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    Dan Parman

    Dan Parman

    Dan Parman, Stone Oak visionary and philanthropist changed lives at UTSA

     

    Dan Parman, longtime UTSA supporter and visionary behind master-planned San Antonio community Stone Oak passed away at his home April 9, from natural causes. He was 81.

    With the development of Stone Oak, Parman changed the way thousands of San Antonians live and shop. But he will also be remembered as a philanthropist who donated to organizations and causes dear to his heart, including UTSA, where he generously gave $1 million to establish the Dan Parman Endowed Chair in Applied Mathematics, and recently gifted a 3-D printer to the College of Sciences.

    "The great, great love of his life was philanthropy," said his longtime friend Margaret Patterson, in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News..

    Parman was born in Uvalde, Texas. His father was a scientist who studied insects and his mother was a school teacher. After graduating from college with a degree in physics, he served in the U.S. Air Force where he began a life-long love of planes. He began his real estate career in the 1960s with a gift, developing the first subdivision in Uvalde and deeding a portion of land to the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District.

    After noticing the growing population northward of San Antonio, Parman relocated to San Antonio and purchased 5,000 acres of ranchland, with the idea of creating the city's first master-planned community. The purchase was the largest and most complicated real estate deal in Bexar County history. Today, Stone Oak is a bustling area with populations growing from 17,355 in 2000 to 43,569 in 2015.

    As Parman's real estate career continued to flourish so did his philanthropy. An advocate for math and science education, it was at UTSA where he established an endowed chair in applied mathematics and gave generously to the San Antonio Life Science Institute. Better known as SALSI, the institute is a partnership between UTSA and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, whose mission is to support joint research projects.

    "Mathematics is the foundation of all science and essential to our daily lives, whether baking a pie or building a nuclear reactor," recalled Parman.

    "During one of his last visits to campus, Parman toured a lab with a group of physics and astronomy students in the College of Sciences. They gifted to him a 3-D printed model of a carbon nanotube. The keepsake was created on a newly installed 3-D printer, which Parman purchased for the College of Sciences. During his visit, he also met with Professor Changfeng Gui, who holds the inaugural Dan F. Parman Endowed Chair in Applied Mathematics.

    "UTSA could not ask for a better friend and champion than Dan Parman," said George Perry, Dean of the College of Science at UTSA. "His generosity affirmed his strong commitment and passion for the academic success of our students and the enrichment of UTSA and the San Antonio community. He will be greatly missed."

    Parman is survived by his three sons, Bryan D. Parman, Bradley J. Parman and Kevin M. Parman; sister, Jane Parman Super; as well as numerous nieces, nephews and friends.

    - Yvonne Zamora Byrd

    Dan Parman
    Dan Parman (far right) holds a 3-D printed model of a carbon nanotube. The item was gifted to him after
    taking a tour with a group of physics and astronomy students in the College of Sciences. The keepsake
    was created on a newly installed 3-D printer, which Parman purchased for the College of Sciences.