A well-rounded and exceptional two-sport student-athlete at SUNY Cortland, Lynn D. Hemink ’62 became an accomplished, civic-minded college and university administrator in both New York State and California.
Hemink graduated from Williamsville (N.Y.) High. He played four years of basketball at SUNY Cortland. Although only six-foot, three-inches tall, he averaged double-figure scoring throughout his varsity career and was an All-State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament Team member for the 1961 league champion Cortland squad.
In track and field, Hemink, who doubled as a sprinter, captured the New York State high jump championship in 1960, the same year he set the Cortland school record at six-feet, two inches.
An eight-time Dean’s List member, Hemink was vice president of both his senior class and Beta Phi Epsilon fraternity. He was inducted into Kappa Delta Pi, served with the House of Delegates, was a residence hall counselor, participated in the Modern Dance Group recital and was selected to Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.
Hemink graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in physical education from SUNY Cortland. He earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from SUNY Albany and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from Michigan State University.
He began his career as an instructor of psychology in SUNY Oneonta’s Education Department between 1963-65. From 1967-85, Hemink was an administrator at SUNY Oswego. He joined the staff there as assistant to the president and then served as associate dean for both arts and sciences and later professional studies. An assistant vice president for administrative affairs, he became the acting vice president before serving as vice president for administrative services from 1978-85. In 1979, he received tenure as associate professor of school psychology and counseling.
In 1985, Hemink headed west to California State University in Fresno as vice president for administration and external relations. Remaining at Fresno until his retirement in 2000, Hemink became vice president for university advancement, executive assistant to the president and then executive director of auxiliary services.
At Fresno, he developed the advancement program into one of the finest in the California State University system. He chaired the Athletic Corporation that grew from a $4 million annual budget to a $22 million annual budget. Under Hemink’s leadership, the university built a new softball stadium, expanded the football stadium to 42,000 seats including skyboxes and other amenities, and constructed a $103 million Save Mart Center with a 16,000-seat basketball arena.
After his retirement, Hemink raised hundreds of thousands of dollars as corporate campaign coordinator for the Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno. Over the years, he has served on the board of directors for San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust, the San Joaquin River Conservancy, the Fresno Regional Foundation, the Fresno County and City Chamber of Commerce, the Fresno Economic Development Council and the Oswego Hospital.
A long time Rotarian in New York and California, Hemink is a former president and still active member of the Fresno Audubon Society. He and his wife, Ellen, have two children: David and Elizabeth.
