Robert F. Vagt | |
---|---|
16th President of Davidson College | |
In office 1997–2007 | |
Preceded by | John Kuykendall |
Succeeded by | Thomas W. Ross |
Personal details | |
Born | 1947 Connecticut |
Education | Davidson College Duke Divinity School |
Profession | Hospital administrator businessman |
Robert 'Bobby' Vagt was the 16th president of Davidson College. Vagt,originally from Connecticut,graduated from Davidson in 1969. Vagt worked in the ministry and in healthcare until he became the executive director of the Municipal Assistance Corporation for New York City,aiding in efforts to save the city from bankruptcy. Later,Vagt moved to Houston,Texas to work in the energy sector. [1]
While at Davidson,Vagt oversaw one of the largest fundraising campaigns for a liberal arts college. It was under his watch that the college announced that it would eliminate loans for demonstrated financial need,an initiative called the Davidson Trust. [2]
After leaving,Vagt became the president of the Heinz Endowments,leaving that position in 2013. [3]
Williams College is a private liberal arts college in Williamstown,Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams,a colonist from the Province of Massachusetts Bay who was killed in the French and Indian War in 1755.
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Spelman College is a private,historically Black,women's liberal arts college in Atlanta,Georgia. It is a founding member of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary,Spelman awarded its first college degrees in 1901 and is the oldest private historically Black liberal arts institution for women.
Teresa Heinz,also known as Teresa Heinz Kerry,is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. Heinz is the widow of former U.S. Senator John Heinz and the current wife of former United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate,longtime U.S. Senator,and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. Heinz is Chair of the Heinz Endowments and the Heinz Family Philanthropies.
Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson,North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson,who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan's Ford.
Lesley University is a private university in Cambridge,Massachusetts. It is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. As of 2018–19 Lesley University enrolled 6,593 students.
Robert Saunders Jr. was an American politician and school administrator who served as president of the College of William and Mary from 1847 to 1848. Prior to that,Saunders served as professor of mathematics from 1833 to 1847. He also served as a Virginia state senator from 1852 to 1858 and as mayor of Williamsburg,Virginia in 1859 and 1868 as well as the head of Eastern State Hospital. His family papers are held by the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William and Mary.
Robert Hall Morrison was the first president of Davidson College. Morrison,originally from Cabarrus County,North Carolina,enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,eventually graduating second in the class,behind future President James K. Polk. After graduating,Morrison entered the ministry before being appointed as president of Davidson. Morrison taught mathematics and science courses at the college. After a year as president,a typhoid fever epidemic swept through the area,taking two of his children. Morrison would later become ill and resign from the position in 1840,eventually retiring in 1849.
Drury Lacy Jr. was the third president of Davidson College. A native of Virginia,he was a Presbyterian pastor at a church in New Bern,North Carolina and then in Raleigh,North Carolina before becoming president.
Samuel Williamson was the second president of Davidson College. After graduating from the University of South Carolina,Williamson entered the ministry. He arrived at Davidson in 1839 as a professor and then was appointed as president in 1841,becoming the longest serving president of the college during the 19th century. While president,Williamson steered the college through financial uncertainty while also building the Eumenean and Philanthropic Halls.
George Wilson McPhail was an American Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the sixth president of Lafayette College,a director at Princeton Theological Seminary,and the fifth president of Davidson College.
John Rennie Blake (1825-1900) was the faculty chairman in charge of Davidson College from 1871 to 1877.
Henry Louis Smith (1859–1951) was the ninth president of Davidson College and the first president to not be an ordained Presbyterian minister.
William Joseph Martin Jr. was the tenth president of Davidson College,being installed as president in 1912. Martin,the son of a Confederate veteran who was also a professor at Davidson,graduated from Davidson in 1888. After receiving advanced degrees from the University of Virginia and further instruction at Johns Hopkins University,Martin eventually found his way back to Davidson as a chemistry professor.
David Grier Martin Sr. was the 13th president of Davidson College. A graduate of Davidson College,class of 1932,he served as college treasurer under President Cunningham. He was forty-eight years old when he accepted the presidency of Davidson. A native of Covington,Georgia,Martin attended Emory University for graduate studies.
John Wells Kuykendall was the 15th president of Davidson College in Davidson,North Carolina,United States. Graduating from Davidson in 1959,Kuykendall went on to receive a bachelor in divinity from Union Theological Seminary and then more advanced degrees from Yale Divinity School and Princeton University. He eventually became a professor of religion and campus pastor at Auburn University.
Samuel Reid Spencer Jr. was an American academic administrator who served as the 14th president of Davidson College from 1968 to 1983.
Carol Quillen was the 18th president of Davidson College and currently serves on the Princeton Board of Trustees. She was the first female president of Davidson College and the first non-alum president since John Rood Cunningham.
Vivian Ann Davidson Hewitt was an American art collector,specializing in African-American art,and a librarian. She was Pittsburgh’s first African American librarian,and later became the first African American president of the Special Libraries Association. Her art collection,which she and her husband,John Hewitt,amassed over fifty years,is considered one of the finest collections of artwork by African-American artists and is on exhibit at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture in Charlotte,N.C. In 2016,she was awarded the honorary title of Dame by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.