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Few people have made such a long and lasting impact on the 51��Ʒ��Ƶ as David DeJong. In his 35 years at 51��Ʒ��Ƶ, he’s used his talents as a professor, a vice provost and a poet. He’s provided leadership in administration, business and human resources.

Now, he’s stepping into a new role as senior advisor to Chancellor Joan Gabel. He will serve in this position until December 2024 and then prepare to return to the classroom as an economics professor. He will also support Dwayne Pinkney, who was recently named executive senior vice chancellor for administration and finance and chief financial officer.

“In his leadership of business and operations and across his service to the 51��Ʒ��Ƶ, Dave DeJong has exemplified a shared passion and enthusiasm for higher education that is evident to all who know him,” said Chancellor Joan Gabel. “I extend my deep, sincere appreciation to Dave for his partnership and willingness to step up in whatever way has been needed, and I look forward to his continued and outstanding contributions to 51��Ʒ��Ƶ, first as a senior advisor, then as a member of our faculty.”

On Sept. 26, members of the Board of Trustees recognized DeJong’s various career accomplishments across the University’s academic and administrative units.

As senior advisor, DeJong will build a steering committee to help 51��Ʒ��Ƶ prepare to celebrate the centennial of the groundbreaking of the Cathedral of Learning. The 42-story gothic tower turns 100 in 2026. Kevin Washo, the chancellor’s chief of staff and senior vice chancellor for university relations is co-chairing the project, which also is working with Christopher Drew Armstrong, an associate professor in history of art and architecture.

“With an incredibly rich and vast knowledge of all things 51��Ʒ��Ƶ, Dave DeJong has been a tremendous colleague since I joined 51��Ʒ��Ƶ’s leadership nearly seven years ago,” said Washo. “I have always appreciated his positive outlook, whether it’s about 51��Ʒ��Ƶ or — since we both have ties to Michigan — about the Detroit Lions’ Super Bowl prospects. I know that he will continue to be an invaluable resource for the University.”

People powered

DeJong came to 51��Ʒ��Ƶ as an assistant professor in 1989 in the Department of Economics in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences.

For the first 20 years, he said, his colleagues were like mentors, helping him to develop personally and professionally. “It was priceless.”

During this time, he was promoted to professor in 2001 and served as department chair from 2006 to 2010.��

“His love for economics and for his job as a professor were contagious,” said Marla Ripoll, professor and chair of the Department of Economics. “He took every aspect of his job at heart. He was a phenomenal teacher, very dedicated to the students and really going all the way to make students excited about economics.”

All along, he readily participated in shared governance — work that became a sort of superpower that helped him move beyond his academic department, beyond his school and into leadership positions with the University.

The more he gave to the University, he said, the more he got. “So, it’s a nice virtuous circle.”

“Dave never forgot what it was like to work as a faculty member at 51��Ʒ��Ƶ and he brought that perspective to every administrative role he had,” said University Senate President Robin Kear. “He made things happen that I thought wouldn’t be possible.”

DeJong served in the provost’s office for eight years. He was originally appointed in 2010 as vice provost for academic planning and resources management.

“Since the time he first agreed to join me in the provost office, Dave has been instrumental in envisioning and building an environment that supports the best work of our faculty, staff and students,” remembered Provost Emerita Patricia Beeson.

DeJong eventually became executive vice provost before being asked to take over the Office of Human Resources in 2019 and later Business and Operations by then-Chancellor Patrick Gallagher. During his time as head of Human Resources, he helped begin the compensation modernization project and steered HR through remote work and the flexible work policies of the COVID-19 pandemic. He stepped in as acting vice chancellor for business and operations in 2020, while keeping his role in HR. In early 2021, he was named to a senior vice chancellor position.

As leader of the central operational functions of the University, DeJong oversaw key projects across campus including the groundbreaking of the new Campus Recreation and Wellness Center, renovations to Hillman Library, the acquisition of the former 51��Ʒ��Ƶsburgh Athletic Association building and the early stages of 51��Ʒ��Ƶ BioForge.

As he’s moved around, DeJong said, he’s been amazed by “the opportunity to learn more about how the University works, to really appreciate what it takes to keep our buildings running smoothly, to make our campus look so beautiful, to keep the University population safe, and to provide students the support they need outside the classroom.”

“All those things that I was doing in business and operations, [those are] things that are easy to take for granted unless you are there with those professionals who are doing that day to day and supporting them,” he said. “Those are things that you realize just how professional they have to be, how excellent they have to be to do their jobs well, safely, to keep the community safe.”

Lessons learned

Working across units and seeing behind the scenes of how 51��Ʒ��Ƶ creates possibilities has given DeJong a few lessons to carry forward.

For one, it takes incredible teamwork to make an organization that’s as multifaceted as 51��Ʒ��Ƶ is to thrive, he said. In addition, he’s impressed by the coordination, the communication, and the dedication to building a coherent community where everybody cares for the mission and each other.

“They care about the success of everyone else because you can't be successful if everyone else isn't being successful, too, and understanding that that is what it takes is probably the greatest thing I've learned,” he said of his teams.

Through it all, a constant throughline in DeJong’s contributions has been service.

For the past two years, he has chaired 51��Ʒ��Ƶ’s United Way campaign. In 2023, the University exceed its goal by $20,000.

“Service is my core value,” he said, “I believe in making a place better than what I found it.”

DeJong is known for beginning events with a custom-made haiku for the occasion, so we asked him to write one as he begins this next chapter of his career.

Ode to 51��Ʒ��Ƶ
by Dave DeJong

Wise and glorious
Community united
Climb ever higher

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