In succeeding positions - assistant to the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies (1977), assistant to the Provost of Rockefeller College (1983), assistant to the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (1985), Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs (1990) and then his present position (1994) - Hedberg has developed an institutional memory second to none.

As a member of the research office he helped steer the University through a sudden closure of sponsored research funding in 1977. At Rockefeller College he was pivotal in bringing faculty from various parts of campus and academic fields into one cohesive whole through organizational and governance structures created with his assistance.

Since joining the Academic Affairs division his job has truly defied definition, yet has influenced every area of management of the academic enterprise, including personnel, budgeting, programming, support services and academic facility considerations. Throughout, he has had a powerful capacity to envision outcomes and to see the essential facets of complex situations with clarity.

One of Hedberg's major roles is to provide staff support for the University's Council on Promotion and Continuing Appointment. He has written the campus Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure and has become a resource for the Council on the differences in methods of scholarship and publication in the University's diverse departments and schools.

Though often approached from many areas of campus at once with important issues, Hedberg is noted for remaining unflustered, positive-thinking and diplomatic, yet always quick with a answer that at once can be critical, analytical, creative, practical, and inspiring.