James Earl Danieley (July 28, 1924 – November 29, 2016) was the sixth president of

Elon College Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate d ...

(1957–1973), a private college in Elon, North Carolina and has contributed over 60 years of service to the school.

Early life

Danieley grew up in

Alamance County, North Carolina Alamance County (), from the North Carolina Collection's website at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved September 18, 2012. is a county in North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 171,415. Its county seat ...

. He attended Elon College for his undergraduate education from 1941 to 1946. He then received his graduate degrees in

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...

from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

and conducted post-doctoral research at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

.
''Elon University Website''

Career

Danieley was first offered a job as freshman chemistry teacher at Elon College which he gladly accepted. Danieley noted, “There was no question. I loved being at Elon. It was a no-brainer, you don't even have to think about that. I just came right on back."Longo, Michell
"Danieley fathers Elon sports traditions"
''The Pendulum'', 2008-09-10, Retrieved on 2009-11-01. Danieley served as Dean of the college from 1953 to 1956. On July 1, 1957 the Board of Trustees elected Danieley the sixth president of Elon College, succeeding Leon Edgar Smith who served from 1931 to 1957.

Accomplishments

During his tenure as president of Elon College, one of Danieley's biggest impacts was in athletics. He was known for his innovative ideas in athletics and played a major role in the expansion of women's athletics at Elon College. In 1972, Danieley hired a high school coach from

Gibsonville, North Carolina Gibsonville ("City of Roses") is a town in both Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of Gibsonville is situated in the Greensboro-Winston-Salem-Hi ...

Kay Yow Sandra Kay Yow (March 14, 1942 – January 24, 2009) was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A List of coaches in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of F ...

, to coach the first

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

team at Elon. Yow also helped to organize both the first volleyball and softball teams at Elon. Yow became the all-time leader in winning percentage at Elon in both women's basketball and volleyball. Before passing away due to cancer, Yow served as the head coach of the women's basketball team at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

. Danieley created a solid foundation for soccer, cross country, and every women's sport. Danieley made the College Board's SAT test a requirement for admission. He also expanded the library, built seven new buildings on campus and admitted Elon's first black students. In 1972 he completed a 3 million dollar fund drive, and implemented Elon's 4-1-4 semester system which still runs today.Keller, George
"Transforming a College: The Story of a Little Known College's Strategic Climb to National Distinction"
pp. 5–6, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland. Danieley left the presidency post in 1973 to return to his roots as a chemistry teacher at Elon.

Awards

Danieley has been the Thomas E. Powell Jr. Professor of Chemistry since 1982. Danieley was elected to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors in 1983 and served for 12 years. In 1992, Danieley was named president emeritus and remains only one of two presidents in Elon's history along with

Leon Edgar Smith Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

(1931–1957) to have received that honor.

Traditions

In 2005, at a men's home

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

game, with 10 minutes remaining in the game, all the students began chanting, “Dr. Danieley.” The first time he acknowledged the crowd by standing and waving but the second time he brought a towel just in case they were to chant his name again. So now it has become a tradition of Elon home men's basketball games to chant his name with Dr. Danieley waving a white towel with around 10 minutes to go in the game.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Danieley, James 1924 births 2016 deaths Presidents of Elon University Elon University alumni People from Burlington, North Carolina Elon University faculty University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Johns Hopkins University alumni