A generosity of time, talent and treasure defines the life of Danielson. After graduating from IU in 1945 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and completing a graduate fellowship in mathematics at Columbia University a year later, she began to lay the groundwork for making volunteering her profession.
Her community, state, church, sorority and university have reaped the benefits of her decision. For her contributions to her community, she was named New Castle Citizen of the Year in 1991. She and her husband Donald made a challenge gift to the citizens of Henry County to raise funds for a building that would expand IU East's outreach in Henry County.
As a tribute to their efforts to bring higher education to more students, that building, dedicated in 1999, is named the Danielson Center. Her devotion to Delta Gamma sorority and IU's Theta chapter resulted in her receiving the Anchor Award, Delta Gamma's highest award for fraternity service.
For more than 50 years, she has been generous in her support of the university, including the Wells Scholars program, athletics, the School of Medicine, the arts, class campaigns, the IU Student Foundation, the Alumni Association and the endowment campaign for the Bloomington campus. Her contributions were recognized with the Thomas Hart Benton Mural Medallion in 1998.
