Hilton named Teacher of the Year

The economics professor known for his engaging class lectures and mass services, Reverend Francis G. (Hank) Hilton S.J., Ph.D., was recently named by the Loyola College students the Harry W. Rodgers, III, Distinguished Teacher of the Year for 2000. Hilton, a member of Loyola's economics faculty since January 1997, became the 30th recipient of the award established in 1971 by Rodgers, a 1950 alumnus of Loyola.

"I'm extremely honored," remarks Hilton. "It's an affirmation of something that is extremely important to me, but this kind of stuff takes a long time to set in, so maybe ask me again in July."

Hilton's reputation as an outstanding professor and as a compassionate person outside of the classroom is directly associated with his interactive teaching style and his willingness to get to know his students on a personal level. "Father Hilton is the most amazing individual that I have ever met here," says Anne Tyburczy, class of 2001. "He has a way of making church and his classes feel personal and true and he honestly wants every student that he teaches to succeed."

Hilton's colleagues could not agree more: "Hank Hilton's commitment to the students is most laudable. He impresses them with his rigor and his highly interactive teaching style," says Peter Lorenzi, Dean of the Sellinger School of Business and Management. "He's been a tremendous addition to the economics faculty."

But Hilton knows that he could not have accomplished this honor without help. "I've been blessed with wonderful colleagues in my department and all across the board," he says. "And Loyola College is a perfect fit for me. I'd give this place 'Outstanding College of the Year' and I'd give the students 'Outstanding Student Body of the Year.'"

Hilton entered the Order of the Jesuits in 1981 and he was ordained as a priest in 1992. After a four-year teaching stint at Canisius College, he went to Madison, Wisconsin and earned a Ph.D. in Land Resources Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin after three and a half years. Upon graduation, he applied for teaching positions at Jesuit institutions and ended up at Loyola in January 1997. "It was the first time in my life when I really knew for sure that I was making the right decision," he admits. "It just felt so right."

However, there was a time when Hilton had no immediate plans of going to college or becoming a Jesuit . "I had no idea what a Jesuit was when I applied to Fordham University for my undergraduate studies, and what's even funnier is that I almost went to Boston College, which is also a Jesuit institution," he recalls. "I had no knowledge of them at the time, but I guess our paths were meant to cross at some point, because here I am a Jesuit priest and professor at Loyola College at the dawn of a new millennium."

After high school, he took a year off from serious schooling, admitting that he was not ready for college. "I was only considering it because all of my friends were going ... but I realized after spending two days at Ohio Wesleyan University that I wasn't going for the right reasons," he recalls. So, instead he spent his days working long hours at the Association for Retarded Children and his nights taking classes at the community college in his hometown of Rumson, New Jersey. "I was awake from six in the morning to midnight every day for that entire year," he remarks. "It was tiring, but I learned more about life in that year than I ever have."

Eager to start college, he attended Fordham University - a Jesuit University - the following year. It was the start of his successful college career as an economics major and as a member of the crew team. In addition to earning a B.A., Hilton also attended Fordham for his graduate studies and earned an M.A. on a full scholarship grant.

After completing his graduate work, he was employed by the Texaco Corporation, where he worked in the energy economics division figuring out oil prices and establishing foreign relations. "It was a very sexy time in the oil industry, with the second oil crisis going on and I was working among the best the best colleagues in the world," he says. "I hope that everyone encounters the same level of job satisfaction as I did at my first job."

But the corporate bliss that he experienced at Texaco was not enough for Hilton - there was still something missing in his life; something that really mattered. "A couple of lights had gone on in my head and in my soul, and I knew that what mattered above all else was Jesus of Nazareth, the fact that he lived and died for us and rose from the dead," he recalls. "I knew that my life had to be centered around the Eucharist - it's really the most important thing in the entire world.

After one failed attempt, he entered into the Order of the Jesuits on Aug. 15, 1981. "I didn't give it my best efforts the first time around ... and they didn't think I was ready to make the jump," he admits. "I was in a state of denial to a certain degree." With two weeks left before entering, he remembers being absolutely terrified about the decision: "my family practically had to hospitalize me. I just sat around and thought to myself, 'everything that I know is going to be gone, my normal life is almost over.'"

However, his uncertainty was calmed when he went on the long retreat and experienced the Spiritual Exercises. "That's when I knew that I wasn't making a mistake and I knew that I wasn't ever going back to Texaco," he recalls. "It was absolutely incredible - I would do it again in a minute."

In addition to his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin and his two degrees from Fordham University, Hilton has earned an M.A. in Philosophy from Loyola Chicago; a Master of Theology and a Master of Divinity from Weston School of Theology; and a M.Ed. in Human Development from Harvard University. Since 1988, he has worked for Cambridge Energy Research Associates - recently earning a promotion to senior executive - where he helps energy companies with environmental strategies.