Daniel, more commonly known as Dan, Knorr has been a part of the Bloomsburg community longer than most. Knorr states “I started as an employee in 2015, so it’ll be 10 years this fall. I do have to jokingly say I started in daycare.” He proceeds to explain how his parents weren’t your typical college students, that they started in their thirties and as a five-year-old he would spend his time in the daycare Bloomsburg had at the time. “This was in the early 90s, I watched it change their lives and when I decided to go to college, I wanted to go here. It really wasn’t even a thought to me.” Knorr was a political science student, receiving his undergrad degree in 2007, and then later his MBA in 2016. Describing his time here as a student, Knorr says “I had so many great professors in the political science program who really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I loved my classes. I was involved in clubs and organizations. It’s what got me interested in running for office in Bloomsburg, it was all really fantastic.” This segways into something that stands out in his career – his period as the mayor of Bloomsburg.
Knorr served for two terms in office from 2008 to 2013. Running for his first term during his senior year, he describes his initial experience as amazing, yet difficult due to his age of 21 at the time. “I knew I wanted to get involved in the community and I didn’t know if running for office was realistic,” Knorr claims “frankly, I had a lot of professors who encouraged me and mentored me. So, I took the leap, and it was very rewarding. I really thought that was going to be my path, but then I started here in 2015 as the director of community relations for the university.”
As mentioned, Knorr started his journey as a staff member at Bloomsburg University in 2015 as the director of community relations. He notes the role applied a great mix of the knowledge he has of the Bloomsburg community, as well as the addition of being able to represent the university that he loves and is an alumnus for. During Knorr’s career, Bloomsburg University has gone through notable changes – the main one being the merger with Lock Haven and Mansfield. Voicing his experience, Knorr mentions that it was really challenging and difficult for all of us. Nonetheless, as he began getting to know students and faculty members from the other campuses, he states that he realized he cared as much about the success of students at all of our campuses; and that’s what he is here for. “As much as I had that initial connection with Bloomsburg University, and as an alum, growing up in this area what I’m really here for is just to pay it forward.” Knorr has recently been promoted to Chief of Staff. He describes the role as someone who can help the president “make sure they are able to stay laser focused on their strategic priorities that move the university forward.” The role deals with getting things to the right place and handling things such as emails, meeting requests, concerns and things people generally need help with. When asked what his plans for this position are, Knorr says it has been a learning experience. He also mentions how the new interim president, Jeffrey Osgood, has made him particularly grateful for the opportunity as he is committed to radical transparency and is working on rebuilding the culture at Bloomsburg. To conclude, Knorr states on his Bloomsburg past and future “I had people who encouraged me and watched me grow. I got to run a town because of people here that told me I was capable. My goal is to make sure that across all of our campuses, I am helping to sort of inspire students. It’s extremely rewarding.”