Greensboro College Names C. Brent DeVore Interim President

Posted: September 18, 2009
Greensboro College Communications Office

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Greensboro College’s Board of Trustees has named C. Brent DeVore, President Emeritus of Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio, as its interim president. DeVore succeeds Craven E. Williams, who retired in July.

The chair of the college’s Board of Trustees, R. Carter Pate, said DeVore’s long, strong history in college leadership and financial management uniquely suited him for the job. Also, Otterbein is affiliated with the United Methodist Church, as is Greensboro College.

“We just found him to be an ideal choice,” Pate said.

DeVore assumes the presidency today and will lead the college until trustees choose a permanent successor to Williams. The college hopes to have a new president in place by July 1.

DeVore said that although his tenure will be temporary, he’ll be giving the job everything he’s got.

”When I retired all of two months and two weeks ago, I said that whatever I do next, I want to get into it with both my head and my heart,” he said. “Visiting the campus on two occasions, I found it to be a school of substance, a community with a mission, and I felt it would be an opportunity to set the stage for helping build the future of the institution and preparing for the next president.”

That building and preparing, he said, will not be a one-man job.

“I want to work with the community,” he said. “I want to look at the strengths, have a frank discussion of the opportunities and challenges and establish a base for the next president.”

DeVore assumes leadership of the college as it continues to strengthen its finances after problems this past spring.

Earlier this year, because of financial shortfalls, the college reduced faculty and staff salaries and eliminated some positions and benefits. But since Pate assumed the trustees’ chairmanship in July, the college’s financial situation has improved, leaving both academics and enrollment unhurt. Total 2009-10 enrollment of 1,254 is on par with those of recent years, freshman enrollment is up 12% over 2008-09, and the number of honors-program enrollees has more than doubled since last year.

DeVore led Otterbein College from 1984 until he retired June 30. During his tenure, the college’s enrollment roughly doubled, to about 3,200; its endowment increased from $6 million to $100 million and the percentage of faculty with doctorates rose from 45% to 93%. The school also increased its retention rates and introduced continuing-education programs for adults and graduate programs in business, education and nursing.

Previously, DeVore served as president of Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, W.Va.; vice president for external relations at Hiram College in Hiram, Ohio; and executive director of the Kent State University Foundation. He also has held information/education positions with the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association and served for six years in the Ohio Army National Guard.

His community involvement -- service on the boards of 23 national and local nonprofit organizations totaling more than 37 years – has been so extensive that DeVore received the White House’s Call to Service Award for Lifetime Achievement in June 2007.

He holds a B.S. J. from Ohio University and an M.A. in Journalism and Ph.D. in Higher Education, both from Kent State University, as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Otterbein College.

A native of Zanesville, Ohio, DeVore and his wife, Nancy Nikiforow, have four adult children and three grandchildren and live in Columbus, Ohio.

Greensboro College is primarily an undergraduate college, offering graduate programs in three areas. Coeducational and independent, the institution is located near downtown Greensboro. It was founded in 1838.

With an 11-to-1 student-faculty ratio, the College enrolls approximately 1,250 students from about 30 states, the District of Columbia and 21 nations. The school features a strong liberal arts program and a 16-sport athletic program.

Columbus Dispatch article on Dr. C. Brent DeVore's retirement from Otterbein College, dated June 30, 2009.

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Media Contact: Lex Alexander, Director of External Relations
lex.alexander@greensborocollege.edu

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