President Dr. John V. Griffith

John Vincent Griffith is a native of Hamilton, New York, where he grew up on the campus of Colgate University as the son of that institution’s longtime dean of students.

Education

He earned his undergraduate degree in religion with honors from Dickinson College, his master of divinity degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University, and his Ph.D. from Syracuse University.  He has been a chaplain, a minister, and a college lecturer and faculty member before entering higher education administration.

Experience

Early in his career he served as chaplain and head of the religion department at the Dana Hall School a private boarding school for girls in Wellesley, MA.  He then went on to Syracuse University and the University of Michigan where he did adjunct teaching and ran a federal grant program: Project CHOICE.  He is the author of numerous articles on student consumer protection and holds the copyright to the Learning Context Questionnaire used by educators to assess student intellectual development. 

In 1979 he went to Davidson College first as dean of admission and financial aid, and then as vice president for institutional advancement.  During his tenure at Davidson, the college made two key strategic moves that he was asked to lead: 1) establishing a student base and reputation that was national in scope and 2) launching and succeeding at the largest fundraising campaign to be attempted by a liberal arts college.  In 1989, Griffith was selected as president of Arkansas College, Batesville, Arkansas.  In this setting, his focus was on strategic planning, board development, and resource generation.  This led to changing the name of the institution to Lyon College, an undertaking that drew on the expertise of the company that helped ESSO go to Exxon.    In June of 1997, he was the unanimous choice of the Presbyterian College Board of Trustees to be its 16th president.  He began his work at Presbyterian College on January 1, 1998, and was formally inaugurated on October 10 of that same year.

Accomplishments

Griffith led the PC community in a year-long strategic planning initiative that resulted in a bold and innovative plan that guides the college through the first decade of the 21st century as it seeks to be the top liberal arts college in South Carolina and one of the recognized leaders in the Southeast.  During his tenure the College launched a $160 million campaign, established a doctoral program in pharmacy, recruited a Confucius Institute, and positioned the College to transition from NCAA Division II to NCAA Division I.  Hereto, board development and strategic planning have been central priorities for his work.

He has served as a member of the executive board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the chair of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities, chair and vice chair of the President’s Council of the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, member of the board and past chair of the Aspen Institute’s Wye Governing Council, the representative of private education to South Carolina’s Commission on Higher Education.  He has also served as a director of the chambers of commerce and economic development boards for the various communities in which he has served.  He is an ordained Presbyterian Minister (PCUSA) and a member of Trinity Presbytery.

Expertise

Over the course of his career he has developed a particular interest and expertise in strategic planning, board development, and leadership development in general.  Since Davidson, Lyon and Presbyterian are all church related liberal arts colleges, he has taken a keen interest in this type of institution and often speaks on the relationship between reason and faith in the academy.

Family

He and his wife, Nancy, are the parents of two sons:  Matt, a graduate of Davidson College and North Carolina State University School of Design, and Chris a graduate of his parents’ alma mater, Dickinson College, and George Washington University’s doctoral program in psychology.  Nancy and John have three grandchildren:  Liam, Owen and Sarah.  Nancy is an author and archivist with a recognized specialty in regional histories.  John enjoys water sports, reads fiction and exercises regularly, practices yoga, and paints in oils, acrylics, and watercolors.