Leadership

Anita Olson Gustafson, Ph.D. was installed as the 20th president of Presbyterian College on April 26, 2024. 

She returned to PC after seven years as the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a professor of history at Mercer University, a private research university in Macon, Ga. Before joining Mercer in 2016, Gustafson served on the PC faculty and administration for nearly two decades. She is PC’s first female president.

While at Mercer University, Gustafson managed the university’s largest academic undergraduate college with nearly 2000 students. She collaborated consistently with the provost and deans from 11 other university programs, including the Schools of Law, Business, Engineering, Education, Theology, Professional Advancement, Music, Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Professions. In 2018, she worked with faculty to develop and implement a strategic plan for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. 

During her 19 years at PC, Gustafson worked to deliver a high-quality liberal arts program as a member of the faculty and as an administrator. She served on the president’s cabinet for more than two years while the presidential position was in transition due to a retirement. She also served as interim provost, interim dean of academic programs and history department chair. Gustafson held a number of faculty leadership roles at PC, including chair of the Senior Faculty Council and chair of the PC Launch Program for Vocation, Leadership and Service. 

Gustafson earned her doctorate and master’s degrees in history from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. She holds a bachelor’s degree with majors in economics and Swedish and a minor in history from North Park University in Chicago.

Dr. Gustafson and her husband, Charles, have one son, Karl, who is a graduate student in global sustainability at the University of Helsinki, Finland. 

See more about Dr. Gustafson and her hiring process.

Rogers-Ingram Vice President for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Dr. Selena Blair

Dr. Selena Blair is Presbyterian College’s first Rogers-Ingram Vice President for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, and the Title IX coordinator.

Blair joined the president’s cabinet in June 2022 after serving as director of equity and inclusion and Title IX coordinator at Limestone University in Gaffney.

A 2004 graduate of Limestone, Blair earned a master of arts in counseling from Webster University in 2007. In 2022, she earned a doctor of education in professional leadership from Converse University in Spartanburg.

In addition, Blair earned a certification in diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace from the University of South Florida and is a certified trainer with Employment Learning Innovations Inc. and the National Coalition Building Institute.

Blair, a TRIO alumna, began her professional career as an administrative specialist and counselor for the TRIO Educational Talent Search at Williamsburg Technical College in Kingstree. In 2005, she joined the staff at Greenville Technical College – first as a financial aid officer and associate director of financial aid before serving as director of TRIO Student Support Services. In 2012, she became the director of TRIO Student Support Services at the University of South Carolina Upstate, where she also served as an adjunct professor.

Blair has held numerous leadership positions at the state, regional and national levels to further philanthropic endeavors as well as advocating on Capitol Hill for policy changes and increased funding to benefit marginalized students. In 2017, Blair was the first person elected from the state of South Carolina as president of the Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel and has served on the National Board of Directors for the Council of Opportunity in Education. She is an experienced grant writer, consultant, and presenter.

Blair is a four-time winner of the S.C. TRIO Presidential Award for Exceptional Service and a 2012 winner of the Randall E. McNeal Spirit of TRIO Staff Award. That same year, she earned Greenville Technical College’s Unsung Hero Award. In 2013, she was the Unsung Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel Supporter, and in 2014, she earned the USC Upstate Multicultural Programs Empowerment Award.

Blair is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and is an active parent volunteer with the Girl Scouts of South Carolina Mountains to Midlands. She is also a minister in training, director of public relations, church clerk, and youth advisor at New Hope Christian Church.

Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration

Daniel Hall

Daniel Hall is the interim vice president for finance and administration at Presbyterian College, where he will serve through 2025.

Hall, who has more than 30 years of executive experience in corporate and higher education finance and operations, is a 1976 graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Ore., where he earned a Bachelor of Science in economics and urban and regional governments. He earned his MBA in finance from the University of Oregon in 1978. He began a decades-long career in financial leadership roles in the private sector, including serving as the chief financial officer for the Space Needle Corp. in Seattle, Wash., the Georgia Dome, and the Georgia World Congress Center’s MGR Food Services.

From 1999-2001, Hall served as the Oregon Department of Human Services’ statewide facilities administrator, then took over as the business services manager for the Oregon Employment Department from 2001-07. In 2007, he became the chief financial officer and senior director of operations for the International Society for Technology in Education. In 2011, he became the assistant provost for operations and administration for Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates.

