59 // � e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders

Nancy Midgette

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GET TO KNOWNancy Midgette

Arrived at Elon in 1986

The one person she has learned the most from at Elon is Gerry Francis.

In addition to her parents, she credits her high school history teacher as one of her biggest mentors.

She is a fi rm believer in the educational power of fi eld trips.

� e Legacies of Elon’s Leaders // 60P

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Nancy Midgette

The mentality Nancy Midgette has about trying new things is one that was instilled in her at a young age, when her parents would tell her she wouldn’t know about a certain thing until she tried it. Sometimes this dealt with the broccoli sitting on her plate, but other times it pertained to larger, life-altering issues.

“That ‘Why not?’ question has always been a part of my decision making process,” Midgette said. “You weigh the pros and cons, the potential serious downsides of a decision and you have to fi gure out if it looks like a reasonable course of action and you’re not burning any bridges. Why not give it a try?”

This approach is one she’s carried with her throughout life and she credits for her success today.

Midgette has been the Associate Provost at Elon since 2001. Her duties include overseeing the academic schedule and curriculum, Honors Program, Undergraduate Research, General Studies, Registrar, Academic Advising and Career Services.

But back in the summer of 1984, it was a completely different story. Midgette fi rst arrived in the area when her husband started a new job. She

had already obtained a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in American history from North Carolina State University, and she had just fi nished up her Ph.D. in American history at the University of Georgia. Midgette applied to every academic institution within 35 miles of her house and fi rst started her career at High Point University, but in December Elon called to see if she could teach a history class in January.

“So, of course I did,” she said. “And the rest, they say, is history.”Midgette has been at Elon ever since.She said she instantly knew Elon was a great place, and even as a brand new

adjunct professor she felt welcomed by the entire community. In 1986, after a year and a half as an adjunct professor, she was offered a position in the history department and has continued working full time.

For 15 years she taught an array of history courses, served as the department chair and sat on various committees. She had never really given extensive thought to moving up into the administration, but when the opportunity presented itself she defaulted to her natural decision making process.

“It was kind of that old ‘Why not?’ question,” Midgette said. “If you don’t try things, you won’t know if it would have been good or not, so you might always wonder. So I decided I would try it.”

Initially she didn’t commit to a long-term role, but she stayed in the position until last year, when she announced she will step down and return to teaching history.

As she assists Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Gerry Francis transition to his new role as Executive Vice President, she is also focusing on

revamping the courses she used to teach and developing new ones. “As we go throughout life there are different periods of time when different

types of work are attractive,” Midgette said. “If I was going to go back to teaching, I wanted to do it with several years left so I’ll have enough time to develop courses.”

Francis hired Midgette when she fi rst started at Elon and said her legacy will be from supporting the concept of community while moving the university forward on many fronts, including academics and support services. Midgette is a team player who values everyone’s contributions, Francis explained.

“She is so well tuned in to faculty needs and understands their concerns — for this she has been indispensible,” Francis said. “She can read the tea leaves, can solve problems before they become diffi cult and has great trust from all. Her leadership has enhanced the feeling of a campus community.”

Midgette said the greatest joy of teaching is when students “get it,” especially because history classes can have a stigma that makes some students unwilling to learn the material.

But in her eyes the discipline is about understanding patterns and behaviors, which she considers to be a skill that can be translated to anything in life.

“It’s a lot of fun for me when people understand that, after studying history, because then I know they’ve truly gotten a life lesson, something that will stick with them for the rest of their life,” Midgette said. “And it won’t matter if they know who was elected president in 1820.”

These are lessons that can also translate to being a leader. Midgette said she also considers good self-awareness and knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses essential.

“At some point in time we’ll all be called upon to step up to the plate, whether it’s a short or long span of time, big or small event. And everybody has to be ready to do that when they’re called upon and when they [recognize] they have the skills that are needed in that situation,” Midgette said.

She said if she was going to give anyone advice, it would be to stay alert to situations and the environment around oneself and notice when one can be useful.

“Don’t assume that somebody else will solve the problems,” she said. “Because sometimes that somebody else has to be you.”

Though she is also looking forward to the next stage of her career, retirement, Midgette said she hopes she has helped make a difference in the lives of the students she has crossed paths with at Elon.

“That’s a lot more important to me than anything else,” she said. “The impact you have on other people.”

Story By Andie Diemer

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