Gregory McDaniel receives first Technology Award

Gregory McDaniel, Application Developer, received the praise and support of his colleagues last week after being nominated to receive the first Acorn Accolade.  McDaniel’s leadership and determination was central to the success of Elon Day 2015, Elon’s largest day of giving. 

McDaniel worked closely with his colleagues in Technology and Advancement to share participation information and progress online throughout the day.  The real-time view of how the day was developing appeared through a participant count, category charts, and data reports.

Christopher Waters, Assistant Vice President for Technology and CIO, says McDaniel was selected as the first award recipient because of his tenacious drive and commitment to excellence. “Gregory uses his collaborative mindset to make connections across many departments within the university.”

McDaniel, who works on many internal systems, says, “I don’t usually see the direct impact of the work I do when walking around on campus, so it is nice to have this recognition.”

Waters says, “We have an extensive amount of projects in technology, so it’s challenging to single one person out. Everyone is doing excellent work, and this award allows us to regularly tap those who provide leadership.”  McDaniel concurs, “This project couldn’t have happened without my colleagues; it was entirely a team effort.”

McDaniel’s other accomplishments include increasing accessibility for Class Climate (online course assessment), improving Moodle (learning management system), and smoothly migrating the student judicial software to a new platform.  

The Acorn Accolade will reside in the recipient’s workspace for one month and then move on when the next awardee is named. A small, 3D-printed replica will remain with each recipient in their workspace.