After more than four decades at the leadership of Hampton University, President William R. Harvey has stated his plans to retire.
What We Know:
- The Alabama citizen took over as Hampton University president 43 years ago in 1978, as the school was “slowly losing ground.” He later expressed it was the best professional decision he ever made.
- “I am the team leader, there’s no question about that,” Harvey said in an interview after the announcement. “But it’s been the team that’s caused all of these wonderful things to happen.”
- Harvey says he will stay around a little while longer, though, placing his retirement date on June 30, 2022.
“Other institutions, including majority institutions and more financially stable institutions, had offered him presidencies, but he decided to accept the position at Hampton. He chose Hampton because he wanted to be in a place where he could offer the most excellent service and make a difference,” the university said in a press release.
- One of Harvey’s most honorable accomplishments was the Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute when it treated its first patient in 2010. The center has fallen short of Harvey’s initial vision of 2,000 patients a year, seeing over 3,000 patients since it has opened.
- The university was the first historically Black college to initiate a center and remains one of the nation’s largest free-standing proton beam therapy centers.
- In his occupation, Harvey helped build Hampton into a nationally-recognized university, creating 92 new academic graduate degrees, raising the revenue from $29 million to over $300 million, and installing the largest free-standing cancer center in the world. Over 36,000 students have graduated under Harvey, the university mentions.
The year and a half between Harvey’s decision and retirement will give the university time to run its initial presidential search in over 40 years. The Board of Trustees will determine the process and criteria used, and Harvey stated he would not be associated with the selection.
