Tom Hess, Ph.D.
returns to the classroom In May 1996, looking for a job after completing his Ph.D. in chemistry at Texas A&M, Tom Hess jokingly advertised for an “elusive permanent position” in the alumni newsletter of Centre College in Danville, Ky., where he had graduated 10 years before. Much to his surprise, a call came quickly and brought him to Pikeville. “When I was an undergraduate at Centre College, my faculty advisor was a guy named Bill Owens,” said Hess, a long-serving dean of UPIKE’s College of Arts & Sciences and also a professor of chemistry. “Owens left Centre in 1984, and he became president of Pikeville College. I didn’t know any of this at the time. Now I was getting a call out of the blue from Owens, who was having a hard time filling positions in chemistry.” Hess speculates that Owens had called chemistry professors at Centre, and they told him about Hess’ notice in the newsletter. Two weeks later, Hess met Owens in Louisville to talk about Pikeville College. Being a Louisville native, Hess had never visited the far eastern part of Kentucky and says, “I met some wonderful people there, and they made me an offer, so I started as a professor of chemistry at Pikeville College in the fall of 1996.” In 1996, Pikeville College was a
liberal arts school of about 700 students. But Hessʼ arrival coincided with the founding of the medical school in 1997, the expansion of faculty and, later, the institutionʼs transition from college to university status. Hess’ career has tracked the growth of UPIKE and also some of its tough times. “I thought I would be here for about five years,” he says, “but I really got into it. I liked teaching and working with students, whether teaching or advising. It’s funny because when I started we had cut down the chemistry department by one position. I jumped in with both feet, never having really taught before, except some labs as a graduate assistant. I loved it; the students make it fun.” Along the way, he got involved in the accreditation process. He chaired the Educational Program Committee, and then-Dean Wally Campbell sent him to conferences.
He became the division chair for math and science in 2004 while still teaching full time. His administrative role expanded quickly. “I remember that 2008-2009 was an interesting year,” Hess says. “It was a tough time across higher education. There was the stock market crash of 2008; gifts were down. Our undergraduate program had 635 students. Michael Looney was president. At an accreditation meeting in San Antonio, he invited me to breakfast, and as we talked about the university, he invited me to be Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College.” Hess has a vivid memory of one of his first meetings with Board Chairman Terry Dotson: “Dotson said, ‘Every time we go below a student-faculty ratio of 16-to-1 we’re in trouble.’ At the time, we were 11.8-to-1; everything was tight. We rolled up our sleeves, and Continued on page 32
SPRING/SUMMER 2019 | UPIKE MAGAZINE
9
