Bryan Hobson Wildenthal, ex-UTD leader who helped bring school to forefront of higher ed, dies at 83

Dr. Bryan Hobson Wildenthal, a highly respected physicist who is best known in North Texas for for his influential work as an administrator at the University of Texas at Dallas for nearly three decades, died last month after a brief illness. He was 83.

A Texas native, Wildenthal was born in San Marcos in 1937 and graduated from Sul Ross State University in Alpine in 1958. He got his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Kansas six years later, and eventually went on to publish more than 200 research papers.

His younger and only sibling, Kern Wildenthal, said that despite their four-year age difference, the two grew up as best friends. Currently president emeritus of UT Southwestern Medical Center, Wildenthal said his brother was a brilliant physicist with an appetite for learning.

“He was just a warm person who enjoyed interacting with all sorts of different people, from the arts, from the sciences or humanities, from political arenas and from philanthropic interests as well,” he said.

After holding positions as professor and assistant professor of physics at several universities around the country, Wildenthal held a physics professorship at the University of New Mexico from 1987 to 1992, during which time he also was a consultant for Los Alamos National Laboratory.

It was from New Mexico that Wildenthal came to UTD, where colleagues say his work brought the school to the forefront of higher education.

Wildenthal started at UTD in 1992 as the university’s chief academic officer. At the time, the university was focused on attracting graduate students, and Wildenthal set his sights on expanding the undergraduate program. UTD credits him as instrumental in creating its core undergraduate curriculum in the 1990s.

He also came up with the idea to create a full scholarship program for National Merit Scholarship Program semifinalists, and worked with Margaret McDermott to establish the Eugene McDermott Scholars Program, named for the philanthropist’s husband. Eugene McDermott co-founded the Graduate Research Center of the Southwest, which became UTD.

Kern Wildenthal said his brother’s top priority in life, other than his family, “was to make UT-Dallas a great institution.”

“He was masterful at devising ways to market the institution as a place that bright, young students could really get a superb education,” he said. “He was just a brilliant administrator.”

Wildenthal served in many roles throughout his nearly three decades at the school. He served under four presidents during his time at the university, and was interim president between 2015 and 2016. In 2017, UTD’s Honors College was renamed in his honor to acknowledge his leadership and contributions to the university.

In 2019, Wildenthal returned as professor of physics and distinguished scholar in residence, roles he previously held. He taught classes up until a few months before his death.

UTD president Richard Benson, who assumed his position after Wildenthal’s interim appointment, called Wildenthal a wonderful friend with a wealth of knowledge about the school and community.

“The very first person I encountered when I pulled up [to the university for the first time] was Hobson,” he said. “We had the opportunity to just start to sit down and talk about things. It was wonderful. It was marvelous. He was an utterly brilliant man.”

Benson said Wildenthal was a voracious reader and that the two bonded over a shared interest in classical music and history. He recalled that when he moved to Dallas, Wildenthal suggested a couple of history books to help him learn about the area.

The recommendations were proof of Wildenthal’s varied interests and high intellect, Benson said.

“Here are two kind of out-of-the-way history books with the most unusual perspective, and it’s just something that Hobson could just toss off the top of his head,” he said. “When I took an interest in [history] he just knew of these things and could share them with me.”

Outside of his work at the school, Wildenthal received local, national and international accolades for his work in the community and sciences.

Among the honors bestowed upon him were the Dallas Historical Society’s Award for Excellence in Education and fellowships from Germany’s Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

Wildenthal was also a fellow of the American Physical Society and was recognized as a visiting distinguished scientist at nine different laboratories and universities around the world.

Wildenthal is survived by his wife, Adele; his five children, Rebecca Wildenthal, Bryan H. Wildenthal II, Lora Wildenthal, Kerry Wildenthal Fagelman and Andrea Wildenthal Hanson; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at The University of Texas at Dallas Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology Auditorium at 2 p.m. Oct. 14. To attend, RSVP online by Oct. 10.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College or the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies online.