Elon University awarded 889 degrees during its 114th Commencement exercises, held under the oaks on campus May 22.
President Emeritus J. Earl Danieley, a 1946 graduate and staff member for 58 years, delivered the commencement address. Danieley, 79, told the Class of 2004 that they should set high standards for themselves and stick to them.
“Let me earnestly urge you with every fiber of my being to establish and uphold the very highest standards for yourself, your living and your work,” Danieley said. “Standards of quality are not relative, they are absolute. The keys to excellence are courage and honesty, creativity and originality, applied intelligence and genuine effort. Treat your own standards as unalterable; be willing to defend them with all that you have and are. To do less than your best is to cheat yourself and those with whom you live and work.”
An Alamance County native, Danieley came to Elon as a student in the fall of 1941. He joined the faculty in the fall of 1946 to teach chemistry, went on to become dean and was named president in 1957. At the time, he was one of the youngest college presidents in the country.
Danieley stepped down from the presidency in 1973 to return to the classroom. He was named director of planned giving at Elon in 1987 and held that position until 1998, when he again returned to teaching.
Graduates and their families had a chance to celebrate along with Elon faculty and staff at a post-commencement reception on Scott Plaza.
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