Dr. Michael Dean ’73, Hunter College Foundation board co-chair and passionately engaged trustee, died February 25 in New York City. He was 74.
Dean credited Hunter with giving him the leg up and solid educational foundation for success, and he was deeply committed to ensuring that the next generation of students could have the same opportunity. He volunteered for the Hunter Macaulay Honors Selection Committee each winter and loved the time he spent engaging with Hunter students.
“Mike truly lived the Hunter motto of mihi cura futuri or ‘the care of the future is mine,’” said Hunter College President Nancy Cantor. “He will be deeply missed.”
Dean began serving on the board of trustees of the Hunter College Foundation in 2019 and was named co-chair in June 2023. He was a board-certified physician with extensive experience in family medicine and medical management.
He began his career in private practice in Massachusetts but quickly assumed public leadership roles, serving for several years as vice president for medical affairs at his local community hospital. He left to follow his interest in administrative healthcare. He acted as chief medical officer for several large healthcare organizations, including John Hancock and Prudential, then went on to help establish ChubbHealth in New York City and an independent physicians’ association, serving as its president, and served as an adviser on the healthcare industry for Benchmark.
After retiring, Dean turned his talents to philanthropy, focusing on youth. He was on the board of governors of Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School; All Stars Project, a national nonprofit that uses a performance-based approach to help inner-city youth and their families; Cambodian Living Arts, and Covenant House New York.
Dean graduated magna cum laude from Hunter with a BA in biology and a minor in communications and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his MD from SUNY Downstate Medical Center and completed his residency at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center.
He is survived by his wife, Dr. May-Kin Ho.
