Kington served as principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health from 2003 to 2008. He led the agency in this capacity until August 17, 2009, when Francis Collins was appointed director. He continued to serve as principal deputy director of the agency until August 2010.[4][5] Speaking of Kington's tenure at the agency, Senator Tom Harkin praised his leadership for judiciously allocating $10 billion in congressionally-approved funds, implementing then president Obama's Executive Order on human embryonic stem cell research, and strengthening conflict of interest regulations.[6] He is on the board of directors of the American Council on Education.[7] As Deputy Director, he co-authored a study which found that Black scientists were less likely than White scientists to win approval of research grants, exposing racial discrimination in academia.[8]
Grinnell College
Kington became the thirteenth president of Grinnell College on August 1, 2010. At Grinnell, Kington was noted for increasing diversity and inclusion efforts,[9] promoting innovation and entrepreneurship,[9] creating a prestigious Social Justice Prize,[9] and working toward greater career preparation for students after they left college by championing Grinnell's Center for Careers, Life and Service.[9] He led an effort to invest $140 million in renewing the campus.[9] During his presidency, he created a $300,000 annual prize to honor three persons throughout the world who have advanced the cause of social justice; the Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize has attracted substantial interest since its inception in 2010,[10] and it has been cited as being the largest award of its kind by The Nation.[11] In addition, Kington established a fund to spur innovation, oversaw the allocation of $140 million for campus buildings, and promoted ties to the city of Grinnell through investment programs.[12] He faced criticism for his handling of an effort to expand the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers.[13] In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, there were no cases at Grinnell, but Kington and the administration asked students to go home and continue their learning online, as a general safety precaution.[14]
Phillips Academy
In December 2019 Kington was selected to be the 16th Head of School of Phillips Academy in Andover, an elite boarding school with 1100 students.[15][16][7] He took over the role in the summer of 2020, succeeding John Palfrey who resigned to become the head of the MacArthur Foundation.[7] Kington is the first African-American and openly gay head of school since the academy was founded in 1778.[15] He began his leadership there as the school was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]
Personal life
Kington is married to Peter T. Daniolos, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Iowa. They have two sons: Emerson and Basil.[3]
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