College News

St. John Fisher College Elects Three New Members to Board of Trustees

12/13/2010

St. John Fisher College has welcomed three new members to its Board of Trustees. They include: Diana Nole, President, Digital Medical Solutions (DMS) for Carestream Health, Inc.; Paul Hewitt (´85), Head Men’s Basketball Coach, Georgia Institute of Technology; and Ferdinand Jay Smith, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Creative Director, Jay Advertising. They were elected at the College’s December board meeting.

Nole oversees all operations for DMS, which is the standalone company that resulted from the sale of Eastman Kodak Company’s Health Group to Onex Corporation in 2007. DMS manufactures and markets computed radiography and digital radiography systems that enable medical practitioners to capture patients’ digital x-ray images in seconds. Formerly, she served as Vice President, Business Strategy and Marketing, for the company’s Healthcare Information Solutions business. In that capacity, she directed all research and development investment activity, as well as marketing efforts. Before joining the company in 2005, Nole led Eastman Kodak Company’s Commercial Imaging Americas Services group.

Among other credentials, Nole is a board officer and vice chair of the Hillside Children’s Center in Rochester, and serves on the Foundation Board of Directors for the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam. She is also a past recipient of the “Forty Under 40” Award. She is a graduate of SUNY Potsdam, and received her MBA from the University of Rochester.

Hewitt is a 1985 graduate of St. John Fisher College, and was named Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Georgia Institute of Technology in 2000. In the ten seasons under his leadership, the team has been to the NCAA Tournament five times. He has led them to a runner-up finish in 2004, and advanced the team to the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) quarterfinals. In addition, they have played in two ACC championship finals, and won the Preseason NIT. Hewitt has a record of 177-144 at the Institute, and his overall record as head coach is 243-171. Previously, he was head coach at Siena College, molding the College’s basketball program to be among the best in the Northeast.

Hewitt was recognized in 2001 as the ACC Coach of the Year, only the second time in league history that a first-year coach won the award. In addition, he was named District 5 Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and was a finalist for the Naismith College Coach of the Year Award by the Black College Coaches Association. Hewitt was also listed No. 71 among the nation’s 101 top minorities in sports by Sports Illustrated magazine.

Off the court, he is an active member of the Atlanta community. He conducts an annual golf outing and auction to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Hearts Everywhere Reaching Out for Children (H.E.R.O.), which organizes activities and benefits HIV-infected children, and Camp Twin Lakes, an organization that works with children with serious illnesses and special needs. In addition, Hewitt serves on the Board of Directors for the Black Coaches Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Smith has over 25 years of creative experience, which helped build the foundation of Jay Advertising. The agency started as a small boutique agency, and Smith was the first in upstate New York to build it into a national retail agency. They grew exponentially, and Smith led the creative and account teams to effectively and cost-efficiently produce thousands of national and regional television and print advertisements for their clients.

His expertise includes film and video, directing, writing, on-air talent (he is the voice of Wegmans, Raymour & Flanigan, and Chevrolet), producing, and music composition. As an award-winning television director, producer and broadcaster, Smith’s creative work has been recognized at the local, state, national, and international levels.

Some of his work has been nominated for and won several Emmys, including three HBO TV specials, “When it Was a Game,” “This is the NFL,” and “The Life of Arthur Ashe.” In addition, he composed and produced the theme music for NBC for two Olympic Games, HBO’s Boxing and Football themes, themes for CBS and ABC’s “Movie of the Week,” as well as themes for Cinemax and A&E.

As trustees of St. John Fisher College, the new members will work with the entire Board to help determine the general, educational, and financial policies of the College. In addition, the Board has responsibility for sound resource management of the institution and works closely with the President in planning the strategic direction of the College.