Brenau University has named the Carole Ann Daniel College of Education. The naming honors Trustee Carole Ann Carter Daniel, WC ’68, and the lifetime of support she and her family have provided to Brenau, as well as a current gift from the Carroll E. Daniel Family Foundation.
“This transformative donation will substantially enhance Brenau’s educational programs, further elevating the College of Education’s already exceptional academic reputation. It will also allow us to expand opportunities for our students,” Brenau President David L. Barnett, Ph.D., said. “We are profoundly grateful for the opportunity to honor Carole Ann Daniel’s remarkable legacy in this meaningful way, acknowledging her significant and continuing impact on our institution.”
The Carole Ann Daniel College of Education is Brenau’s second-largest college, with nearly 600 students enrolled in its undergraduate school and graduate school. The college offers four undergraduate degrees, two master’s degrees, a specialist degree, a doctoral degree and multiple graduate-level endorsement certificates. The online Doctor of Education program has had 74 graduates since it was started in 2019 and currently has 240 students enrolled across six concentrations.
The funds will be used to support the college, including facility upgrades, programmatic and faculty support funds, fellowships and scholarships, and other investments in Brenau’s education program.
“The college is thrilled to be given this opportunity to recognize the work of Carole Ann Daniel by continuing to build exceptional learning experiences for Georgia teachers of all levels,” Kelley Brock-Simmons, Ph.D., dean of the Carole Ann Daniel College of Education and director of the Doctor of Education program, said. “The college will nurture and prepare teachers to deliver high-impact instruction to students in Hall County and beyond, expanding the impact of the Daniel family’s generous gift of time, treasure and talent to Brenau.”
Daniel earned a degree in social sciences from Brenau Women’s College and served as president of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority and a member of the Panhellenic board while at Brenau. After graduation in 1968, Daniel began the first of two stints as a teacher with Gainesville City Schools in a career in education spanning 25 years. During that time, she taught history and life skills at Gainesville Middle School.
Since 1975, Daniel has been active in Carroll Daniel Construction Co., the family business founded by her father-in-law. Over the past six decades, she has played an instrumental role in the growth of the business into one of the nation’s top-ranked engineering and construction services firms.
Daniel was named 2025 Woman of the Year by the Rotary Club of Gainesville and has been honored as a Junior Achievement Northeast Georgia Business Hall of Fame laureate. She currently serves as a Trustee of Brenau University and has served on the boards of directors for the North Georgia History Center, Humane Society of Northeast Georgia, Quinlan Visual Arts Center, American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women, and Sisu.
She established the Carroll Edmondson Daniel Endowed Scholarship at Brenau in honor of her late husband and co-chaired the university’s $40 million ForeverGold campaign. The Daniel Pavilion on Brenau’s historic campus, which is an integral part of the university’s “First Steps” tradition, is named after Daniel. She is a recipient of the Service to Brenau Award and a 2022 recipient of Brenau’s Alumni Hall of Fame Award.
