Daniel Carter Holsenbeck
Daniel Holsenbeck died peacefully with his family by his side on December 5, 2022, after an extended illness. Born in Jackson, Georgia, on November 12, 1942, he was raised in Austell, Georgia. Dan received a bachelor’s degree in math with honors from Auburn University (AU) in 1964 and was commissioned into the U.S. Navy. While serving five years as an Instructor and Director of Mathematics at the U. S. Naval Nuclear Power School in Bainbridge, Maryland, he earned a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University. He remained in the Navy reserves for 25 more years and retired as a Captain in 1994.
After active duty, he returned to Auburn to work four years before leaving for Florida State University where he was a Kellogg Fellow and earned his PhD in 1975. Dan then spent 8 years at Auburn University in Montgomery (AUM) and Auburn University before moving to the University of South Florida (USF) in 1983. In 1985, he joined the University of Central Florida (UCF) where he worked for over 34 years under five presidents, usually as Senior Counsel to the President and Director of Government Relations. His success and respect for his work resulted in his winning the 1999 Swede Johnson Service Award as the nation’s outstanding university state relations professional. In 2019, he retired as Senior Vice President Emeritus and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. Dan gave his time, talent, leadership, and resources to charitable organizations like Kids House of Seminole and Boys Town, to educational boards like FAMU College of Law Board of Visitors and Florida Southern College (FSC) Family Association, to military groups like AU NROTC Alumni Advisory Board, to government education groups like Florida Girls State, to business and community groups like chambers of commerce and homeowners associations, and to fraternal and honorary organizations like Kappa Alpha, Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. “Dr. Dan,” as he was known by many, loved teaching. It began in 1964 with a spectrum of math courses to nuclear power students. Later, he taught “Teaching and Testing Techniques” to NROTC instructors. As a civilian, he taught on a volunteer basis at AUM, AU, and UCF. At UCF, he taught both undergraduate and graduate public relations courses in the Nicholson School of Communication and Media where he twice received the Excellence in Teaching Award.
Besides being a lifelong stamp collector, Dan was an avid sports fan especially for those that were played at AU, UCF, and FSC. He was very supportive of his children’s interests in sports, scouting, and educational endeavors from their early childhoods through graduate school. As a proud uncle, he often included nieces and nephews with his children in travel opportunities. Dan cherished friends and colleagues with whom he worked and kept in touch with decades-old friends--like the AU Spades and the Nuclear Power School staff--always welcoming the reunions. He greatly valued the friendships he made in the Seekers Sunday School class at First United Methodist Church of Oviedo.
Dan was predeceased by his Navy veteran son, Alan Clampitt-Holsenbeck, and is survived by his wife, Joyce Clampitt, his daughter, Amy Clampitt-Holsenbeck, one brother, and several nephews and nieces. A “Celebration of Life” will be held at the UCF Alumni Center on Saturday, January 7, 2023, at 3:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to the Captain Daniel Holsenbeck NROTC Scholarship at Auburn University in Auburn, AL, or to the Clampitt Holsenbeck & Broughton-Kerr ROTC Scholarship at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL.