The Ursuline College Board of Trustees has announced that David King will be the college’s 18th president, effective July 1.
He succeeds Sister Christine De Vinne, who announced last August that she would retire at the end of the 2023-24 academic year, according to a news release.
King is currently serving as the executive director of business relations and Executive in Residence for Eastern University’s College of Business and Leadership. He previously served for more than 10 years as the president of Malone University in North Canton, stepping down in 2022.
During his presidency at Malone, the university launched several successful new programs such as cybersecurity, criminal and restorative justice, and urban studies. It also reconfigured some offerings to be fully online including the bachelor’s in social work, master’s in counseling, and MBA programs, the release stated.
Malone also completed a $25 million capital campaign and secured more than 100 partnerships with Northeast Ohio organizations, businesses, and non-profits.
Prior to joining Malone, King spent 20 years at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, in leadership roles with increasing responsibility in human resources, fundraising, and eventually as provost.
Hundreds of applications were reviewed with assistance from the search firm Hyatt-Fennell, according to the release. Ursuline College Board Chair John M. “Jack” Newman states,
“Dr. King stood out because of his many accomplishments, especially in his ability to help an organization as well as its faculty and staff adapt to the rapid changes in higher education,” Ursuline College Board Chair John M. “Jack” Newman stated.
“The members of the committee were impressed not only with Dr. King’s successes but also with his commitment to the student experienceTeri Corletzi, search committee chair and board vice chair, stated in the release. “For us, that’s the embodiment of the Ursuline College mission–educating students for service, leadership, and professional excellence.”
King, who will be the first layperson and male to preside over the historically women’s co-ed Catholic college in Pepper Pike, notes that Ursuline’s mission and its core values played a significant role in his decision.
“The college’s core values of being student focused while promoting spirituality, respect, and collaboration are equally as important to me as its mission,” he stated in the release. “The mission describes what we do, while our core values represent how we engage with the world to accomplish that mission. Together, they represent the transformational impact of an Ursuline College education.”
He is married to Winnie Lowrie King, and the couple have two grown children — a son and a daughter — and five grandchildren, ages 13 to 6.