Photo by Kyle Vertin
CONNOR HOFFMAN
Staff Writer
Over this break perhaps the biggest piece of news was the announcement that Dr. David Herman, the vice president of Student Affairs, would be retiring at the end of the Spring semester
An email on Jan. 15 from the President’s Office notified the entire campus of the news.
Herman started working at Fredonia in 2001, and he is retiring from his position this June. He has had a long history of working to help better student lives at the various universities he has worked at.
He started his career in higher education in 1969, when he accepted a position as a residence hall director at Kent State University. He accepted a position as the Director of Residence Life at the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 1975. He came to Fredonia in 2001, and he has led many successful programs in the time leading up to his decision to retire.
“It was a lot of reasons really. I’m getting older and it’s getting a little harder to work 50–60 hour weeks.” said Herman.
He said that he just wants to do some other things in life and experience the “next chapter.” He will use the free time to spend more time with his family and to enjoy having some downtime.
University President Virginia Horvath mentioned that one of the things Herman has done well in his position is actively communicating with the students.
“He is actually out there willing to talk with students when there are issues [or] when they have problems,” said Horvath. She said a prime example of this were the FREDFest forums that he held to communicate with students.
Herman said that one of the most challenging parts of being the vice president is having to get the support and resources you need to get to the objective you’ve set for your department. He said that with the financial situation of less state funding and shrinking enrollment, it has become quite challenging.
His least favorite part has been dealing with crises that occur when someone gets hurt or hospitalized.
Herman said that the main reason he likes being in charge of Student Affairs is the fact that he deals with a variety of different problems and issues and not just the same one.
“The wonderful thing about Student Affairs work is it’s different everyday. You come to work and you have a list of things but things pop up, emergencies happen … everyday is a different challenge and a different opportunity,” said Herman.
Student Affairs includes various departments such as Judicial Affairs, the Student Association, Financial Aid, the Counseling Center and Residence Life.
Some of Herman’s accomplishments include bringing several honor societies to the campus, helping design and rebuild several campus buildings, and obtaining grants. One of his biggest accomplishments is the Keeper of the Dream Scholarship that he started in 2013.
“It’s a scholarship that is dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of equality and advocacy for people” said Horvath.
In order to be awarded the $4,000 students must show values that are similar to Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech, according to the Fredonia website.
“He has done a wonderful job of advocating for students in everything that he has done,” said Horvath. She mentioned that Herman has always been very heavily involved in the campus with all of the things he does.
Horvath and the University Senate will be forming a committee to soon begin a nationwide search for a new vice president. They hope to have a new vice president by the end of the year.