President Emeritus J. Earl Danieley '46 recounted stories from Elon's early years when he spoke with students living in Danieley Center as part of an annual dinner organized by the residential campus neighborhood.
By Erin Turner ’15
Elon University President Emeritus J. Earl Danieley ’46 dined Wednesday with several residents of the campus neighborhood bearing his name.
With wild chicken marsala with deep dish apple caramel pie on the menu, the annual Dinner with Dr. Danieley, an event hosted for Danieley Center residents, included stories of his time attending school at what was then Elon College and his tenure as college president.
Dinner with Dr. Danieley “gives residents the opportunity to come together to socialize, meet new people, and get to know Dr. Danieley, whose experience as a student, professor and president lend themselves to many unique and compelling stories,” said senior Kirsten Haugsted, the Resident Area Coordinator for Danieley Center.
Danieley told students how his experience with different professors at Elon College impacted his decision to study chemistry. Danieley initially wanted to be a high school history teacher, but after taking a course his fall semester, he realized that wasn’t what he wanted to do.
He talked about how Professor John W. Barney changed his view on chemistry and influenced him to become the chemistry professor that he is today.
He also reflected on an era when people would say “If you can’t go to school go to Elon College” and how that is no longer the case. He said he is proud to have witnessed the growth of the institution firsthand.
“Dr. Danieley has really made a positive impact on Elon University due to his ever-growing passion for the students, campus, and dynamics of the university,” said Jaimie Biermann, assistant director of Residence Life for Danieley Center.
A 1946 Elon graduate, Danieley received graduate degrees in organic chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and conducted post-doctoral research at Johns Hopkins University. Beginning his career as a chemistry instructor at Elon, Danieley served from 1953 to 1956 as dean of the college before being named president of Elon in 1957.
Danieley stepped down in 1973 to dedicate the next years of his life to teaching. He was elected to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors in 1983 and served in that capacity for 12 years. In 1987, Danieley agreed to reduce his teaching hours in order to serve as Elon’s director of planned giving in the development office, a position he held until 1992. In that year he was named president emeritus of the college.
In recent years he has continued to teach classes as a member of the faculty of the Department of Chemistry.