Leo I. Higdon, Jr., became the tenth president of Connecticut College on July 1, 2006, after serving as president of the College of Charleston and Babson College, and as dean of the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.

A strong advocate of liberal arts education as the best preparation for life and career, Higdon was a Peace Corps volunteer and an investment banker with Salomon Brothers before becoming a leader in higher education.

Higdon leverages his business acumen and higher education expertise to distinguish Connecticut College among premier liberal arts colleges nationwide. Under his leadership, Connecticut College has earned national recognition as a top producer of Fulbright Award winners and Peace Corps volunteers, a winner of the Sen. Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationalization and a member of the President’s Community Service Honor Roll with distinction.

Additionally, Higdon has overseen an enhanced financial aid program, construction of a new fitness center and launched a Science Leaders program to help attract and retain underrepresented students in the sciences. Most recently, he announced the $20-plus million New London Hall renovation and addition that will transform Connecticut College’s oldest academic building into a new center for the life sciences.

Higdon earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Georgetown University and an M.B.A. in finance from the University of Chicago. He is a member of the boards of directors of Eaton Vance Corp. and HealthSouth Corp. His past board affiliations include Georgetown University, Mt. Holyoke College, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Association of American Colleges and Universities and several major corporations. He has written and published widely on higher education and business. Higdon and his wife Ann have four grown children.

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