Connecticut College Selects Leo I. Higdon, Jr., Leader in Higher Education and Business, as 10th President.

NEW LONDON, Conn. -- Leo I. Higdon, Jr., president of the College of Charleston and former president of Babson College, has been named the 10th president of Connecticut College. His presidency will begin on July 1.

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to select Higdon, a former investment banker who stepped down as vice chairman of Salomon Brothers in 1993 to pursue a second career in higher education. He previously served as dean of the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia, where he held the Charles C. Abbott Chair of Business Administration. He has written and published extensively on higher education and leadership topics.

"Lee Higdon brings to Connecticut College a strong commitment to liberal arts education and exceptional experience," said Barbara Shattuck Kohn, chair of the Board of Trustees and a member of the Presidential Search Committee.

Higdon said he was attracted by Connecticut College's well-earned reputation for innovation, academic excellence and strong faculty-student relationships.

Higdon, 59, received a bachelor's degree in history in 1968 from Georgetown University. Following graduation, he and his wife Ann spent two years in the Peace Corps, teaching in Malawi, Africa. He earned an M.B.A. in finance in 1972 from the University of Chicago.

At the College of Charleston, Higdon oversaw the institution's growth from a regional university to a nationally-known liberal arts and sciences institution with a steadily improving student profile.

As president of Babson College, Higdon doubled the endowment, increased enrollment of women and underrepresented minorities, and expanded funds for faculty research. During his tenure of dean of the Darden School, the endowment doubled, and he successfully completed the largest campaign in the school's history.

Higdon joined Salomon Brothers in 1973 where he became vice chairman and member of the executive committee and managed the global investment banking division. He initiated and executed four transactions recognized by Institutional Investor as "Deals of the Year."

Higdon will succeed Norman Fainstein, who became president of Connecticut College in October 2001.

Higdon sits on the boards of directors of Chemtura Corporation, Eaton Vance Corporation, HealthSouth Corporation, and Newmont Mining. He was formerly a board member of Georgetown University, Mt. Holyoke College, the Brooklyn Museum, and Africare.