Outstanding alumnus: Interim President Blackhurst

GRACE MAIN
STAFF WRITER

3/24/2025

Alma College alumni and Interim President Dr. Eric Blackhurst (‘83) has dedicated much of his post-collegiate life to the advancement of the college while successfully practicing law, building a family and becoming a wine sommelier. 

Blackhurst, who is a first-generation college student and hadn’t stepped foot onto Alma’s campus until the first day of classes, attributes the opportunities he’s had throughout his life to Alma. 

“Alma College was a gateway to the world for me and a gateway to the rest of my life. As I got older, I realized that so many of the things that I enjoy in my life- whether it be economic security, art, spiritual endeavors or travel. All these things came to me through Alma,” said Blackhurst. 

In his time at Alma, Blackhurst studied abroad in Madrid, was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, worked on The Almanian, and was awarded the Barlow Trophy, which was the most meaningful recognition of his college career. 

Pushed to his potential by professors Dr. M.J.J Smith, Dr. Mike Yavenditti, Dr. James Schmidtke and Dr. Gunda Kaiser guided him as he received his degrees in history and Spanish. These people were crucial to his Alma experience. 

“I experienced incredible mentorship at Alma. They insisted on expecting us to be better than we thought we could be. I sought out professors and majors from people who I thought were some of the most demanding academic professors. That’s what attracted me. I wanted a challenge, I wanted high expectations, and that’s what I pursued,” said Blackhurst. 

These professors prepared him well for law school at the University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law where he graduated in 1986. 

“I was very well prepared because at Alma I was doing research, writing, reading and analysis that often doesn’t happen until the graduate level, so when I went to Law School, I was familiar with what those demands were.” 

After law school, Blackhurst spent the majority of his career as a Lawyer for Dow Chemical in Midland where he spent 35 years. One year at Dow, he was awarded as the “Best People Leader” in the company which he is most proud of. 

“That award means more to me than all the transactions I worked on, all the legal problems that I worked on. It really was about the people. It was about seeing people grow, learn, and flourish,” said Blackhurst. 

In 2024 he retired from Dow and was asked by the Alma College Board of Trustees to take the role of Interim President throughout the presidential search process. Blackhurst states that this job he now has is the only one that would’ve gotten him out of retirement. 

This role as interim president is only one of the roles he has held at the college. Blackhurst has taught classes in the past and has been a very active member on the Board of Trustees starting in 2011 and serving as the chair from 2018-2022. 

During his time, he is most proud of the work that The Board did to evolve and grow the college. This includes the introduction of new academic programs including IPHS, Nursing and New Media Studies as well as new sports programs and the construction of the Learning Commons, which they were able to raise $125 million for. 

Blackhurst has a few more months left at Alma as Interim President. After his job is completed, he plans to pursue his passion for wine further. He is a certified sommelier. 

“I want to get back to my study about wine, being with people who enjoy tasting wine and leading groups to learn about wine. Those are all things that I absolutely love to do, and that is what I will be doing,” said Blackhurst. 

He will be traveling to Hungary over the summer with a group of sommeliers. 

Along with this, he is excited to spend more time with his adult children and their families, especially his grandchildren. 

“The thing I didn’t count on when I became interim president was how close I would get in such a short time to the students and so many of the staff and faculty that I work with. As I look that I’ve got another 2 and a half months, I can see how hard it is going to be for me to say goodbye to a lot of people that I’ve become quite close to,” said Blackhurst.