HWS News
24 June 2025 • Alums A Legacy of Gratitude
Impactful time for Dr. Michael Dick ’70, P’09 and his family inspire gift to empower future generations in the sciences.
When Dr. Michael Dick ’70, P’09 was fresh out of Hobart and William Smith and beginning his career at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, he recalled how HWS set him apart from his peers.
“I felt that as a liberal arts student, I learned to listen, I learned to speak and I learned to write, all traits that I think made me a better clinical dentist down the road,” says Dick, a political science major.
Grateful for his HWS education and that of his daughter’s Lindsey Riter ’09, MAT ’10, Dick and his wife Susan Dick P’09 have generously pledged $100,000 to Further Together Campaign: The Campaign for our Third Century. The funding will help support the sciences at HWS, including the Fish Center for the Sciences, named in honor of Cynthia Gelsthorpe Fish ’82, L.H.D. ’23 and John F. Fish.
“I’m amazed at how much some people are able to-and do-give,” says Dick. “Susan and I are happy to do what we can to ensure the future for Hobart and William Smith is bright.”
Thinking fondly of his mentors, Dick recalls his connection to the late Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Kenneth Carle P’82, P’84, P’90, which first started during a campus tour. The two discovered they were from nearby towns in Vermont and a friendship was quickly started.
Their relationship blossomed over Dick’s time at HWS. He remembers how supportive Carle was while teaching “Organic Chemistry,” using humor and instilling a sense of resilience that helped him complete the course.
Carle also lent a hand when Dick was applying to dental school.
He was also inspired by the likes of the late Professor Emeritus of Political Science Thomas Millington, Professor Emeritus of Political Science Maynard Smith P’76 and Professor Emeritus of Political Science Joseph DiGangi. “They were all interesting and inspiring faculty who encouraged me to go into depth in all topics,” says Dick.
On campus, Dick was a member of Pi Lambda Phi, the Hobart golf team and Chimera honor society and served as a resident advisor.
After HWS, Dick taught history and biology at the Salisbury School in Salisbury, Conn., before attending dental school. He would work in his private practice in Rutland, Vermont for 41 years, retiring in 2016. He held a distinguished career, serving as president of the Rutland County Dental Society, achieving Fellowship status in the American Academy of General Dentistry and was a member of the American Academy of Dental Practice Administration. A leader in the industry, he spoke to dental organizations, study clubs and continuing education forums throughout the United States and Canada.
He was awarded the Vermont State Dental Society's Citizenship Award for service to the public outside the practice of dentistry. This included serving as a Rutland City School Board member for 17 years as board president.
As an alumnus, Dick received HWS’ Trustee Community Service Award.
When it came time for his daughter to attend college, Riter chose HWS and believed that like Dick, it helped her stand out among her teaching peers. She now serves as a curriculum, literacy coach in the Rutland City Public Schools and teaches courses on education at Vermont State University in Castleton, Vt.
HWS’ Master of Arts in Education program including “the instructors, the curriculum, the syllabi, the educational experiences she had were well supervised and more than just your normal teacher training programs,” says Dick.
Dick hopes his gift can support the budding scientists of the future through a comprehensive liberal arts and science education.
“Our experience at the Colleges have only been good,” says Dick. “Hobart and William Smith stands and needs to be a beacon for generations to come.”
