At the stroke of 8:30 p.m. Friday, May 10, 2002, President Joan Develin Coley, the Board of Trustees, and members of the College Committee on the Naming Initiative presented the name McDaniel to an enthusiastic College community gathered on Memorial Plaza for the much anticipated announcement.
As planned, the College family of students, alumni, faculty, parents, administrators, staff, and friends was first to find out the name.
From their midst, one name had emerged the clear and perfect choice. William Roberts McDaniel was, and is, family. Billy Mac, as he was affectionately known, was a student, alumnus, professor, vice president, treasurer, acting president, trustee, parent and grandparent. His commitment and dedication spanned 65 years, from his student days in the late 1870s until his death in 1942.
More than any one person before or since, McDaniel personifies the College that will now bear his name.
The trustees made McDaniel the official choice in a unanimous vote on April 20. The name was kept confidential until May 10 so that all 23,000 members of the College community could be invited to the Hill to share in the excitement and magic of the historic moment.
Nearly 2,100 members of the College community contributed to the list of 418 names. The 32-member College Committee on the Naming Initiative representing all of the College’s constituencies considered each name in terms of the criteria: "The name selected must carry the College into the future while respecting and honoring its past. It must have clarity, distinction and longevity and be a valid name for this unique private liberal arts college on a hill overlooking Westminster, Md."
In the end, there was only one choice. McDaniel College.
After the announcement, both on and off campus, the McDaniel College community celebrated its rich heritage and promising future. Students, alumni, trustees and faculty alike donned glow necklaces in green and gold and, for the very first time, gray T-shirts emblazoned with the McDaniel College logo. Music, food, and a spectacular fireworks display provided a festive backdrop as the College family launched a new era in style.
Click here if you would like to see a short feature on McDaniel's life (520kb). Flash plugin required.