The president emeritus enjoyed an hour-long meet-and-greet with several Elon students in the neighborhood named for him.
Elon University President Emeritus Dr. J. Earl Danieley visited the Danieley Center Neighborhood named for him Nov. 3 to meet and talk with students. It was a casual hourlong gathering, as more than 25 students showed up to shake hands with Danieley and hear some stories about his time at Elon.
“On a personal level, I’ve never met Dr. Danieley, but I’ve heard all the stories about him,” said senior Alex Attanasio, the Danieley residence area coordinator. “It was really awesome to hear his stories from him.”
Students were happy to have the opportunity to talk to Danieley, who’s been a steady presence at Elon since 1946. He served as president of the university from 1957 until 1973. He was unable to join students in Danieley Center on move-in day this year, but he had expressed interest in joining students in the neighborhood at some point during the semester. And students were glad he was able to make an appearance.
“I am just so excited he got to come here and see us and be with all of us,” said senior Nina Stevens, an apartment manager in Danieley Center, “because he’s just so great.”
Dr. J Earl Danieley is a native of Alamance County, who graduated from Elon in 1946. He has been associated with Elon for more than 70 years of his life and only just retired from teaching at the end of the 2015-2016 academic year.
Danieley Center was opened in 1999 as a sophomore residential community, but now houses more than 750 students of all years, many of whom are first-years and sophomores. The neighborhood comprises eight flats and eight apartment buildings, in addition to the Daniel Commons and Phoenix Activities and Recreation Center.
Additional reporting by Ashley Bohle ’17