Date: January 31, 2018 at 12:38:46 PM PST
Subject: The next president of Linfield College
Subject: The next president of Linfield College
Miles K.
Davis named 20th president of Linfield College
The Linfield College Board of
Trustees announced today that Dr. Miles
K. Davis will become the college’s 20th president, and the first
African-American president in the institution’s 160-year history.
Davis, dean of Shenandoah
University’s Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business in Winchester, Va., will
begin his new appointment July 1. He succeeds Dr. Thomas L. Hellie, who is
retiring after 12 years as Linfield’s president.
“From the moment I engaged with
Linfield and the community, it has been a growing love affair,” Davis said.
“From the Board of Trustees to the faculty, staff, coaches and administrators,
Linfield College is an impressive group of people. It is Linfield’s students,
though, who really stole my heart with their inquisitive and thoughtful questions.
I am excited about becoming a part of this community of learners and scholars.”
David C. Baca ’78, chair of the
Board of Trustees and a partner at the Davis Wright Tremaine law firm, said
Davis brings an entrepreneur’s sensibility to Linfield at a time of
transformation in higher education.
“Dr. Hellie has done a remarkable
job leading Linfield, and that has put it in a very good place,” Baca said.
“However, all of higher education faces a rapidly changing environment. That
environment is going to require us to adapt, and Dr. Davis has shown that he
can lead the kind of change we will need to continue to succeed.”
Davis has a Ph.D. in human and
organizational sciences from The George Washington University, an M.A. in human
resource development from Bowie State University and a B.A. in communications
from Duquesne University.
At Shenandoah since 2001, he was
the inaugural chair of the management science department at the Harry F. Byrd,
Jr. School of Business and became the founding director of its Institute for
Entrepreneurship. He was named dean of the school in 2012.
Davis is an authority on
entrepreneurship whose most recent work focuses on integrity, values and
principles in the business world, as well as faith-based entrepreneurship. He
helps organizations manage cultural and structural changes, strategic planning,
leadership development and strategic growth initiatives.
Davis worked as a managing
consultant and principal for EDS Corp., and has served on the boards of
numerous non-profit organizations and publicly traded companies.
The author of many journal
articles and book chapters, Davis published a book titled “OD and Change
Management Consultants” in 2009. He is a member of the Society of Leadership
Fellows at St. George’s House, an organization based out of Windsor Castle in
England that brings together world leaders in a variety of fields to analyze
contemporary issues.
Davis is the first college
president to come out of The PhD Project, a network that helps members of
underrepresented communities attain doctorates and become leaders in higher
education.
“Linfield College, with its
strong roots in the liberal arts and world-class professional programs, is
meeting the needs of a dynamic world,” Davis said. “I am honored to be invited
to help lead Linfield, as the college helps lead the region, country and world
in connecting learning, life and community.”
The nationwide search for
Linfield’s 20th president began in May 2017, when Hellie announced he would
retire at the end of the 2017-18 academic year.
A search committee, which
included representatives from the Linfield College Board of Trustees, faculty,
staff and student body, closely reviewed the credentials of the candidates and
conducted extensive interviews.
“I am gratified to know that Dr. Davis
will become Linfield’s next president,” Hellie said. “His personality and
experience align very well with our college’s culture and future needs.
Linfield has been a great home for me, and I trust it will be for him as well.”
Brenda DeVore Marshall, professor
of theatre and communication arts, one of four faculty members on the search
committee and its vice-chair, said Davis will bring new energies and
perspectives to the college and the community.
“I am excited Dr. Davis has
decided to join our community, and I look forward to working with him,” she
said. “He will provide enthusiastic leadership for the next chapter in Linfield
College’s commitment to inclusive student education.”
Linfield College is a nationally
renowned, comprehensive four-year college with its main campus located an hour
outside of Portland, in the heart of Oregon’s wine country.
It also maintains a School of
Nursing in Portland, and online degree and certificate programs. The college’s
curriculum is rooted in traditional liberal arts and includes practical
education through collaborative, service and experiential learning
opportunities.
