Robert Hinkley Retires
after 31 Years of Service

As Robert E. Hinkley, Ph.D., ireflects on his three-decade career at the University, two pivotal moments come to mind: watching his daughter, Nicole Hinkley-Hynes, M.D., graduate in 1999 from the Miller School, and witnessing the Hurricanes claim the 1983 football national championship at the Orange Bowl.

Hinkley, who has served as associate dean for admissions and enrollment management since 1991, will retire this summer. That his fondest memories revolve around the accomplishments of others is no surprise. During his tenure, he has taught or admitted two-thirds of the students to have ever attended the Miller School.

But Hinkley isn’t short of his own accomplishments. One of the most notable is his creation of what has affectionately become known as the “Baby Docs” program, an honors curriculum that allows students to accelerate their medical school education.

When Hinkley started at UM in 1977, the area that is now the bustling Schoninger Research Quadrangle was a “rocky free-for-all” field where people parked their cars. The historic Alamo building was slated for demolition, and Hinkley was part of the group that raised funds to preserve it and move it to its current location.

As the medical school evolved, so did Hinkley’s career. He was promoted to professor of cell biology and anatomy in 1987, became associate dean for undergraduate honors medical programs in 1989, and two years later accepted his current position. He is a member of Iron Arrow, the University’s oldest and most revered honor society.

“In a very fundamental way, Dr. Hinkley has made our medical education program recognized for producing capable, caring, compassionate, and community-minded physicians because those are the kinds of students he recruited,” said Mark T. O’Connell, M.D., senior associate dean for medical education.

During retirement, Hinkley will spend time on the coast of Oregon chronicling his incredible career at the Miller School in his memoirs. “Retiring is bittersweet,” he says. “We are growing a great center for medical care, and I can say I was part of that.”