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Hampton University President William R. Harvey, one of the nation’s longest-serving university executives and iconic figures within the HBCU sector, is expected to formally announce plans today to retire in the summer of 2022.
Harvey will end his Hampton career with more than 45 years in leadership and the distinction as it’s most successful fundraiser, donor, legislative advocate, and principal research investigator.
“As a Hampton University Alumnus and Chairman of its Board of Trustees, the growth and development that I have witnessed under Dr. Harvey’s successful leadership have been, in a word, triumphant,” said Trustee Wesley Coleman. “The significance of this president’s legendary contributions to Hampton will be celebrated for generations. Indeed, the school is so much better off for his having served as our 12th President. Therefore, on behalf of the Board of Trustees and all of us who love Hampton, we will always be grateful to Dr. and Mrs. Harvey for the immeasurably great job that they have done for the past 43 years and will continue to do for the remainder of his tenure.”
According to university records, Hampton established more than 92 undergraduate and graduate programs and increased its endowment from $29 to $300 million under Harvey’s leadership.
The university is among a handful of historically Black institutions to be designated a “high-research” university by the The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, and is among the nation’s most successful, historically-Black athletic brands.