Hall began his first foray into U.S. higher education in 2012 as vice president of finance and facilities at North Hennepin Community College in Minnesota. From 2016-22, he served as vice president of administrative services at Los Angeles Southwest College.

After retiring in 2022, Hall has served in two interim positions – as the interim vice president, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer of Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and the interim vice president for administrative services and chief financial officer for Walla Walla Community College in Washington state.

Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Erin McAdams

Dr. Erin McAdams began her duties as interim provost in July 2024 following 12 years of distinguished service in Presbyterian College’s Political Science Department.

Dr. McAdams is a proven educational leader on campus, having completed three years of service as chair of the Faculty Senate and as an ex-officio member of the President’s Cabinet. She has served on numerous college committees, including the Provost’s Dean’s Council, the Undergraduate Programs Committee of the PC Board of Trustees, and the Curriculum Committee.

The 2017 Professor of the Year continues to serve as a member of PC’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, the Women’s and Gender Studies Committee, and as advisor and director of the college’s Pre-law Studies Committee. Dr. McAdams also advised the Political Science Club, College Republicans, and College Democrats.

Most recently, Dr. McAdams was selected to participate in the 2024-25 Senior Leadership Academy sponsored by the Council of Independent Colleges and the American Academic Leadership Institute. This prestigious yearlong program prepares the next generation of administrators in higher education prepare for cabinet-level positions at independent colleges or universities.

Dr. McAdams earned her undergraduate degree from Allegheny College and earned her Ph.D. in political science from The Ohio State University in 2009. Before joining PC’s faculty, she taught at Ohio State, Dickenson College in Pennsylvania, and the College of Charleston. Her work has been published in Electoral Studies, Politics and Religion, and the International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, and she is currently writing a book on changes in the Republican Party since the rise of the Tea Party movement in 2010.

Athletic Director

Dee Nichols

Longtime athletic administrator Dee Nichols joined the president’s cabinet in Aug. 2023 as PC’s new director of athletics.

Nichols brings decades of leadership experience in intercollegiate athletics to her new post, most recently serving as the senior associate athletic director for operations and senior woman administrator.

Nichols joined the PC Department of Athletics in 2009 as assistant athletic director and quickly established herself as a leader within the program and across campus. An instrumental part of the department’s operations, Nichols has served various stints supervising athletic offices responsible for NCAA compliance, scholarships, programming, and facilities operations, in addition to a period as interim AD.

Nichols played an integral role in several influential periods in the department’s history, including the Division I transition, the addition of four varsity sports, assisting an $8 million campaign to fund new athletic facilities, and serving as an adviser on the design of three new athletic facilities.

Over the past 13 years, Nichols has grown the department’s first NCAA Division I compliance program, focusing on education and monitoring. She has aided in the creation and development of the academic services position to provide resources to student-athletes.

During her tenure, Nichols has held titles of assistant athletic director (2009-12), associate athletic director (2012-15), senior associate athletic director (2015-19), and interim athletic director (April to August 2019), as well as the senior woman administrator role she was appointed to in 2010.

She has held numerous other leadership positions on campus, from her post on the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, as adviser to the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, and as the athletic department’s liaison to campus departments, including Residential Life, Financial Aid, Conduct, and Title IX.

Nichols was also named an Honorary Alumna of PC in 2020.

Fellow PC trustee Brad Spearman ’85, who worked closely with Nichols on athletic initiatives, is also enthusiastic about the college’s choice.

A 1991 graduate of Georgia Southern University with a Bachelor of Health and Physical Education, Nichols earned her master’s degree in physical education from GSU in 1992. As a student, she was a four-year starter in volleyball for the Eagles.

Nichols began her professional career in intercollegiate athletics as an assistant volleyball coach at GSU in 1992. She served as head volleyball coach for her alma mater from 1994-97 before switching to women’s basketball as a recruiting coordinator. Before joining PC’s athletics staff, Nichols was the assistant compliance director at the University of Rhode Island.

Nichols resides in Clinton with her husband, Harold ’89. They have three children – Cassie ’20, Cameron, and Corey.

Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives

Leni Patterson

Leni Neal Patterson ’83 — One of Presbyterian College’s most experienced leaders — Leni Patterson joined the president’s cabinet in 2021 and serves as executive director of strategic initiatives.

Patterson facilitates PC’s strategic planning processes and serves as project manager for specific initiatives critical to meeting the college’s strategic plans.

