Furman President Elizabeth Davis to step down in 2027

Furman University President Elizabeth Davis announced today that the 2026–27 academic year will be her final year as the university’s 12th president.

The announcement comes as Furman celebrates its bicentennial year, with festivities continuing through Homecoming this October as the university enters its third century.

According to a university announcement, Davis’ presidency has transformed the institution’s academic model, financial foundation and national standing. Davis shared her decision with the Board of Trustees on May 16 and notified the campus community in a message earlier this morning, May 18.

Davis will continue to lead Furman through the upcoming academic year, providing continuity as the board of trustees conducts a national search for her successor.

In her message to the campus community, Davis described the role as “the opportunity of a lifetime” and reflected on what drew her to Furman from the start: the university’s focus on undergraduate students and the relationships between faculty, staff and students that she has watched transform lives throughout her presidency.

Speaking to the timing of her announcement, she wrote: “As we celebrate our 200th year and look toward our third century, it’s the right time to begin a leadership transition. Furman has never been stronger. We have a clear path forward with our strategic plan, FUture Focused, our anticipated largest incoming class in over a decade, and a community ready for what comes next.”

She closed the message with: “The world needs Furman University, and I’m convinced our third century will be the best yet.”

Davis became Furman’s first female president in 2014. Over the 12 years that followed, she led a series of initiatives that redefined what a Furman education means and secured the university’s standing among the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, according to a news release:

The Furman Advantage, launched in 2016 as the university’s signature engaged-learning commitment, guarantees every student a personalized four-year pathway pairing classroom learning with research, internships, study away and community-engaged experiences, backed by sustained mentorship from faculty and staff. The Furman Advantage has received more than $78.9 million in support from The Duke Endowment.

Clearly Furman: the Campaign for Our Third Century, publicly launched in 2023 with an original goal of $426 million, has surpassed both that goal and a subsequent $476 million benchmark and is on track to conclude in June 2026 with more than $500 million. It will be one of the most successful campaigns ever completed by a liberal arts institution, according to the university.

Seeking Abraham, Furman’s nationally recognized reckoning with its historical ties to slavery. Furman University says the program has set a standard among American universities for honest engagement with institutional history.

On Discourse, building on Furman’s Statement on Freedom of Inquiry and Expression, equips students to engage thoughtfully across difference, establishing the university as a place where, in Davis’s words, students “learn how to think, not what to think.”

FUture Focused, the university’s strategic plan, charts Furman’s path forward through academic distinction, student success and operational strength.

Under Davis’s leadership, Furman has risen in the U.S. News & World Report national liberal arts college rankings into the mid-40s and has been named a “Most Innovative School” for eight consecutive years. The university has also been recognized in the national top 20 for “Best First-Year Experience,” and Furman’s Pathways Program, the only two-year academic advising program of its kind in the country, received the 2024 Advising Innovation Award from NACADA, the global community for academic advising.

Davis has also led significant investment in the physical campus, including the construction of Blackwell Hall, a new first-year residence hall that opened in fall 2025, comprehensive renovations to additional first-year housing completed the same year, and a total reimagination of Timmons Arena, the university’s premier venue for basketball and entertainment. She has led Furman through its bicentennial year, a yearlong celebration culminating at Homecoming this October that marks 200 years since the university’s founding in 1826, and has navigated significant external challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Helene.

Furman University Board of Trustees Chair Cindy Davis expressed the board’s gratitude and signaled confidence in Furman’s trajectory.

“Elizabeth has led Furman with vision, conviction and a deep love for this university and its people,” she said in the news release. “Over the past 12 years, she has strengthened every dimension of what makes Furman distinctive: our commitment to undergraduates, our engaged learning model, our financial foundation, and our standing among the nation’s leading liberal arts institutions. She has built on 200 years of bold leadership and added a chapter that will shape Furman for generations to come.”

“Just as important,” she continued, “Elizabeth is handing her successor a Furman that is ready for what’s next. With our largest incoming class in over a decade, a clear strategic plan in FUture Focused, and an engaged board and community, our momentum is real. The board will conduct a thorough, inclusive search for Furman’s next president, and we will do so from a position of strength.”