Carol Quillen, president of Davidson College

Aug. 5. Carol Quillen will step down as president of Davidson College after the 2021-2022 school year. She will return to Davidson as a professor of history after a sabbatical year in 2022-23.

Former Charlotte Mayor and US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, a 1993 graduate, will lead the search committee for the Davidson’s next president.

Endowment exceeded $1 billion

During Quillen’s tenure, the student body grew more diverse and the endowment topped $1 billion. The Jay Hurt Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship opened, extending campus into downtown Davidson and forging partnerships in the local business community.

Achievements

During Quillen’s decade as president, Davidson stacked up top-tier status in undergraduate research and tied for second in the nation for the NCAA’s graduation success rate of athletes.

She established Davidson’s Commission on Race & Slavery, which outlined a path for examining the college’s history with respect to race and enslaved persons. Following their recommendations, she offered an unqualified public apology for the college’s role in perpetuating slavery, Jim Crow laws and policies that excluded people based on race. Davidson now is embarked on multiple initiatives in research, scholarship, commemoration and creating and sustaining an equitable campus environment.

Board chair comments

“Carol will leave Davidson stronger than when she arrived,” said Alison Hall Mauzé, chair of the Board of Trustees. “She embraced Davidson’s mission and, then, challenged and guided us to figure out how we live out that purpose now and in the future. She led the college in building up our financial foundation, exploring and being accountable for our past and equipping and empowering our graduates to solve problems bigger than themselves. She has led Davidson with clarity, humanity and purpose.