In addition to assisting and advising the president, she also engages with colleagues across the campus and external constituents to ensure institutional alignment with strategic plans.

Patterson joined the staff at her alma mater in 2000 and has served in a variety of leadership roles, including dean of enrollment and dean of community life. Since 2014, she has served as executive director of alumni relations and most recently has served as interim vice president of enrollment.

In her work in alumni relations, Patterson established eight alumni chapters and re-established the African-American Alumni Council and the Young Alumni Council. She engaged more than 300 alumni in PC’s Compass Program to conduct informational interviews with college sophomores related to their career interests.

She has also been a dedicated community leader. Patterson is the former chair of the Laurens County School District 55 Board of Trustees, former president of the S.C. School Boards Association, and a director on the National School Boards Association. She is a member and elder at First Presbyterian Church in Clinton.

She has three sons and daughters-in-law and five grandchildren.

Dean of Students and Interim Title IX Coordinator

Andrew Peterson

Drew Peterson is Presbyterian College’s dean of students. In his role as the college’s chief student affairs officer, he and his staff are responsible for campus events, esports, Greek life, new student orientation, residence life, student conduct, and student involvement. Peterson is also responsible for creating and facilitating leadership opportunities for students, faculty, and staff utilizing the Social Change Model of Student Leadership Development – including workshops, annual retreats, and the development of the Emerging Leaders Retreat for first-year students.

Peterson’s career at PC began in 2014 when he joined the staff as associate dean of student life and director of residential life. In January 2022, he was promoted to dean of students, and in April 2023 was named interim Title IX coordinator.

Before PC, he served as assistant director of residential life at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, from July 2011 to May 2014.

A 2007 graduate of Allegheny College in Meadville, Penn., Peterson holds bachelor’s degrees in psychology and English. In 2011, he earned his master’s degree in higher education and student affairs from the Ohio State University and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education in leadership for organizations from the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio.

Peterson served on the executive board of the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I) from 2019-21 as the small colleges and universities director. With the ACUHO-I, he created the small colleges online network and developed the organization’s first small school symposium. He is the past president of the S.C. Housing Officers Association.

At PC, he taught the first-year experience course, “There and Back Again: A Journey into College with Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’” and is a member of the PC College Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. He established and chaired the PC National Coalition Building Institute, which provided workshops, guided conversations, and listening sessions for the campus community about diversity and inclusion.

In 2023, he was an inaugural inductee in Alpha Alpha Alpha, a national honor society for first generation college students.

Peterson lives in Clinton with his two sons, Jake and Spencer, and their dog, Cookie. He has served on Eastside Elementary’s School Improvement Council and loves helping coach youth sports teams through the Clinton YMCA.

Vice President of Advancement

Dr. Francis Schodowski

Dr. Francis Schodowski joined the Presbyterian College community as vice president of advancement in August, 2022.

Schodowski is a 1996 graduate of Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, earning a bachelor of science in business administration and marketing. He earned a master of business administration from Alvernia University in Reading, Penn., and a doctorate in education from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass.

Prior to PC, Schodowski served as executive vice president at Columbia College in Columbia, S.C., where he also served as vice president for advancement.

Before joining the administration at Columbia, Schodowski served as associate vice president for advancement at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Penn.

Prior to that, Schodowski joined the staff at Millersville University in Pennsylvania as director of development. While there, his responsibilities evolved to include service as director of planned giving, interim executive director of the Millersville University Foundation, and interim assistant vice president of alumni and development. During his tenure at Millersville and with its institutionally-affiliated foundation, the endowment doubled and a comprehensive campaign was designed, conducted, and concluded with gifts exceeding $85 million.

He began his professional career in 1996 as an admissions counselor at Alvernia. In just under a decade, Schodowski advanced in various roles both in admissions and advancement. He served as assistant director of admissions, director of undergraduate admissions, director of development, and assistant vice president of development, before completing his time at Alvernia as associate vice president of advancement.

Living the college’s motto “While We Live, We Serve”, he has been active in the communities in which he has worked. Most recently, service opportunities have included SCBio (Board), SC Philharmonic (Advisory Board), SC Planned Giving Council (Board). Other areas of interest and support around non-profit and economic impact have included Special Olympics (volunteer), Columbia Development Corporation (Board).

Francis and his wife, Amy, have three children- Kaylee, George, and Makenna.

Chief Marketing Officer

Dana Simmons

Dana Simmons joined Presbyterian College on Oct. 1, 2021, as its first chief marketing officer.

