Major Gordon D. Hoople graduated magna cum laude from Syracuse University in 1915, and summa cum laude from its College of Medicine in 1919.
He was president of his class as well as a member of the 1915 championship crew team, Phi Beta Kappa and other honor societies, the YMCA, and senior council.
With the advent of the World War II, Hoople’s time at Syracuse University was interrupted. He served as medical chief in the ear, nose, and throat section of a hospital overseas from 1942 to 1945. Upon returning home, Hoople spoke at length about the tragedies he witnessed; however, it was working with men deafened by the war that pushed him to find new solutions to deafness.
In 1923, Hoople settled back in the United States and became a professor of otolaryngology at the College of Medicine (now SUNY Upstate Medical Hospital). Hoople inaugurated Syracuse University’s Student Health Services in 1923 and helped created the University’s Department of Special Education in the 1940s. Hoople earned a Bronze Star Medal for his service in 1945.
From 1928 to 1935 Hoople served as president of Syracuse University’s Alumni Association. He was elected to the University’s Board of Trustees in 1938 and continued to serve until 1967.
In 1951 he was awarded the Arents medal, the highest award for Syracuse University alumni, for his work in otology. In 1953, when he retired as a professor, the Hoople Special Education Building was constructed at Syracuse University, and he served as director of the Hearing and Speech Center housed inside. His career in medicine continued well into his late sixties as he served as medical advisor for the Deafness Research Foundation from 1960 to 1965.
Gordon D. Hoople was a member of the American Medical Association and the New York State Medical Association, and he served on the Board of Directors of the American Hearing Society. He was also a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. Hoople received many certificates of recognition during his career, including acceptance into the American College of Surgeons in 1964.
Hoople was elected chairman to the Board of Trustees in 1963. While serving on the board, he helped in Chancellor Tolley’s efforts to expand the University as part of the “Syracuse Plan.” He continued to serve as chairman until 1967. He regularly spoke at special events and convocations and in 1967 was awarded an honorary doctorate of laws from Syracuse University.
Gordon D. Hoople died in 1973. In 2016, the Hoople Special Education Building was demolished. The ground on which it once stood now serves as the base for the National Veterans Resource Center. Dr. Hoople’s service and dedication to his country and to Syracuse University will be remembered for years to come as the building serves veterans and their families across the country.