Note: This message was originally sent on November 13, 2018
Colleagues:
November 27 would have been Professor Emeritus Dan Brajcich’s 100th birthday, because of this, we choose to feature his story/scholarship below. Please also note the celebration taking place this Friday that includes a special moment to remember Dan, we have also launched an effort to raise additional funds for Dan’s scholarship to celebrate his birthday and honor his great legacy. Enjoy…
Daniel G. Brajcich Scholarship
Professor Emeritus Dan Brajcich joined the GU community in 1939, intending to stay for just a year, but never left. He earned three degrees from Gonzaga: bachelor’s (‘43), juris doctor (‘45), and master’s (‘70). He received Gonzaga's Distinguished Alumni Merit Award in 1980 and an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University in 1985. It takes a special teacher to inspire students in a field such as accounting, a field with a reputation for being dry and difficult. The teaching career he began at GU spanned over five decades. After he had officially retired, he still put in a few hours every day, Monday through Friday. “He'd be lost if he weren’t able to interact with students,” his wife of 58 years, Dorothy, said. Yet many of his former accounting students say they would have been the lost ones were it not for their mentor and friend. “I always told my students they could do anything if they just believed they could, and tried,” Brajcich once said. “I told them, don’t think the guy sitting at the desk beside you is smarter than you are. If he can do something, then you can too.” What thrilled him was to see his former students succeed in life. He tracked them all—and there were a lot to track. Brajcich probably taught more students at Gonzaga than any other professor and had taught under seven Gonzaga presidents. He tried to retire a few times but could not leave the place that had become a “home away from home.” In 1976, grateful alumni founded the Daniel Brajcich Scholarship to assist students interested in pursuing a business degree at Gonzaga University. Right up to his final day, Brajcich’s mind was as sharp as ever, and his sense of humor was in top form. “You have to laugh in life. Life is tough, and God gives everyone good and bad. You just need to keep smiling and laughing.” Brajcich passed away on March 18, 2004. He was a man who gave a whole new meaning to the term “college career.” Since its first award in 1982, an astounding 629 students have benefited from $1,232,068 in awards.