Before his time as President and CEO, Dr. Hildreth was the Dean of the College of Biological Sciences at UC Davis, the Director of the Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, and a Professor of Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

In August of 2011, Dr. Hildreth became Dean of the College of Biological Sciences at the University of California, Davis. He was the first African-American dean in the university’s over 100 year history. Dr. Hildreth was also appointed as a tenured professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology as well as Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine in the UC Davis School of Medicine

Dr. Hildreth has received numerous awards over his career for mentoring, leadership and his efforts related to diversity. In October, 2008, he was honored for his contributions to medical science by election to the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences, the most prestigious biomedical and health policy advisory group in the U.S. In May of 2015, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Hildreth has been inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame and the Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars. He currently serves on the Harvard University Board of Overseers.

He holds an MD from Johns Hopkins, a Phd. in Immunology from Oxford which he received as a Rhodes Scholar (as the first African American Rhodes Scholar from Arkansas) , and a BS in Chemistry from Harvard University.

Dr. Hildreth has been married to his wife Phyllis Drennon King for 36 years. They have two children: Sophia, a captain and attorney in the U.S. Army and James, who is continuing studies at the University of Oregon, Eugene.