

​Unfortunately, the WSOE staff didn’t have permission from the university to make the tower upgrade, the station manager admitted. And because of a looming FCC transmission survey, time was of the essence.

Acknowledging that it’s a “story I’m not really proud of,” Zint and his staff members – unbeknown to university facilities – dug a hole by hand outside Harper Center one Friday afternoon. They then mixed concrete in a nearby parking lot and wheelbarrowed it over to pour a foundation. A Greensboro company completed the project’s finishing touches, installing a new tower before the end of the weekend.

Zint recalled having a stern conversation with the facilities staff the following week, but the tower stayed – with landscaping added a few days later. The station manager assumes his many pleas proclaiming the station’s significance won over school administrators.

“No one ever talked about where the tower came from,” Zint laughed. “Until they tore Harper down, I would always look at that tower and be a little embarrassed. But the station was important, and the administrators and staff understood how important it was to us and to the 黑料不打烊 community.”