Contributions made by Daniel surpass those he has raised for Harding When Floyd Daniel mentioned to a friend in a letter that he was interested in working in Christian education someday, he never dreamed that he would be doing exactly that only months later. You see, his friend 's name was Jimmy Allen, and the year was 1965, the same year that Dr. Clifton Ganus Jr. became president of Harding College. "One day, Jimmy called me and said he had set up an interview with Dr. Ganus for me," Daniel said, smiling as he remembered. "It was Wednesday and the interview was on Saturday, but I lived 12 hours away, near Mobile, Alabama. " One thing led to another, and in July, 1965, Daniel found himselfworking at Harding as director of development. This year, Daniel has been working in this field for 30 years; however, many students know nothing about him or his job. Although an important part of Harding University, the advancement office works in the background and is indirectly involved in campus life. Daniel's work consists basically of raising money. Because Harding is a private university, tuition alone does not balance the budget. That is where Daniel's work begins. "We have to raise an additional $1 ,000 per student every year ," he said. James W. Carr Executive Vice President In his 30 years at Harding, Daniel's work has been of similar nature, but his title has changed. In 1972, he became vice president for development; in 1984, his title was changed to vice president for university relations; and since July, 1993, Daniel has been senior vice president for university relations. Traveling is a central part of Daniel's work. "During the first two years at Harding, Ivisited with 750 families," Daniel said. He doesn't keep track of the amount of time he is gone anymore, however. "It would be almost depressing," he said. Still, he emphasizes that it has always been important to him not to be gone so much that he neglects his family or the church. According to Daniel , his greatest encourager, especially at first, was his wife, Juanita. While he is visiting families all around the country, Daniel 's main task is establishing and sustaining relationships. His views about this work have changed over the years. "During the first 15 years I was at Harding, I thought I had been hired to raise money," Daniel said, "but then I began to see it differently. My work is to raise friends for God; God makes the difference here. " Daniel tells people about the wonderful opportunities young people have to get a Christian eduC. Floyd Daniel cation at Harding. "When families identify with God 's work in this area, they are glad to help support Harding," he said. Daniel has been encouraged tremendously by the way people have supported Harding. Some families have been helping the entire 30 years, and their gifts have increased from year to year. Daniel said, "One family pledged to give $15,000 over the first three-year campaign. For the following campaign, they increased the amount to $100,000 and then to $1 milion over five years. They ended up giving more than $2 million without even mentioning it. You just can't work with that kind of a family without God changing you. " Although Daniel deals with the financial side of the institution, his attitude of humility and faith is a great example of spirituality. He discredits his part in the millions of dollars he has raised for Harding in the past 30 years. "That's between them and God," he said. Daniel's most important goal in his work is to lift up Jesus and to give glory to God. ''I'm not concerned about being successful in raising money," he said, "but I do care about being faithful to God, because He is the one who gives the increase." - Diana King Gary Elliott Neale T. Pryor Senior Vice President Vice President for University Vice President for Academic Advancement Affairs Lott R. Tucker Vice President for Finance
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