Va. college’s new leader makes history

Hampden-Sydney College has selected Christopher B. Howard as its new president -- the first African-American to lead the all-male college near Farmville.

Howard, vice president for strategic and leadership initiatives at the University of Oklahoma, was elected yesterday at a special meeting of the board of trustees in Richmond. He will assume the position in July, succeeding Walter M. Bortz III, who announced last spring that he would step down June 30, 2009.

Introduced to the college community at a campus reception yesterday afternoon, Howard joked that the school "overlooked a historical difference and chose a Baptist."

Thomas N. Allen, the board chairman, praised Howard's record of achievement and his ability to deal with the financial crisis that all independent liberal-arts schools will face.

"A guy with an MBA from Harvard knows the difference between black ink and red ink," Allen said.

Howard graduated in 1991 from the U.S. Air Force Academy and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, where he earned a doctorate. He later earned a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University.

He is a decorated lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve. He has served in Liberia and Bosnia and was deployed as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan.

Allen said Howard has what it takes to attract students. "This fellow is going to do a great job of bringing students to this place," he said.

Hampden-Sydney has 1,120 students enrolled this fall, including 57 who describe themselves as African-American or biracial.

"It shows the good side of Hampden-Sydney," English professor George Bagby said of the selection, "and I predict he will be a very popular member of the community."

Howard was chosen from a pool of 100 candidates that included sitting college presidents, Allen said.

Bortz's predecessor as president, Samuel Wilson, praised the selection yesterday. "I think we are entering a new era," Wilson said. "All systems are go."
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