President Miles K. Davis has informed the Linfield University Board of Trustees that he intends to step down from his position once an interim president has been identified and there has been time for an adequate transition period, which is likely by early 2024. He cited family obligations on the east coast, and that he had determined it is not feasible or advisable to be a bi-coastal president traveling back and forth regularly.
“It has been one of the greatest honors of my life to be your president,” President Davis wrote in a message to the Linfield community, after emerging from a special meeting of the board. “We have accomplished much together in the past 5+ years, and I treasure the time we have worked, cheered, laughed and cried together.”
Lucinda Day Fournier, chair of Linfield’s board, thanked President Davis for his service and said the decision to step down was his alone. She noted that the board had been intentional about hiring Davis to be a change agent during a period of dramatic upheaval in American higher education, particularly among small, liberal arts colleges.
“Dr. Davis led Linfield through the transition from college to university, the opening of a new campus in Portland, the addition of master’s programs and the creation of the School of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences,” she said. “He steered us to the finish line on the largest capital construction project in Linfield history, and the opening of the W.M. Keck Science Center. Most importantly, he did those things and more with poise and grace, while keeping student success at the forefront of every conversation. His leadership will be sorely missed.”
Fournier said a national search would be conducted for Linfield’s next president, and that details would be forthcoming on that process soon.
Davis was hired Jan. 31, 2018, to serve as the 20th president of Linfield University, and began serving as the first African-American president in the institution’s history on July 1 of that year. He has a Ph.D. in human and organizational sciences from George Washington University, an M.A. in human resource development from Bowie State University and a B.A. in communications from Duquesne University. Before coming to Linfield, he was dean of the Harry F. Byrd Jr. School of Business at Shenandoah University and director of its Institute for Entrepreneurship.
During his time at Linfield, Davis was named a Portland Business Journal executive of the year, chaired the Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges and Universities and served on the board for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. He also stabilized undergraduate enrollment that had fallen every year between 2011 and 2017, and grew graduate programs to serve a different community of students.
“The foundation for a new Linfield University that Dr. Davis established will benefit the next president, as well as Linfield students for generations to come,” Fournier said. “We are thankful for his insight, work and dedication to this institution we all treasure.”
Linfield University is an independent, nonprofit university with campuses in McMinnville and Portland, Oregon, as well an eCampus for online learning. Since 1858, Linfield has connected a traditional liberal arts experience with practical education through 54 majors, including wine studies, sport management and nursing. Linfield also offers interdisciplinary master’s degrees in business, nursing and sports sciences. For five years running, U.S. News & World Report magazine has named Linfield one of the top liberal arts colleges in the nation when it comes to social mobility. Thirty-eight percent of Linfield students are first-generation college students, and 38% are U.S. students of color. Linfield competes in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Learn more at www.linfield.edu.
