Meet President Rob Huntington
Dr. Robert H. Huntington became Heidelberg University’s 14th president on July 1, 2009. He brings to Heidelberg 15 years of experience in higher education and 25 years in the corporate world, having served in a variety of executive management roles at Dunkin’ Brands Inc. for more than 22 years. For the past 11 years, he has been a member of the board of trustees at Lasell College in Newton, Mass., serving on several of its major committees.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Middlebury College, Huntington earned his undergraduate degree in political science and German, his master’s degree in German literature from Middlebury’s University of Mainz (Germany) program, his MBA degree from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and his Ed.D. degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in higher education administration, planning and social policy.
14 Things to Know about Heidelberg’s 14th President
- Born: 1955 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raised Lake Oswego, Oregon.
- Professional background: Worked for more than 22 years at Dunkin’ Brands Inc., the franchisor of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins.
- Leadership style: “Listen, learn, lead,” adopted from Dunkin’ Brands’ Executive Chairman Jon Luther.
- Ohio roots: Mother born and raised in Lorain, Ohio.
- Family: Married to Dr. Susan McCafferty, a licensed clinical psychologist and a licensed lawyer, whom he met at their undergraduate alma mater, Middlebury College. They are the parents of Ashley, 11, and Aidan, 9.
- Higher education service: 11 years as a member of the Board of Trustees at Lasell College in Newton, Mass., and several years as a volunteer on other advisory boards and committees at the college. Alumni career counseling volunteer at each of his alma maters. Teaching fellow, instructor and teaching assistant at Harvard.
- Community service/philanthropy: Company campaign chair of the United Way. Volunteer for the Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation.
- Church service: Served as the Executive Board Chair of the Unitarian Universalist Church in Medfield, Mass. for three years.
- Passions: Poetry, music, New England Patriots, Harry Potter.
- Person(s) you admire most: My father, Bob, and my late father-in-law, John, because of their work ethics, integrity and giving spirits.
- Favorite sit-com of all time: M*A*S*H
- Favorite movie quote: “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, more than our abilities,” Dumbledore to Harry Potter.
- Favorite snack food: Blue corn organic tortilla chips with lime salsa.
- Which rules you more, your head or your heart? It’s a smoothie-like blend.