Scott Bieler, a member of Daemen University’s Board of Trustees and the president and CEO of West Herr Automotive Group, was surprised with an honorary degree during the undergraduate commencement ceremony on Saturday.
President Gary A. Olson and Chairman of the Board John Yurtchuk awarded Bieler with an honorary doctorate of health professions.
“The COVID-19 pandemic affected practically every person in this nation,” President Gary A. Olson said. “At Daemen, we feel especially sorry for the many students who lost the final year of their college education to a lockdown, unable to attend their commencement in person with their family, as you are here today. During that year, even our commencement speaker – a much-beloved member of the Western New York community – lost the experience of addressing the students in person. We can’t bring that year back, but there is one small gesture that we can make.”
Bieler served as the commencement speaker for Daemen College’s virtual ceremonies in May of 2021 and received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters for his years of dedication to the health and well-being of the people across the region.
“Today Mr. Bieler is a trustee, and we are now Daemen University,” President Olson said as he surprised Bieler.
Last October, the university announced the College of Health Professions would be named the Scott Bieler College of Health Professions in honor of Bieler and the several projects and scholarships he has supported in Daemen’s healthcare areas.
Bieler served for nearly a decade as a member of the Daemen Community Advisory Board and was appointed a trustee of Daemen’s Board of Trustees in 2021.
He is considered an important community leader in Western New York. He currently serves on the boards of the Roswell Park Alliance Foundation and Invest Buffalo Niagara, and he is a member of the Greater Buffalo Racial Equity Roundtable. He is a past board member of Visit Buffalo Niagara, Upstate New York Federal Reserve Regional Advisory Board, the Buffalo Zoo, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and Hilbert College.
Bieler serves as president of the Scott Bieler Family Foundation and is known as one of the most prolific benefactors of local healthcare causes, donating millions of dollars to organizations across Western New York to support projects such as the Scott Bieler Clinical Sciences Center at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center main campus and the Roswell Park Scott Bieler Amherst Center.