Hobart and William Smith Colleges

David H. Deming ’75

David Deming graduated from Hobart College in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. A member in the Theta Delta Chi fraternity, he worked for the Echo and Pine yearbook, and participated in both the ice hockey and the sailing teams.

Currently the chief executive officer of define contribution at Dimensional Fund Advisors, an investment firm in Austin, Texas, Deming was most recently chief executive officer of SmartNest, formerly Trinsum, Inc., an integrated pension solution provider that was founded in 2002. SmartNest was acquired by Dimensional in 2009. Prior to building the SmartNest business, David was managing director at JP Morgan, where he was responsible for mergers and acquisitions from 1984 to 1992, and healthcare investment banking from 1992-2002.

Deming began his service on the HWS Board of Trustees in 2000, playing an important role on the committees for Audit, Financial Affairs, Institutional Advancement, and Trustees. A member of the Board’s Campaign Steering Committee, he also chaired the Enrollment Management Committee, chaired Leadership Giving, and Co-Chaired the Investments Committee.

Deming was elected Chair of the Hobart and William Smith Board of Trustees in 2006. In this role, he has been integral to the successful completion of Campaign for the Colleges, the $200 million fundraising initiative, and has overseen the implementation of the Colleges’ two most recent strategic plans – HWS 2010 and HWS 2015. Under Deming’s leadership, the Colleges have advanced on nearly every front with substantial increases in fundraising, a more selective enrollment management program, improvement in academic rigor as measured by surveys and national guidebooks, and significantly boosted student outcomes through career placements, graduate school acceptances and fellowship and scholarship awards.

Deming received an Alumni Citation in 2005 for his active role as an admissions volunteer, as a member of the president’s advisory council, and for his work with the Board of Trustees.

He lives with his wife, Jamie, in Austin, and together they have two children, Peter and Julia.