Joe Daniels, dean of the College of Business Administration, died after being struck by a vehicle on campus Tuesday night, according to an email from University President Michael Lovell.
“On behalf of the entire Marquette community, please join me in praying for the Daniels family and friends and our colleagues in the College of Business Administration,” Lovell said in the email.
The Milwaukee Police Department said Daniels was crossing the street at 10th Street and Wisconsin Avenue when a woman drove through a green light at a high speed and struck him, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Daniels, a faculty member at Marquette since 1992, was then taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead, Milwaukee Police Department Sgt. Sheronda Grant told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The driver was arrested for suspicion of operating while intoxicated, according to the Journal Sentinel.
Daniels was announced to be the dean of the College of Business Administration in January after serving as acting dean since May 2019.
All of College of Business Administration classes were cancelled Wednesday. A prayer service was held in the Alumni Memorial Union at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
A funeral and visitation Daniels will be held on Monday, Feb. 17 at the Church of the Gesu, according to a university news release.
The visitation will take place from 9-11 a.m, followed by a eulogy and a funeral Mass. A reception will be hosted at the AMU immediately after.
All College of Business Administration classes will be cancelled from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday so faculty, staff and students can attend the funeral.
Daniels’ family wishes to have gifts made to Marquette University to help establish a scholarship in his name. Gifts can be sent to the address University Advancement, PO Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI 53201-1881 or at marquette.edu/giveonline, according to a university news release.
Daniel Galasso, a first-year in the College of Business Administration, said he only knew of Daniels through an orientation speech, but it will feel different crossing the 10th Street intersection.
“It makes you feel really grateful about life,” Galasso said. “It like gives you a new perspective on what it’s like to be alive.”
Sarah Lafond, a junior in the College of Business Administration, said she was shocked by the news and felt that students were hit really hard.
“I can tell he probably did a lot for the business school and the students in it,” Lafond said. She said students really loved him.
Macey Shock, a sophomore in the College of Business Administration, said she attended the memorial. Daniels was her professor when she was a first-year student.
“He was my teacher freshman year and we got relatively very close,” she said. “I would always answer questions in class and he … always said I acted as a daughter toward him.”
Shock said Daniels was always involved with the students and she felt he genuinely cared about her as a student.
“A lot of people were impacted by him,” she said.
Sarah Feldner, acting dean of the College of Communication, sent an email to communication faculty asking faculty to provide support to each other and students.
“Everyone will be responding to this loss in their own way; I ask that each of you keep a look out for each other and for our students,” Feldner said in an email. “If you see a student or colleague who may be struggling, please let us know so that we can help connect them with appropriate support and resources.”
“We are heartbroken by the loss of @BizDeanMU, Dr. Joe Daniels,” Marquette tweeted. “He was a kindhearted man who touched everyone who knew him. We will miss him immensely.”
“We are so deeply saddened by the passing of our @MarquetteU colleague, Dr. Joe Daniels. I was blessed to call Joe not only a colleague but a dear friend. He will be missed by so many. Please keep his family, friends and our community in your thoughts and prayers,” Kris Ropella, Opus dean of the College of Engineering, stated via a tweet.
This story was written by Annie Mattea. She can be reached at [email protected].
