By Alexis Young
Staff writer
On Sunday, St. Bonaventure announced David Hilmey, Ph.d., as the new dean of the school of arts and sciences.
Hilmey completed his graduate work at the University at Buffalo in 2001 and received his Ph.D in chemistry from The Ohio State University in 2006. From 2006 to 2008 Hilmey worked at Cornell as a postdoctoral associate.
After finishing his work at Cornell, Hilmey assumed his role as an associate professor of chemistry at Bonaventure, a position he has held since 2008.
In his eight years at Bonaventure, Hilmey coordinated the university’s regional science fair and STEM Camp (2012), served on the university planning commission, national scholarship advisory committee. He also served on the university ministries building steering committee, orientation steering committee, diversity action committee, academic program evaluation committee, university assessment committee. In addition, Hilmey is chair of the chemistry department along with tripling the size of the Honors Program since assuming the role of director in 2013.
As Hilmey steps into this new role, he will be functioning as a gateway between the students and staff and the upper levels of administration.
“Basically, your main responsibility is that you’re kind functioning in-between the faculty and the world of the education that occurs throughout the different disciplines of Arts and Sciences; but also functioning as a method of communication to upper administration — to the provost office, the president’s office; to make sure we have what we need,” Hilmey said. “The goal is to administer a program where you have the best experience possible for your students because that’s what we’re about.”
Hilmey intends to use his position to show the community what the students and staff of Bonaventure are doing throughout their experience at the school.
“The only thing I would really like to do is to be a facilitator to let the outside world know some of the great things that are going on in some disciplines and some majors because I think we do some really great stuff with our students,” Hilmey said. “And so I think that’s also a piece of my role, to be an advocate for the faculty and an advocate for the educational experience we have here and to make sure it’s as good as it possibly can be.”
Hilmey will continue to instruct classes, but he will step down as chair of the chemistry department and director of the honors program.
“Being someone who had taught a lot of students in class, and now being in the position to be that person there at the stage, there’s a great satisfaction I’m going to have in knowing a lot of students that are coming up across the stage,” Hilmey said. “So there will be a lot of pride in being up there and seeing these individuals graduate, so I’m really excited about that.”
youngam13@bonaventure.edu
