BiographyDr. John M. Hilpert, Seventh President of
Dr. John Hilpert’s four year tenure as president has resulted in significant growth and progress for Delta State University.
A strong proponent of year-long themes, Dr. Hilpert’s presidency has been marked by three clearly-defined, straight-forward initiatives – “The Best Regional University in America,” “The Year of Cleveland,” and “The Year of Health and Wellness in the Delta.”
“Results come by way of concerted efforts and focused attentions, and I believe these year-long themes force us to magnify those specific areas,” Hilpert explained. “I believe we can make lasting impacts this way.”
His tenure would confirm that, as during “The Year of Cleveland,” Delta State celebrated its 80th academic year recognizing the rich relationship it has had with its host community, Cleveland. The community rallied together in time of need, as after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast regions, community and campus citizens acted quickly to offer food, clothing, shelter, and financial help.
His most recent program, “Health and Wellness in the Delta” has allowed thousands access to free educational programs and testing, in the form of Delta Health and Wellness Day, a breast cancer awareness forum and Dr. Hilpert’s own leadership of the Delta Health Alliance (DHA), a collaborative partnership comprised of Delta State, Mississippi State University, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Mississippi Valley State University and Delta Council, aimed at promoting programs of health education, health research and increasing the availability and ease of access to health care in the Delta region. He will serve as president of the DHA through June 2008.
Under Dr. Hilpert’s leadership, Delta State has also experienced expansive development, most notably in the area of student enrollment, with the fall 2006 enrollment figures marking the largest in school history. Additionally, Delta State boasts a ten percent increase over a five-year enrollment period.
Other credits during his tenure include: Delta State’s accreditation was reaffirmed by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in December 2005; the University announced the conclusion of its highly-successful, five-year “Wings & Roots: Let our Legacy Soar” fundraising campaign, with the final tally capping at $37,025,042, an amount that tripled the campaign’s initial goal and stands as the largest collection of private support in the history of the university.
As shown in the Education Trust and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ recent research Delta State stands atop its peer group of institutions for the percentage of entering students who graduate within six years of first enrollment. The number of doctoral degrees conferred in 2004 doubled, while the number of undergraduate degrees conferred ranked tops among any other Carnegie master’s institution in the state.
Further evidence in the University’s commitment to becoming “the best regional university in America,” is the advent of five additional academic majors to Delta State’s already diverse curriculum, including athletic training and gaming management. Dr. Hilpert’s leadership has also seen heavy emphasis put toward the incorporation of classroom technology – a consistent theme on his presidential resume.
As president of Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, from 1997 until he assumed the presidency of Delta State, integrating technology into the university’s academic programs was a major goal. Northern received legislative designation as the Center for Statewide E-learning in 2001, and today Northern offers daily classes to more than one-third of South Dakota’s school districts from ten studios on the campus.
For seven years prior to his arrival at Northern, Dr. Hilpert served the University of South Dakota as Vice President for University Relations, and for an interim term as Acting President. He has also held senior administrative posts at Thiel College in Pennsylvania and at Finlandia University (formerly Suomi College) in Michigan, during the 28 years of his career in higher education.
Dr. Hilpert earned his doctorate – a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration – from the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Michigan. During his doctoral studies, he was honored with the prestigious Brubacher Award for scholarship by the faculty of the University of Michigan. He earned both a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also holds a two-year diploma from St. Paul’s College in Missouri.
Throughout his career, Dr. Hilpert has served various organizations on boards, task forces, and committees. He was appointed in 2004 by Governor Haley Barbour to serve on Mississippi’s Council for Education Technology. For seven years, Hilpert was a member of the South Dakota Workforce Development Council, a policy group appointed by that state’s governor. As a member of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, he has served as an appointee to both the Commission for the Rural/Regional Agenda and the Task Force on Teacher Education, as well as being elected to the organization’s Council of State Representatives for both South Dakota and Mississippi. Dr. Hilpert has served as a governing board member for two Chambers of Commerce, and has been co-chair of a hospital financing task force. He has testified before several state legislative committees and a select committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. Several of his articles have appeared in scholarly or other publications.
Dr. Hilpert and his wife, Pat, have been married for 35 years. Both grew up in Missouri, he in Cape Girardeau and she in St. Louis. They have three adult sons, Joshua (daughter Julia), Zachary, and Adam (wife Megan). Pat spent 27 years as a Registered Nurse, serving in different settings as a nurse administrator and educator. She is also a published photographer who has exhibited her creative works in a variety of galleries and won several awards, including one co-sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the South Dakota Department of Tourism.
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