November 25, 2025 – Gratitude and Updates from Campus
Dear Davidsonians,
In the spirit of this season, I write to express my gratitude for this remarkable community. Thank you for the vital part you play in our college’s success and in our students’ well-being. I’d like to share updates from an active few months on campus.
Because our students come from across the nation and globe, we moved last year to making Thanksgiving Break a full week, allowing students time to travel home or to visit a friend’s home. We recognize that staff members still work through the first half of this week. I want to share gratitude for these colleagues for their essential contributions to this college community.
We are grateful for our students’ talents and commitment to leadership and service. One class is studying in real time the impacts of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina through Dr. Brad Johnson’s geomorphology course. Biology major Joshua Wischmeyer ’27 discovered and published his research on a new treatment pathway for hemophilia. And we are grateful for students like Mav Smith ’26, recent recipient of a prestigious Beinecke Scholarship, who writes to help others expand their perspectives and increase empathy.
Our theme this year is Building on Strength, and we’ve seen and heard much construction on campus. The renovated George Lawrence Abernethy Library is on track for opening in August 2027. In this interim period, students have filled the renovated Lilly Family Gallery, which serves as “library central,” and other services and book deliveries are running smoothly.
Last month we dedicated With These Hands: A Memorial to the Enslaved and Exploited, on a beautiful fall day with 1,000 people attending. Special guests included more than 150 neighbors, former employees, and family members who identify as descendants of the enslaved or those who worked on campus during Segregation. I invite you to read this article to learn more about the dedication, hear Clint Smith ’10 read the poem the college commissioned for this occasion, and hear reactions from members of the descendant community.
We are also building on the strength of our values and purpose. Two weeks ago, we hosted the second annual National Convening of Honor Councils, welcoming student leaders and faculty/staff advisors from 18 colleges. Honor Council members heard from experts on ethics and compared stories about how best to maintain their Honor Code and cultivate academic integrity amid the realities of artificial intelligence. We at Davidson seek to lead this work by hosting these national conversations and enhancing our campus culture of trust.
The newly launched Institute for Public Good builds on Davidson’s commitment to freedom of expression. As one example, the Deliberative Citizenship Initiative created a forum series on “American Values,” with an eye toward the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Davidson College invited Duke University and the University of North Carolina to join in this forum series; each event, starting with the kickoff at Davidson, is simulcast to the other two campuses and shared broadly via Zoom.
The Institute for Public Good also hosted a joint event with US Senators Amy Klobuchar (D) of Minnesota and Thom Tillis (R) of North Carolina focused on “Public Good in a Divided Time.” We filled the Duke Family Performance Hall mostly with students for a candid conversation about public service and ways that disillusioned young citizens can create better politics.
In a notable event for the wider Charlotte-Mecklenburg area, voters passed a referendum to add a 1% sales tax (except on essential food items) to fund transportation: roads, buses, light rail. The first rail project to be undertaken is the Red Line, connecting Davidson to Uptown Charlotte. When completed over the next decade, this rail line will be a vital connector for students to access internships, culture, and entertainment; for employees to reach campus; and for visitors to attend admission, arts, and athletic events at Davidson.
We were pleased to see that national ratings and rankings are recognizing Davidson’s return on investment for our students. For a second year in a row, The Wall Street Journal ranked Davidson #10 among all universities and colleges in the US. Their methodology places emphasis on student outcomes, including graduation rates and starting salaries, as well as on low student indebtedness. These are indicators that matter to our students and families.
Our financial position is strong despite the significant headwinds for the economy in general and for higher education more specifically. We know that higher education needs to build trust and that the cost of a degree is high. We are a highly labor-intensive enterprise, especially given Davidson’s commitment to mentoring across campus. It is also true that our actual cost to educate each student is higher than the full sticker price that Davidson charges. We benefit from the compounding strength of generations of donors, whose generosity has allowed us to grow an endowment that pays out over $60 million a year to fund student scholarships and other key expenses. We remain appreciative that the federal government exempted Davidson and other small schools from the endowment tax.
I am grateful for the kindness and generosity of alums of all eras. I give thanks for alums and parents of current or former students who together create a powerful personal and professional network. I am grateful for faculty members who, along with finding a moment of rest during this holiday week, are grading papers, preparing classes for this semester and next, and creating scholarly and artistic works. I am thankful for neighbors across the Town of Davidson and Charlotte who have invited our college into stronger relationships.
I extend my thanks to our entire community, which has come together to support one another in times of uncertainty and offered spaces of hope and joy. And, I am grateful for the energy, hope, and humor of our students, for whom the college exists.
With appreciation,
Doug Hicks '90
President