The Hon. Anthony Foxx ’93 to Chair Davidson College Board of Trustees

Foxx, whose four-year term begins in January, serves as director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s Kennedy School and as Emma Bloomberg Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership. 

“Anthony is bringing his leadership and talent back to where it began,” said Davidson College President Doug Hicks. “Davidson’s mission and mentoring cultivates graduates who seek to build the public good, and Anthony’s service to Charlotte and to the nation exemplifies that. He will be an extraordinary guide as we execute a strategic plan that will take us into the next decade.” 

Foxx graduated from Davidson in 1993 and was president of the college’s Student Government Association. His name adorns the group’s offices in the Alvarez College Union. 

“Davidson College prepared me for a life of leadership,” Foxx said. “More than 35 years ago, I stepped out of my comfort zone and into a community that challenged me and a community that I challenged. We've been good together, and I am looking forward to continuing to help move the institution forward."  

After graduating from Davidson, Foxx earned a law degree at New York University, worked at a Charlotte law firm, clerked for a federal judge, worked on Capitol Hill and served as campaign manager for a congressman. In 2005, he put himself out there, again, by running for Charlotte city council. When he was elected mayor four years later, he was the youngest person to hold that office and the second Black mayor. 

Foxx previously chaired the college’s Commission on Race and Slavery. That panel’s 2020 report led to unprecedented steps by Davidson to examine its own history and reckon with it in the present. The college funded new research and created programs and faculty positions based on the report, as well as commissioning a memorial to the enslaved who labored on campus. The sculpture is scheduled for dedication in the fall of 2025. 

President Barack Obama nominated Foxx as Secretary of Transportation in 2013, and he was confirmed by a unanimous 100-0 Senate vote — almost unheard of today. He helped usher through the Obama administration’s FAST Act, a surface transportation bill, along with a national policy on autonomous vehicles and new rules on the commercial use of drones. He launched the department’s first Smart City Challenge for municipalities to develop strategies for incorporating new technologies into transportation. 

He was the designated survivor for the 2015 State of the Union address. 

Foxx served as chief policy officer for Lyft after leaving government and joined the Kennedy School’s faculty. In his current role there he replaced former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. 

Davidson’s trustees also elected Lisa Green Case ’99 as vice chair. 

Case, who lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, serves on the board of several nonprofits. She previously was a lawyer with Covington & Burling and Ropes & Gray and worked as an analyst with Bowles Hollowell Conner & Company. She was a Samuel Henry Bell Scholar at Davidson, majoring in mathematics, studied in Scotland, and was a member of the cheerleading, track and cross-country teams. She earned her law degree at Harvard. She is married to Jeff Case ’99. Lisa and Jeff provided funding for transforming the former Richardson Stadium into the college’s new Lisa and Jeff Case Track & Field Complex, established the need-based Case Scholarship and provided funds (with Jordan Case ’03) to name the Verna Miller Case Research and Creative Works Symposium after Jeff’s mother, Verna Case, who was associate dean of Teaching, Learning and Research and the B.F. Dolan Professor of Biology at Davidson College.  

The trustees also elected five new trustees: 

Jordan Clark ’77

A Davidson parent, Clark is the founder and a principal of Clark Ventures, LLC, a real estate investment firm specializing in multi-family apartment communities. An English major, he was a member of the Davidsonian staff, involved in drama, a Reach Out/Y Student Service Corps volunteer, and a member of Emanon House and Alpha Psi Omega. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill. Clark previously served Davidson as a member of the Board of Visitors. Clark and his wife, Patti Phillips Clark ’77, live in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Anne Hurt Krieg ’83 

Hurt Krieg has held positions in telecommunications, management consulting and managing small family businesses. A psychology major, she was a member of the women’s field hockey team and the Interfraternity Council and served as a residence advisor. Hurt Krieg earned an MBA from the University of Virginia. She has served Davidson as a member of the Board of Trustees from 2009-2014. Hurt Krieg and her husband, Ken Krieg ’83, established the Krieg Family Scholarship. They live in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Jack Purcell ’02

Purcell is a managing partner at Ridgemont Equity Partners, a middle market buyout and growth equity investment firm in Charlotte. An economics major, he was a member of the baseball team. He earned his MBA from the Wharton School of Business, at the University of Pennsylvania. Purcell has served Davidson as chair of the Davidson Athletic Fund board and an Economics Comparative Advantage mentor. Purcell and his wife, Neely, who live in Charlotte, established the Susan and Dick Cooke Baseball Scholarship.

Young Alumni Trustee

Emmitt Sklar ’21

Sklar is the youngest ever Brooklyn Borough Advocate at the Office of the NYC Public Advocate. The New York Public Advocate serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government, effectively acting as an ombudsman, or watchdog, for New Yorkers. Emmitt also founded New York’s first political action committee dedicated to helping to get young candidates elected. He also serves on the board of the Atlantic-Avenue Business Improvement District. A political science major and John Montgomery Belk Scholar, Emmitt served as SGA president during his sophomore and junior years. He was co-chair of the COVID Response Team and was the Wildcat mascot. He studied in Amman, Jordan. Sklar also founded and runs a nonprofit that has hired three current Davidson students. Since graduating, he has helped secure internships for and advised over a dozen students. Sklar lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Elected by the Alumni Association

Leslie Grinage ’03

Grinage is Vice President for Campus Life and Student Experience and Dean of the College at Barnard College, in New York City. A Spanish major at Davidson, she was a Bonner Scholar, member and president of the Black Student Coalition, member of the Dance Ensemble and Leadership Davidson and manager of the women’s basketball team. She also spent study and service time in Heredia, Costa Rica; Havana, Cuba; and Thailand. She holds an MS in Educational Administration from Texas A&M University and an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University. Grinage has volunteered for Davidson as a member of the Alumni Association Board, member of the Davidson Black Alumni Network, and committee member for the 50th anniversary of the Black Student Coalition. She was associate dean of students at Davidson from 2016-2019. Grinage and her husband, Renny Waldron, live in New York City.