NEW PRESIDENT
mm
OCTOBER 11, 2017
M
LEON EDGAR
SMITH
1931-1951
1910 graduate President Smith served
the Elon community the longest. He led
the school through three campus fires,
the Great Depression, World War 11 and
the Koran War. As a recipient of the Out
standing Alumnus Award, he improved a
variety of programs and facilities on cam
pus. Smith was the first president to have
the tide of president emeritus.
President Smith witnesses the unveiling of the Smith
Hall plaque.
JAMES FRED
YOUNG
1913-1998
Born in Burnsville, NC, Young attend
ed Wake Forest University, University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and
Columbia University. College en
rollment doubled during his service
while also expanding from 145 acres
to more than 500 acres. Many new
renovations and majors were added
during his time. He was also named
president emeritus by the Elon Board
of Trustees.
President Young converses with Elon community members
by Alamance fountain.
10
1985
2020
JAMES EARL
DANIELEY
1951-1913
As a 1946 graduate of Elon University, Dan-
ieley decided to give back and serve as presi
dent. Beloved and known affectionately as “Dr.
Danieley” he served as president from 1957 to
1973. Then he was a professor in the chem
istry department for many years after. He was
named president emeritus in 1992 and retired
in spring 2016. After his undergraduate studies
at Elon, he received a graduate degree from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He
died on Nov. 29,2016, at the age of 92.
SMi + ela/V.'-CT ■
J.
President Danieley gestures at chemistry equatien
written on chalkbeard in class.
LED MICHAEL
LAMBERT
1999-2018
Leo Lambert served Elon since 1999. Lambert
helped establish the University’s Law school,
100 more buildings and 1.5 million square
feet of space. Lambert was known for always
striving to improve Elon’s national model of
engaged learning. Under his leadership, the
school’s endowment quadrupled. Lambert held
leadership positions on the American Council
on Education, the Association of Governing
Boards of Universities and Colleges, the North
Carolina Independent Colleges and Universi
ties and more. Lambert was named one of the
“most influential leaders’’ for six consecutive
years by the Triad Business Journal.