Bret Danilowicz

Since President Bret Danilowicz assumed leadership of Radford University in July 2022, the university has taken significant strides to stabilize enrollment, increase access to higher education and improve student outcomes. Under his leadership, Radford reversed sliding enrollment, increasing students enrolled in 2024 and again in 2025. Three initiatives introduced by Danilowicz have spurred the university’s growth: Direct Admission, Tartan Transfer, and the Radford Tuition Promise (RTP), which provides free tuition for residents of Virginia with an aggregate household income of $100,000 or less. Over 2,000 students (37% of all undergraduate students) received the RTP benefit starting in Fall 2024. Under Danilowicz, Radford University has also bolstered its commitment to graduating career-ready students by expanding experiential-learning opportunities. In 2024-25, 82% of students completed work-based learning experiences before graduation, and 76% completed faculty-mentored undergraduate research. As a result, 94% of graduates are employed within 6 months of graduation, well exceeding the national rate. In addition, the university was honored as an Opportunity College and University – Higher Access, Higher Earnings by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, a recognition that only 16% of U.S. colleges and universities received, including just three of the 15 public universities in Virginia. Other significant accomplishments under his leadership include completing a $100 million capital campaign, garnering Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Top Adventure College recognition across 21 states in the mid-Atlantic/Southeast region, receiving a “green light” for free speech from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, and achieving an average GPA of 3.0 or higher for all of its D1 athletic teams. The university will launch its next strategic plan, “Shaping Tomorrow, Together,” in January 2026. Danilowicz has 25 years of leadership experience in higher education. Prior to Radford, he was provost and vice president for academic affairs at Florida Atlantic University, dean of arts and sciences at Oklahoma State University, dean of science and technology at Georgia Southern University and associate dean of science at University College Dublin. Danilowicz earned his B.S. biology from Utica College of Syracuse U., a Ph.D. zoology from Duke U., an M.A. education from The Open U., and an MBA from Georgia Southern U.