President Hicks surrounded by Davidson College Students

President's Office

A Message from President Hicks:

Davidson is my alma mater, and I am honored to return as president. It was here that I found my love of ideas and sense of purpose, thanks to inspiring faculty and incredible classmates. 

I could not be more enthusiastic about Davidson’s future anchored in our enduring educational mission.

My story is just one example among many: We at Davidson are about educating people for lives of leadership and service, and in so doing, we are committed to shaping our world.

Davidson is a community of smart, driven and kind people. We are guided by the college’s statement of purpose and its motto: Let Learning Be Cherished Where Liberty Has Arisen. We want students—and faculty and staff—to question their assumptions and those of others. We want their curiosity to lead them to new insights and original research.

Our NCAA division I athletics, our world-class arts facilities, and our stunningly beautiful campus are elements of Davidson’s unparalleled residential liberal arts education. 

Our location in the vibrant town of Davidson—and a part of greater Charlotte, one of America’s most dynamic cities—provides a great quality of life and access to rich cultural experiences and the global economy.

We bring together students from all backgrounds, because we know that talent is not determined by income or zip code. We make the Davidson experience accessible through our rare commitment to affordability: admitting students independent of their family’s ability to pay, covering the bills beyond the family’s calculated contribution, and doing so without loans in the student’s aid package.

Davidson’s intellectual community is driven by our faculty, who have chosen to teach talented students and to push the frontiers of knowledge on our interdisciplinary, innovative campus. The staff are deeply committed to the flourishing of students and to the quality of our community.  

At Davidson, we embrace our founding principles from the Reformed Tradition. We honor the dignity and worth of all persons, even as we acknowledge that our history marginalized African Americans and other groups. We are coming to terms with our past, making ourselves accountable in the present, and working together toward a brighter future.

I welcome you to the Davidson community and invite you to engage with us on our educational mission that is all about shaping lives for service and leadership in every field, everywhere.

President Doug Hicks conversing with students