Hebda joined the university as an assistant professor of mathematical sciences in 1981 before becoming a professor in 1990. He later served as the mathematics department chair from 2011-2017. Born and raised in Chicago, Hebda gained his undergraduate, masters, and doctoral degrees in mathematics at the University of Chicago in 1974, 1975 and 1979 respectively. Hebda had begun designing a new class and regularly advised younger faculty on how to better teach mathematics. Another colleague of Hebda’s, Stacey Harris, Ph.D., a fellow professor of mathematics at SLU, shared her love of music with him.