St. Bonaventure president remembered as larger-than-life personality after long battle with COVID-19

Higher education leaders who worked closely with Dennis R. DePerro remember the university president as warm and engaging, often invited to dine with members of the clergy as if he were in their order because others wanted to be around him. “He was a larger-than-life personality,” said Joseph Zimmer, who served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at St. Bonaventure University, where DePerro was president since 2017. “He was an old-school, handshaking, backslapping,...