Danieley Center Neighborhood hosts successful first-day events

The first-year students living in the Danieley Center Neighborhood learned about the legacy of the man for whom their neighborhood is named during move-in weekend events on Aug. 26.

The neighborhood welcome featured remarks from the Danieley Center leadership team and student staff, as well as Jane Shutt, the daughter of Earl Danieley, president emeritus of Elon. Shutt relayed stories about her father’s upbringing, his 70-year Elon career and his love of the university.

“I’m excited to have all these numbers of our Danieley family,” Shutt said. “As my dad says, you’re living in his place.”

A native of Alamance County, Danieley graduated from Elon in May of 1946 and began his teaching career at Elon just three months later. He served as dean of the college from 1953 until 1956 before being named president at the age of 32 in 1957, a position he held until 1973. After that, he continued to teach and contribute to the life of the university. He was named president emeritus in 1992, and he retired from teaching in May.

“I guess what my dad’s life has taught me is even though he had some plans along the way, he had to be open to some new possibilities,” Shutt said. “So I’m going to encourage you to be open to new possibilities, to meeting new people, which you’ve already done today, to try some new things you’ve never thought of before, and to go to new places, because that will really enrich your life. I hope you enjoy Danieley Center and long live Elon.”

Earlier in the welcome, the students heard from other faculty and staff affiliated with Danieley Center.

• Laura Arroyo, the associate director of Residence life for Residential Education, offered an opening welcome to the students and discussed the role they can play in the neighborhood.
• Cait Williams, the graduate assistant in Danieley, introduced the resident assistants and detailed the make-up of the neighborhood.
• Cara McFadden, assistant professor of Sport & Event Management and the former faculty director of Danieley, discussed how the student-faculty interactions in the neighborhood can be meaningful.
• Colin Donohue, director of student media and the faculty director of Danieley, introduced the students to the neighborhood association and the neighborhood theme, which stands on four pillars of civic engagement, leadership development, media literacy and mindfulness/wellness.
• Alex Attanasio, a cinema & television arts major and the Danieley resident area coordinator, discussed the importance of the Danieley Center oath and led students in its recitation.

Following the welcome, the first-year students enjoyed Danieley’s First Night Elon events, which featured a photobooth, tye-dyed rally towels and remarks from head football Rich Skrosky, who stressed the importance of leadership and why students should support their athletic teams.

“To be a leader, first and foremost, you’ve got to know yourself,” Skrosky said. “Be honest with yourself.”

Skrosky’s summed up his definition of leadership with four C’s: commitment, confidence, composure and character. Still, he encouraged students to identify their areas of interest and then pursue those with fervor.

“Find something you’re passionate about and commit to it,” Skrosky said.

That commitment was a central theme that also appeared in Skrosky’s remarks about his football players, many of whom live in Danieley. He detailed the full academic and practice schedules of his players in order to drive home what it means to be passionate about something. He then urged students to turn out for games and support their peers.

“You (fans) create the atmosphere. The students create the atmosphere,” Skrosky said “There’s no reason why we can’t be great in everything, so set your expectations high. We have six home games this year. Come out strong and support these guys.”