Board Votes Tipson President-Elect
At its February meeting, the Board of Visitors and Governors
appointed the president of Wittenberg University in Springfield,
OH, to succeed John S. Toll. Baird Tipson becomes the 26th president
of Washington College effective July 1.
“In Baird Tipson we found a proven leader and true champion
of the liberal arts,” said Tuck Maddux, trustee and chair
of the Presidential Screening Committee. “His successful
career in higher education demonstrates a mix  of
strong leadership, managerial and fundraising skills with a
vision and passion that will make him an ideal president for
Washington College.”
“I am honored to be entrusted with the leadership of a
college whose legacy originates with George Washington, the
founder of our republic, and William Smith, the architect of
American higher education, and whose most recent leader, John
Toll, is a national model of effective presidential leadership,”
Tipson said in accepting the appointment.
During his eight years as president of Wittenberg University,
Tipson ushered in new academic programs and endowed chairs,
integrated information technology into the academic classroom,
successfully completed the largest capital campaign in Wittenberg’s
history, doubled the institution’s endowment, and enhanced
campus facilities. He is also credited with building a strong
board of trustees and enhancing community relations.
Prior to assuming the presidency of Wittenberg in 1995, Tipson
served as Provost (1987-1995) and Acting President (1988) of
Gettsyburg College. Throughout his career in administration,
Tipson has remained involved in teaching and scholarly pursuits
as a professor of religion with research interests and publications
revolving around Puritanism, Calvinism and Early English Protestantism.
Tipson currently serves as President of the North Coast Athletic
Conference, Past President of the Association of Independent
Colleges and Universities of Ohio, and President of the Springfield
Symphony Orchestra Board. He is a runner and an avid gardener.
Tipson earned his Ph.D. in religious studies at Yale University.
As an undergraduate he majored in religion and history at Princeton
University, graduating summa cum laude as a member of Phi Beta
Kappa. He also studied at Phillips Universitaet in Germany and
has been a Rockefeller Dissertation Fellow, a Woodrow Wilson
Fellow and a Fulbright-Hays Fellow.
Tipson and his wife, Sarah, have two grown children. |
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