Dr. John M. Hilpert, 64, announced this morning that he will retire after nine years as Delta State University president. “Every day at Delta State I have recognized my privilege to serve as president of one of the finest regional universities in the nation,” Hilpert said. “The institution is a sound organization built on a tradition of service.” Hilpert plans to retire on December 31, 2012, but has agreed to serve until such time as a new president is in place.
Hilpert was named the university’s seventh president September 1, 2003, and accepted this position following six successful years as president of Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. During his 35-year career in higher education administration, he has also served as executive vice president and acting president of the University of South Dakota and as a vice president of Thiel College in Pennsylvania and executive assistant to the president of Suomi College (now Finlandia University) in Michigan.
Hilpert set the tone for his Delta State presidency by asking at his inauguration that everyone on campus work toward creating the Best Regional University in America. During Hilpert’s tenure, Delta State has become a summer institute site for Teach For America, one of nine across the nation. The university has met budgetary and other organizational goals, and faculty leaders participate in institutional governance. The university’s relationship with its community is strong, and the DSU Foundation has experienced fund raising success. Each year the campus community selects and celebrates a theme with special programs – examples, the Year of Health and Wellness, the Year of Delta Heritage, and the Year of the Student – and the institution’s engagement with the region continues to grow. Most recently, Delta State became the first public university campus in Mississippi to adopt a tobacco-free policy and the university won a best practices award for its efforts in energy conservation.
Under Hilpert’s leadership, the university has experienced a great deal of success. Other accomplishments include:
- Creating the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.
- Partnering with the local community to attract a Grammy Museum to Cleveland.
- Creating an educational leadership program that was named by Stanford University as one of eight programs of excellence in the nation.
- Launching the Delta Music Institute.
- Opening both the Center for Global Information Systems and the Thad Cochran Center for Rural School Leadership.
- Completing several new facilities on the campus including Kent Wyatt Hall, the Dorgan Center, the Thigpen Annex, the Crawford Building, Foundation Hall, University Apartments, the Central Mechanical Plant, and a half-mile lighted walking track.
- Partnering with the Sanders family to construct the Hazel and Jimmy Sanders Sculpture Garden.
- Achieving the designation “Tree Campus USA” awarded by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
- Winning a national championship in baseball.
- Being recognized by the Southern Regional Education Board as one of fifteen public colleges and universities outperforming most similar institutions in promoting and maintaining a culture of student success.
Others have recognized Hilpert’s leadership skills. Notably, he is serving his third term as Chairman of the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the regional accrediting body for more than 800 postsecondary institutions. He was elected president in 2008 of the Mississippi Association of Colleges and Universities. Between 2003 and 2011, he served as board president for the Delta Health Alliance, a regional non-profit corporation. Similar opportunities with other local, statewide, and national organizations have come his way throughout his career.
Hilpert recognizes the contributions of many people toward the university’s success. “Delta State University is an exceptional institution because of its people,” said Hilpert. Whatever accomplishments there have been during my nine-year presidency are to the credit of faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends of the university.”
Hilpert has the distinction of being the longest serving institutional executive officer among the group of eight currently leading Mississippi’s public universities. During Hilpert’s term, five individuals have served as Commissioner or Interim Commissioner of Higher Education. “I have appreciated the unwavering support of Dr. Hank Bounds, his predecessors in the office of Commissioner of Higher Education, and all those who have served as trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning,” Hilpert commented. “My job for the next several months will be to keep the university moving along its stable course while the board and the campus community search for the next president.”
“Dr. Hilpert successfully led the university during one of the toughest financial periods in its history while maintaining quality instruction at Delta State,” said Dr. Stacy Davidson of Cleveland, former member of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning. “He has been steadfast in his desire to promote the university, and we will miss his involvement in our community.” Dr. Hank M. Bounds, Commissioner of Higher Education, added “Dr. Hilpert has guided the university with a steady hand in uncertain times. While his retirement will certainly create a void at Delta State and within the university system, we respect his decision and thank him for his service. We wish him well in all future endeavors.”
Hilpert and his wife Pat have been married since 1971. They have three adult sons, Joshua (attorney), Zachary (university faculty), and Adam (farmer), and two granddaughters, Julia and Abby. Pat is retired from a 27-year career as a registered nurse and nursing administrator. She is an avid photographer and has won recognition for her work, including an award from the Smithsonian. During the Hilperts’ time in Mississippi, Pat has served as a reader member of the editorial board of The Clarion Ledger.
In retirement, the Hilperts will split their time each year between homes in the Delta and in South Dakota. “Retirement opens the door to new opportunities for my wife, Pat, and me,” said Hilpert. “We are looking forward to new adventures, as well as more time with our children and grandchildren. Though we have anticipated retirement for many years, it is still a strange feeling to reach this milestone.”
