Alumnus Bobby Vagt is among those exemplary leaders whose call takes them beyond traditional ministry settings in the pursuit of Christian excellence.

Under Vagt’s leadership, Davidson raised $272 million in a seven-year fundraising campaign. A majority of those gifts-82 percent-were “from within the Davidson family.”

When Robert F. Vagt arrived at Davidson College, his was an atypical resume for the president of a liberal arts college.

After earning an A.B. in psychology at Davidson and a master of divinity from Duke, Vagt worked first in prison administration, then moved to positions in the fields of mental health and public administration, where he helped save New York City’s chaotic budget—twice—and did similar work for New York state.

Vagt was president of Seagull Energy Corp., an international supplier of oil and gas based in Houston and worth some $1.25 billion, when Davidson chose him as its 16th president in 1997. His path following seminary and ordination in the Presbyterian Church had been, arguably, as unpredictable as his selection to lead one of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges.

What was predictable was Vagt’s commitment, energy and momentum. There’s nothing static about his resume, his leadership style, or his daily schedule. Colleagues and students describe him as charismatic and tireless. He has distinguished himself in such a wide range of fields that his mother-in-law has been known to quip: “The boy can’t hold down a job.”

John McCartney, chair of the Davidson trustees, says of Vagt, “He is a driven, hard-nosed executive who brought us a bottom-line business sense of urgency to problem-solving, He kept us asking, ‘What’s our mission, and are we moving there fast enough?’”

Vagt’s successes at Davidson may be a harbinger of a trend—President Nido Qubein of High Point University down the road is also serving his alma mater with a background in business rather than the academy. A business career is arguably better preparation for one of the primary jobs of most academic administrators—fundraising.

On that score alone, Vagt’s tenure has been a success. A seven-year $250 million fundraising campaign, which seemed audacious when it was first announced in 1998, brought in $272 million.

Vagt says he is particularly humbled by the fact that 82 percent of those gifts came “from within the Davidson family. We will work to be worthy,” he says, “of such generous support.”

While he is proud of Davidson’s new construction and renovations, his commitment has been to improvements beyond bricks and mortar. He raised faculty salaries from below to above median level for similar institutions, and he praises the professors’ acumen publicly at every opportunity.

He has shown a deft touch with small but symbolically-weighted matters: when Davidson admitted women in 1973, half the restrooms in the main academic building were designated for women. The urinals remained in those converted men’s rooms as a sort of reminder of unwelcome to women on campus, until Vagt had them removed.

Known simply as “Bobby” on campus, he works to know the names and faces of students, faculty and staff. He also entertains every faculty and staff member and graduating senior in his home. He participates in Davidson’s annual cake race—a 3-mile jog for freshman—while wearing the oversized Wildcat mascot head.

“Whether it’s a Passover Seder, a Latin dance on a Tuesday night, or a sleep-out for homelessness awareness, he’s there,” says Rob Spach, Davidson’s chaplain.

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