From the Boardroom to the Classroom: 84 Lumber Executive Returns to Dickinson
Paul Yater, chief information officer and head of human resources at 84 Lumber, spoke with students during a session of Profiles in Leadership. Photo by Stephen Munchel.
Paul Yater ’94 brings real-world leadership insights and career advice to students
Paul Yater ’94 has built a career helping one of the nation's largest building materials suppliers navigate the complexities of business, technology and workforce management. The always-engaged 84 Lumber executive was recently back at Dickinson, sharing what he's learned with the next generation of leaders.
Yater, chief information officer and head of human resources at 84 Lumber, visited campus to meet with students through a series of events, including a session of Profiles in Leadership, a course that brings accomplished alumni into the classroom to share their experiences, perspectives and lessons learned along the way.
Learning From Leaders
Developed by Steve Riccio, senior lecturer in international business & management and executive director of Dickinson's Burgess Institute, and Rob Symington ’86, a member of Dickinson's Board of Trustees, the course introduces students to leaders from a wide range of professions, offering an inside look at the decisions, challenges and opportunities that shape successful careers.
Yater's visit also included a lunch conversation hosted by Dickinson's Real Estate Club in the Paz Alumni & Family Center. The gathering gave students interested in real estate, business and finance an opportunity to explore industry trends, ask questions and make professional connections with an accomplished alumnus.
Putting Classroom Skills to Work
A longtime collaborator with Riccio, Yater has worked with students on projects that put their classroom learning to work on actual business challenges.
Most recently, he helped connect 12 Dickinson computer science students with an ambitious project at 84 Lumber: exploring how artificial intelligence and modern programming languages could help update the company's decades-old computer systems.
The students worked directly with 84 Lumber technology professionals, developing innovative approaches to problems faced by a major national company. Their work helped inform the company's plans for modernizing its systems.
“These were top-notch students who were highly engaged and very knowledgeable, and they showed tremendous commitment and dedication to the project,” Yater said at the time.
His latest visit continues that longstanding relationship, giving students opportunities to learn directly from an executive whose responsibilities span technology, human resources and an industry central to the national economy.
And it reinforces a hallmark of the Dickinson experience: connecting students with alumni who don't just talk about preparing for the professional world but help them experience it firsthand.
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Published October 29, 2026