Leadership professor leaves Richmond for Colgate

Douglas Hicks, professor of leadership studies and religion, has been appointed provost and dean of faculty at Colgate University. Hicks said he will use the knowledge of leadership that he has gained as a Jepson professor to help him lead Colgate.

Hicks' understanding of the value of a liberal arts education and his engaging demeanor in the classroom made him an exceptional leader during his time at Richmond, said Sandra Peart, dean of the Jepson School for Leadership Studies.

Hicks has been housed in Jepson during his time at Richmond and was the founder of the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, which he directed for five years.

Hicks' passion for community-based learning has contributed to the development of the Jepson curriculum. He pioneered two courses within the Jepson school: Justice and Civil Society and Leadership in the Common Good. Both focus on leadership in connection with community engagement. Justice and Civil Society is a requirement for the leadership degree as well as for Bonner scholars, Peart said.

"Dr. Hicks is so knowledgeable in every subject," said Kendall Bossidy, a student of Hicks. "He welcomes everyone's opinions and teaches you without making you feel inferior."

Hicks said he enjoyed teaching the most during his 14 years at Richmond. Hicks starts his new job on July 1.

"I have enjoyed getting students to both love ideas and see the connections of those ideas to the metro-Richmond community," Hicks said.

Although teaching has been his focus at Richmond, Hicks will take on a more administrative role at Colgate. The provost and dean of faculty's main focus is supporting faculty in various departments and programs in their teaching and research as well as academic matters such as the curriculum, Hicks said.

"[Richmond] is a great liberal arts university, and I've had the chance to be involved in faculty governance and to work with the provost and the president as well as a great set of deans," Hicks said. "I think I'll take all those experiences with me to help lead a similar institution"

Jeffrey Herbst, president of Colgate, said the combination of Hicks' understanding of the liberal arts education, his history of intellectual innovations and administrative experience had made Hicks an attractive candidate for the position.

Catherine Bagwell, Hicks' wife, is a professor of psychology at Richmond and a Richmond alumna. She will join the psychology department at Colgate.

Colgate's psychology department is similar to Richmond's in size and in its emphasis on student involvement in hands-on research and experience, Bagwell said. Colgate needs to develop the area of child-development, which is Bagwell's focus, she said.

Bagwell said she and Hicks had mixed emotions about the move, especially because Richmond was her alma mater.

Peart said Hicks' legacy lies not only in his tangible contributions to Jepson and the CCE, but in the students that he has taught.

"Jepson has been a special place," Hicks said. "It's not easy to leave."

Contact reporter Molly Gentzel at molly.gentzel@richmond.edu