From BU to beyond

Golden Terrier Dennis Hinson’s time as a Terrier inspired him to return for his 50th Reunion

Written by Rebecca Beyer | Posted September 2024

Dennis Hinson (Wheelock’74) applied to Boston University on the advice of his high school librarian. His acceptance—and decision to attend what is now Wheelock College of Education & Human Development—set him up for a three-decade career as a public-school educator and administrator.

It also changed his life. Hinson met his future wife, Edna “Bonita” (Riggins) Hinson (Wheelock’76), at a party on Buswell Street; they both lived in Warren Towers, and he often waited for her to finish an assignment so she could braid his hair. He participated in UMOJA, the Black Student Union. And he joined sigma chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated—the nation’s first African American fraternity—where he met men who remain some of his closest friends today.

“The camaraderie we formed is unmatched,” he says, recalling the nickname for his 18-member pledge line: “the 18 Shades of Black.”

“The entire BU experience is never to be forgotten.”

During Alumni Weekend on Sept. 26–28, Hinson will gather with his former classmates to remember their time together on campus. The weekend’s festivities include the Back to BU Beach Festival, Taproom Trivia at Sunset Cantina, and special events celebrating the inauguration of the university’s first Black and first female president. Golden Terriers like Hinson, who are celebrating their 50th reunion or higher, also have a host of activities to choose from, such as a get together at Cornwall’s, a student led campus tour, Golden Terrier brunch, and more. There will also be a panel discussion on UMOJA led by Black alumni and a Class of 1974 Remembrance Ceremony to honor classmates who have passed away since graduation.

Hinson grew up in East New York, Brooklyn, in a family that prioritized education. His mother was a paraprofessional and later a social worker in the public schools, and his father was a corrections officer.

“If you were sick and didn’t go to school, you couldn’t go outside after school to play,” he remembers.

As a child, Hinson wanted to be a firefighter or an FBI agent, but a summer job as a camp counselor opened his eyes to teaching. At BU, he studied elementary education, spending time as a student teacher in Cambridge and Brighton.

Hinson describes Black students in the Class of 1974, which included actor Alfre Woodard (CFA’74, Hon.’04), as close-knit. Personally, he met many of his friends, including Louis Bosley, during a six-week summer orientation program for underrepresented students. Bosley, who was part of the same Alpha Phi Alpha pledge line as Hinson, says his friend was a natural leader.

“He was a man of character,” remembers Bosley, a retired New Haven firefighter who attended BU for three years. “If he said he was going to do something, it was going to get done.”

After graduating in 1974, Hinson returned to New York and found a city reeling from a financial crisis. He took a job at a daycare after school program and soon earned a master’s degree from the City College of New York in early education. Eventually, he began teaching elementary and middle school students, first in Brooklyn near where he and Bonita settled and raised their family and later in Westbury, New York, where he retired as a principal.

Hinson says his BU degree prepared him for his career as a teacher and opened many doors over the years.

“The name BU was definitely recognizable,” he explains. “That made interviewers sit up.”

Hinson called his students “knuckleheads” and often visited them at home to try to talk sense into them. But he says seeing his charges complete their studies at the end of each year “enlightened” his career path.

“When they’d come across the stage to get their diplomas, nothing can really beat that,” he adds.

Hinson, who is treasurer of the Golden Decade Foundation (created by BU alumnus Duane Jackson (MET’76) to support underrepresented college students) retired in 2010; Bonita retired from a career in special education a few years later. The pair have three sons and nine grandchildren and have been to five of seven continents (Hinson has played golf on four of those five). Hinson is also a deacon at Cornerstone Baptist Church where his grandparents once served in the same role.

He says he is looking forward to reuniting with his classmates as a Golden Terrier in September and encourages them to give back to their alma mater any way they can. As alumni from the Class of 1974 continue to register for Alumni Weekend, the reunion committee—which Hinson and Darien Wilson (CAS’78) cochair—is helping fundraise for the 1974 Class Gift. The initiative demonstrates the collective impact of the Class of 1974, who may give to any area at BU, in support of future generations of BU students.

“Return to the school, give back, particularly to those areas where minority students can be helped or assisted,” Hinson says. “Be a resource; give them some guidance, some solid footing. Because whatever they may think, we ain’t all that at 21.”

Bosley accidentally donated to the Class of 1974 gift twice. But when Hinson asked if he wanted one of the donations returned, Bosley declined.

“It’s for a good cause,” he explains.

Bosley has a granddaughter leaving for college and a son getting married in September but says he’ll be attending the reunion at Hinson’s request.

“If he calls, I answer,” Bosley laughs.