Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. David Herman has fielded an innumerable amount of questions from The Leader. From clubs to FREDFest to anything about students, he’s always been willing to have a conversation with us.
So before he retired, we felt it necessary to sit down with him one last time — but not to talk about official business. We wanted to talk about him. O.K., maybe we asked a question or two about FREDFest.
How did you know that right now is a good time for you to retire?
That’s a really tough question. It’s one I’ve struggled with for the last year or so. I turn 69 this summer, and I had originally planned to work a year longer. But there are some family things that I need to work with; I have four grandchildren. The institution is going through some changes right now because of enrollment, and it’s a good time for some new energy to be brought into the institution. There were a lot of different things that caused me to think that this is a good time [for me to retire].
Are there any memories from Fredonia that are going to stick with you for the rest of your life?
There’s so many memories in the Student Affairs world because every student has a different story and every initiative you undertake has a different story. I’m very proud that Monica White and I were able to bring the Keeper of the Dream program to Fredonia; I’m very proud that Erin Mroczka and I were able to start [Fredonia’s] Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society for first year students; and Mark Suida and I were able to bring Golden Key [International Honour Society] to campus … So there are those kinds of memories. Those are the things that you work a lot of hours on so you probably never forget it.
When you were 22, ready to graduate, did you see yourself going in the direction of administration and Student Affairs?
No. I got into student affairs work almost by accident. I was a geophysics major, and I was planning to become an oceanographer. My role model was Jacque Cousteau, and I had been working on lining up a commission in the Navy to work with the Naval Oceanographic Department. And my junior year, I happened to be invited to be a [resident assistant]. I became an RA sooner than I expected; [I had applied to be one my senior year]. [I was then encouraged] to get a master’s degree in student personnel.
Now, or even back when you were in college, do or did you have a favorite alcoholic beverage?
Not really. If I went out with a group of friends who were drinking beer, I’d probably drink beer. If they were drinking other things, I’d drink that. I’m not really a big drinker. But I’ll drink socially, so I’ll normally have a beer. A Coors Light would be my favorite beer. I used to like Molson Golden Ale. I don’t really have a favorite drink.
When you were in college, who was your favorite professor?
My favorite professor in college was a fellow named David Gold. He was South African. He had been selected to be the first geologist astronaut to land on the moon. He was in training to be an astronaut for many years, and the race to get to the moon took so long and training took so long that by the time they were ready to send a geologist to the moon, which wasn’t the first trip, he was too old to go. So he ended up teaching other astronauts the geology of the moon.
And I should say this: I went on a geology trip my senior year … He was one of the professors on that trip, and we watched the first moon landing together. So we got to — on a black and white TV, sitting on a mountain top in Montana … — he talked about everything we were seeing as we stepped foot on the moon. It was very cool.
So you think we really landed on the moon?
I think we did. Despite what the Russians say, I think we did!
How do you think the whole “canceling FREDFest” thing turned out? Are you seeing the results you were expecting?
I think people would be surprised [to know] how I feel about FREDFest — if they really knew me. There are things about FREDFest that I really liked: I liked that our students would say “farewell” to the seniors … But the problem with FREDFest was all the people it was attracting who weren’t here for the right reasons.
We didn’t really cancel FREDFest, we just spread it out. All the events that happened during FREDFest, all the university events, still happen. I think it’s going to take three or four years for it to go away. I hope, over time, students will begin to enjoy the university and their fellow students and not be so concerned about bringing people back for the wrong reasons.
Do you ever feel like your name has become synonymous with FREDFest?
I have a funny story to tell about that. I went to buy a new cell phone, and I went to the Verizon store. And when I go into the Verizon store, I look to see if there are any college-aged workers. I often say, “Are any of you Fredonia students?” And none of them were. So I signed up for the phone, and the girl [who was helping me] said “Oh! You’re the guy who canceled FREDFest!” She was a non-student — she happened to be local — she grew up in the town of Fredonia, and she blamed me for canceling FREDFest.
Does that bother you, or do you sort of get a chuckle out of it because you know it’s all for the greater good?
Actually, I did get a chuckle out it because my wife was there and she said “Yup, that’s him! He’s the one!” But the decision to change FREDFest and to try to make it more positive — many people were involved in that decision. I do chuckle because I don’t view it as canceled; I view it as we’re trying to reform it. It goes with the territory. Every Vice President of Student Affairs has had something on their campus that they’ve had to try and fix. It’s just one of those things.
Think you’re going to miss being here?
Absolutely. Well, I hope to be involved — at least for a few years — with different things, just as a volunteer. I’ll be staying in the area. I hope to come to more events than I’ve been able to because of all the different parts of the job; you can’t come to everything that you’d like to. So I hope to still be around, still be involved. It’s kind of cool that two of my predecessors are still in the area, as well, so whoever gets the new job — it will be four generations of vice presidents. We can have a group photo or something. That might be nice. So I hope to still be involved, and I will miss it, but there are parts of it I won’t miss: the 10-hour, 12-hour days, the seven days a week …
What is your favorite place to vacation?
New Smyrna Beach, Florida. I love the ocean; I like the beach. It’s warm in the spring. I wouldn’t want to be there in the summer, though. I’ll add a second to that. [My family and I] go to the backwoods in Canada frequently — a little island called Netawanda. We have a cabin up there, so that’s another favorite place. So kind of two extremes, right? Warm and cold!
What are you going to do in retirement?
I have lots of interests: I enjoy golf; I carve and paint birds; my wife and I love to travel — we have some plans to do some traveling. We love our four grandsons; their ages are from 1 to 9. And they keep saying “are you going to come see our soccer games?” So we’ll be spending more time with our grandchildren. My wife’s father is going to be 97 next summer, so we’ll be spending a lot of time with him. Lots of good things. And I kind of see this as — even though I’m going to miss this phase in my life because I’ve been doing this for 47 years now — I see it as another adventure. I hope it’s a good one!
Tags: David Herman, FREDFest, retirement