J. Earl Danieley, who served as president of Elon from 1957-1973 and remains a fixture of the community, will be recognized as part of the annual Founders Day celebrations. The events include a special College Coffee on March 9, a Whitley Auditorium College Chapel service on March 11 and, later that evening, a fireside chat in Whitley Auditorium where Danieley will answer questions collected in advance from students by the Student Government Association.
An E-net trivia contest is also scheduled for the week leading up to Founders Day on March 11.
“I told the president when he mentioned it to me that it just blows me away,” Danieley said of his selection as the Founders Day honoree. “What a great honor to be recognized along with those who have been honored in the past.”
A native of Alamance County, Danieley has dedicated half a century to the growth and improvement of Elon and the surrounding community. A 1946 Elon graduate, he 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 the sixth president of the institution in 1957. He stepped down in 1973 to dedicate the next years of his life to teaching.
Danieley 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.
“I see myself as one of the faculty, as one of the people who is involved in day-to-day teaching, and I enjoy that very much,” Danieley said. “This institution has been so good to me. They’ve recognized me in a number of ways, and I’ve appreciated that greatly.”
Faculty, staff and students are invited to view poster presentations about Founders Day and Danieley located in Belk Library and Moseley Center. The Belk presentation is in the library’s poster display booth and traces the history of Founders Day at Elon. The Moseley presentation is in the display case right outside the Campus Shop and offers a glimpse into Danieley’s life and contributions to Elon.