UIAA at Urbana: Educator of the Year

John H. Hedeman
2008 Educator of the Year

A lifelong educator, John H. Hedeman, PhD ’93 ED, was hired in 2003 as an assistant dean to design, implement and administer an undergraduate honors program in the University of Illinois College of Business. Five years later, the Senior 100 Honorary includes six graduates of the first class of that program, which offers a leadership challenge to improve the student experience of all business undergraduates. So far in his brief tenure at the College of Business, Dean Hedeman has created the Business Honors Program and taught underclassmen in it; revised the college’s James Scholar program; revived the moribund chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma; and led student trips to Germany, Japan, Korea and Brazil. In 2006 he was honored by the college with the Emerson Cammack Award for outstanding service to undergraduate students.

Prior to joining the College of Business, Hedeman was principal and director of the University of Illinois Laboratory High School in Urbana for five years; for 14 years he held various teaching, counseling and administrative positions, including dean of students at Champaign’s Parkland College. Hedeman started his career in education at McDonogh School in Maryland, where he was a teacher, coach, houseparent, counselor and head of upper school.

Hedeman earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Princeton University, a master’s degree in education from Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in education from the University of Illinois. His wife, Anne D. Hedeman, is a UI professor of art history and creator of the world’s greatest hot chocolate sauce, a fixture at the annual dinner for business honors students. His daughter, a graduate of Uni High, is a freshman studying English and creative writing at Princeton.

Known for his energetic, optimistic and enthusiastic attitude, Hedeman pursues several passions in life, including Paris, hiking, Frank Sinatra, the Baltimore Orioles and incorporating good ideas from students into his programs. In the future, he hopes to write a television series with his daughter about the United Nations and compile a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Senior 100 Honorary
Student Alumni Ambassadors