Elaine Myers Trustee Emeritus
At our April meeting, the Chowan University Board of Trustees unanimously affirmed Elaine Myers as Trustee Emeritus, a distinction reserved for former trustees who have served the university with exceptional devotion.
Elaine graduated from Chowan College in 1960, and she served on the Board of Trustees for decades. Her leadership is woven into some of the most defining chapters of Chowan's story. I am a life that was changed by her service.
As Chair of the Board of Trustees, she guided Chowan through its historic transition from two‑year junior college awarding associate degrees to four‑year college awarding bachelor’s degrees—a transformation that reshaped the university’s trajectory and mine for generations to come. I was a home school graduate back when that was unheard of and colleges did not know what to do with applicants with my educational background. Chowan accepted me, and I matriculated to my bachelor's degree there. I will always remember the personal honor of Elaine's signature on my own bachelor’s degree.
When I joined the Board of Trustees, Elaine mentored me and served as wise counsel on how to prepare for, participate in and follow-up after board meetings. Her thoughts were always a generational perspective addressing today’s issues with sustainable action. As Trustee Emeritus, Elaine will continue to receive notices of all Board meetings, attend and speak at those meetings, and receive minutes—ensuring her wisdom remains part of Chowan’s shared governance.
Please join me in celebrating Elaine Myers for her lifetime of faithful service, steady leadership, and enduring love for Chowan University. Her legacy lives in every alumnus with a bachelor's degree, every current student who worships at Chowan Chapel, every Christian Service mission trip, and future Hawks who are on their way to Murfreesboro.
There is a short list of people I hope to stand near in heaven on the final judgment day. They are the extraordinary, ordinary servants whose lives have quietly shaped the world around them. “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” Jesus will say to them. I hope to be within earshot when this happens for Elaine Myers.
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