Academy of Distinguished Alumni
John R. Hildebrand,
1950 B.S. Civil Engineering

John Hildebrand arrived at Virginia Tech in June of 1943 but left after enlisting during World War II. He served in the United States Army Air Corps from February 1944 until October 1946. He returned to Virginia Tech in January 1947 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in civil engi-neering (CE) in June 1950. He is a member of Chi Epsilon, an honorary CE fraternity.



Upon graduation, Mr. Hildebrand joined the consulting engineering firm of Mattern and Mattern. Over the years, the firm became Hayes, Seay, Mattern, and Mattern, Inc. Architects – Engineers (HSMM). During his 41 years with the firm, he served as a design engineer, project manag-er, and production coordinator, becoming a partner in 1966 and executive vice president when the firm incorporated in 1988. Mr. Hildebrand was responsible for the firm’s civil engineering practice, encompassing the planning and design of multi-million dollar transportation and public works projects in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and Washington D.C.



Mr. Hildebrand was a true pioneer in the early, establishing years of HSMM. His engineering prowess, business development acumen, and managerial skills gave significantly and substantially to the success of the firm. HSMM and Mr. Hildebrand have made many signature contributions to Virginia’s highway environment, and in the process, brought many positive and foundational changes to the lives of citizens in the Commonwealth and well beyond its borders. He is a registered professional engineer in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Alabama, Indiana, and the District of Columbia and a Land Surveyor in Virginia. He is also a fellow with the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).



Mr. Hildebrand’s community activities include: construction coordinator on the addition to the Salem History Muse-um; member, City of Salem Board of Appeals; member, Salem Rotary Club, Paul Harris Fellow; member, Salem Presbyterian Church, serving at different times as church school superintendent, deacon and elder and chairing committees for an addition to the Education Building and the observance of the Congregation’s 175th Anniversary; volunteer and past board member, Presbyterian Community Center; fundraising chairman, Parents Council Executive Committee, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, Virginia, 1991; past board member, Salem/Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce; and member, Virginia Tech Alumni Association and Virginia Tech Athletic Fund. His awards include: 80th Anniversary Commendation, Virginia Section, ASCE, and Distinguished Service Award, Salem Jaycees.



Travel and the study of the social and political history of Western Virginia have always interested Mr. Hildebrand. He is a member of the Virginia, Western Virginia, and Salem Historical Societies, past president of the Salem Society, and past board member of the Western Virginia Society.



His publications include: A Mennonite Journal, 1982 – 1865, a Father’s Account of the Civil War in the Shenandoah Valley, 1996; Iron Horses in the Valley, the Valley and Shenandoah Valley Railroads, 1966-1882, 2001; “Triumph and Tragedy: A Railroad Struggle Instrumental in Creating Roanoke, Virginia,” the Smithfield Review, 2001; “An Ill-Fated Endeavor: Lexington, Rockbridge County and the Valley Railroad, 1866 – 1881,” Proceedings of the Rockbridge Histori-cal Society, 1995-2002; and ”The Early Presbyterians in the Roanoke Valley, 1949-1851,” Historical Society of Western Virginia Journal.



Mr. Hildebrand is currently working on a completed pre-publication manuscript of a biography tentatively titled, The Life and Times of John Brown Baldwin, 1820-1873, A Chronicle of Virginia’s Struggle with Slavery, Secession, Civil War and Reconstruction.



Thelma Jeter Shank of Salem, Va. became his wife in June 1949 and they have been blessed with four children, Martha Sherwood, John Hildebrand, Jr., Sarah Caldwell, and Caroline Cochrane and ten grandchildren.