A graduate of Brigham Young University, Simmons was the former director of enrollment communications and operations at Stetson University before joining President Matt vandenBerg’s cabinet last fall.

She began her career in marketing as the e-commerce marketing and search marketing manager for FranklinCovey Co. in Utah. She made her move to higher education in 2006 when she became director of enrollment marketing communications for Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. She also served as director of marketing communications at Western Governors University in Utah before landing at Stetson.

Simmons has creatively led rebranding initiatives and managed strategies across multiple channels in various methods to achieve maximum marketing performance.

She has shared her expertise with many others in the marketing field, including the Capture Higher Education Resolve Conference, the American Association of Colleges Recruitment Admissions Officers, the American Marketing Association, and the RecruitmentPlus Users Conference.

Simmons’ work earned her the Utah American Marketing Association Spotlight of the Month in June 2012, the Presidential Star Award at Westminster College in 2009, and the Summit Award from FranklinCovey in 2005.

She is the mother of two grown children and has two dogs.

Vice President for Enrollment Management

Dr. Brandon Vinson

Dr. Brandon Vinson joined Presbyterian College’s leadership team in June 2024 as the vice president of enrollment management.

Dr. Vinson brings more than 15 years of experience in higher education, having last served as associate vice chancellor of enrollment management services at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina.

Before his time at Winston-Salem State, Vinson served as associate vice president for enrollment management and student affairs and head coach for esports at Bowie State University in Bowie, Md. There, he was responsible for overseeing the undergraduate and graduate admissions office and the financial aid and registrar’s offices. With the merger of enrollment management and student affairs at Bowie State, Vinson also managed the school’s private scholarships and grants offices, enrollment services, and housing and residential life.

Vinson’s experience also includes tenures as assistant vice president of financial aid at West Chester University in Pennsylvania, executive director of financial aid at the University of Baltimore in Maryland, director of financial aid at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Ill., senior director of financial services at LIM College in New York City; and director of financial aid at Harold Washington College in Chicago.

Vinson earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill., and a master’s degree in psychology and organizational leadership from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He earned his doctorate in educational leadership and management from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minn.

Marianne and E.G. Lassiter Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual Life

Dr. Buz Wilcoxon ’05

The Rev. Dr. Buz Wilcoxon ‘05 is Presbyterian College’s first Marianne and E.G. Lassiter Chaplain and Dean of Spiritual Life.

Wilcoxon was an exemplary student at PC. In addition to earning valedictorian and Outstanding Senior honors, he also earned the Lewis S. Hay Religion Award, the Jack and Jane Presseau Service Award, and the Outstanding Senior in Religion and Philosophy.

His graduate career was equally impressive. Wilcoxon earned his Master of Divinity degree in 2008 from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga. He earned the Florrie Wilkes Sanders Prize in Theology, the Anna Whitner Memorial Fellowship, the Wilds Book Prize, and was a Columbia Scholar. Wilcoxon also earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Columbia, where he was honored with the Lyman and Myki Mobley Prize in Worship and the George and Sally Telford Award.

Wilcoxon was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament by the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 2008. He served as associate pastor at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC and senior pastor at Spring Hill Presbyterian Church in Mobile, AL.

Wilcoxon is a member of the Columbia Theological Seminary Board of Trustees, and he served as a board member of the Christus Theological Institute at Springs Hill College

He has been a stalwart servant in the larger church, having served on numerous committees in Foothills Presbytery, the Presbytery of South Alabama, the Synod of Living Waters, and the PC (USA). He has been a contributing writer, columnist, and hymn writer for Call to Worship, a liturgical publication of the PC(USA), and he served on the editorial review board for the Book of Common Worship.

Ronald Allen
Atlanta, Ga.

James H. Barnhardt Jr. ’67
Charlotte, N.C.

Kenneth R. Couch
White Stone, S.C.

William C. Gaston ’65
Atlanta, Ga.

L. Thompson Lawson, III ’71
Charlotte, N.C.

William D. Loeble, Jr., ’65
Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Rev. Allen C. McSween
Greenville, S.C.

Thomas H. Milton ’72
Greensboro, N.C.

Richard H. Monk
Birmingham, Ala.

G. Patrick Phillips ’71
Charlotte, N.C.

James H. Powell ’68
Marietta, Ga.

William B. Shearer, Jr. ’64
Miramar Beach, Fla.