by Julie Lineback
The University of West Georgia is pleased to announce the Hardy and Merryl McCalman Foundation recently made a donation to the University of West Georgia Foundation for the David H. Hovey Faculty Fellowship at the Richards College of Business. The endowment honors Dr. David H. Hovey, Jr., former dean of Richards College of Business at UWG, who passed away on August 25, 2013, at the age of 71.
Dr. Faye McIntyre and Mary Covington
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the fellowship on April 16, 2014. Beginning in fall 2015, the David H. Hovey Faculty Fellow will be appointed annually, and preference will be given to those working in the discipline of strategic management.
"Fellowships play a key role in academic success because it allows our faculty to perform study and research that benefits not only the university and our students, but the greater community as well,” says UWG President Kyle Marrero. “This donation is an appropriate tribute to someone so dedicated to business education and to the university."
Dr. Faye McIntyre, dean of the Richards College of Business and Sewell Chair of Private Enterprise, explained that having an endowed position would provide valuable resources that are not received through state funding or tuition.
“From a faculty perspective, there’s a lot of prestige to having a named professorship and having David’s name associated with it,” Dr. McIntyre says. “It will help us retain our current faculty. In the future when we want to hire new faculty, this will be something that could also be an excellent incentive for bringing a strong person who has the credentials and who would make David proud.”
As a young adult, Dr. Hovey served in the U.S. Army and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, as well as his Ph.D., from Louisiana State University. From 1984-1999, he was a professor of management and business systems and also the dean of the Richards College of Business.
Colleague and Professor of Economics Leland Gustafson recalled when Dr. Hovey arrived at West Georgia in 1984. The college had established the Executive Roundtable four years earlier to help enhance the professional and personal growth of business students. The group, which consisted of faculty members, students and business leaders, was struggling when Dr. Hovey took the helm as dean.
“David immediately put his energy behind reviving the organization,” Dr. Gustafson remembers. “For the next 25 years, he was the force that kept the ERT alive and a dynamic organization that really provided for an exciting interaction of students, faculty and local business leaders. It was an accomplishment that still attests to the leadership that he provide to the Richards College of Business.”
In 1999, he retired his position as dean and became the director of the Center for New Business Ventures until 2002. From 2002-2008, he was a full-time professor and taught part time from 2008 until he passed away in 2013.
Dr. Hovey was well respected in the community and among his students.
“Dave loved the Richards College of Business, his two daughters and traveling on his motorcycle,” Dr. McIntyre says. “His passion was truly helping others. He cared for students and seemed to know how to motivate them beyond the classroom. He was active in the community and a long-time member of Rotary. Dave was a wonderful role model for younger faculty, and he was a tremendous example when I became dean.”
Catherine Gordon, director of community outreach at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Carrollton, recollected one Christmas when Dr. Hovey volunteered to help provide holiday cheer to children in need. He was matched with a family of twin newborns.
“When gift delivery day came, Dave showed up with it all – two high chairs, two stationary walkers and two Tickle Me Elmo dolls – wrapped and tagged for the twins who would never know him as their first Santa,” Catherine shares. “Dave was okay with that.”
On the day of Dr. Hovey’s funeral, the twins’ mother coincidentally was there helping the organization’s college intern with a project. She asked who had passed and was told it was her children’s first Santa.
“She wept, re-living the precious memory of that Christmas years ago, finally knowing who had made it possible,” Catherine recalls.
Mary Covington ’93, daughter of Hardy and Merryl McCalman and chair of the McCalman Foundation, said Dr. Hovey and her father were best friends and had a common passion for education.
“I think my dad was kind of a father figure to David,” shares Mary. “They would have coffee and solve all the problems in the world many times over. They had a lot of mutual respect for each other, so I think my father would be very happy about this fellowship.”
“This gift speaks to Mary and her level of commitment to the college. I appreciate that she is willing to put the family foundation money into something that benefits our faculty and our students for years to come,” Dr. McIntyre concludes. “It says so much about her ethics, and what’s important to her. She’s been a tremendous friend to the Richards College of Business, and this is a wonderful legacy for David Hovey.”
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