4 A botanist who brought in a variety of plants from every corner of the world gave Danilowicz the experience of hands-on learning. A physiology professor showed him how to dissect animal corpses, teaching the young Danilowicz to compare a cat with a lion cub as well as trace the evolution of skull bones from reptiles into birds. “She challenged us to a point where I still remember some of the comparisons in muscles and skeletons to this day,” he says. Danilowicz completed his undergraduate research project with a zoologist who loved marabunta — army ants. And that’s the teacher he remembers the most. “What I learned from him was intense compared to what I had learned in any other classroom setting at the time. “I carry a passion for undergraduate research with me to this day.” At 44, Danilowicz brings that passion to Oklahoma State University as its 12th dean of the College of Arts and Sciences since 1905. While Danilowicz may be one of the college’s youngest deans in history, he downplays that notation, saying, “My hair is gray early, so maybe I will fit in. Right now in my life I have a lot of energy and passion and I bring that with me to OSU. I am really looking forward to attacking this job with vigor.” Early encouragement Danilowicz grew up in Utica, N.Y., in a home that encouraged learning. His grandfather was a machinist who made parts for the first Apollo flights. His dad worked as a NASA theoretical nuclear physicist, designing engines for the future. After 12 years at NASA, Danilowicz’s dad wanted to teach in a populated university setting versus conducting research in an isolated laboratory. “Dad wanted to share what he was excited about so he got into a new field called computer science.” That was 1976. “It’s not so new now,” he acknowledges today. With all that exposure to higher education, Danilowicz understood early on that he would need a plan. At 10, he announced that marine biology was his calling. At 16, he prepared for graduate school. At 17, he skipped his senior year of high school to enroll at Utica College. In 1989, Danilowicz graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in computer science from Utica College. In 1994, he earned a doctorate in zoology from Duke University. While completing his doctoral work in Hawaii, he met his future wife Katherine Shannon, a seventh-grade science teacher. “Bret was smart enough to study a little fish found only in Hawaii,” says Kay, as she’s better known. Jason Caniglia / OSU Foundation Bret Dani lowicz shows off his catch dur ing a f ishing tr ip. We are sett l ing into St i l lwater and f inding great opportuni t ies for the fami ly. At this point, we are enjoying infusing our wardrobes wi th OSU orange.”
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