The family of the late Peter W. “Pete” Bretsky Jr., a former professor of paleontology and geological sciences at Stony Brook University, has created an endowed scholarship to support undergraduate students in geosciences. Bretsky’s son, Philip Bretsky, and his wife, Marian Henry, established the scholarship as a tribute to his father’s passion for learning.
“My dad was immensely curious academically,” said Philip Bretsky. He noted that his father often attended lectures outside his field, including history and Greek classes.
Peter W. Bretsky Jr. joined Stony Brook’s Department of Earth and Space Sciences (now the Department of Geosciences) in 1972. According to Philip Bretsky, “Since it was still a new institution, my father loved the academic freedom he had at Stony Brook.”
David Wrobel, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Stony Brook University, stated: “The Peter W. Bretsky, Jr. Scholarship in Geosciences is a wonderful testament to the dedication of our late professor to the Department of Geosciences and its students. It’s a wonderful opportunity to support our undergraduate students in exploring their intellectual curiosity, just as Professor Bretsky had, through research and scholarly work in geology.”
Further information about Professor Bretsky’s career can be found on SB Matters.
