Vagt, Robert Fredrick
Vagt, Robert Fredrick
(b. 1947) Robert Fredrick (Bobby) Vagt began his post as Davidson’s 16th president on July 1, 1997. A Davidson College graduate of the class of 1969, Vagt also graduated from Duke Divinity School and was ordained by Concord Presbytery. He served as director of clinical programs in the Northwest Alabama Mental Health Center before becoming executive director of the Municipal Assistance Corporation for New York City from 1979-80, helping the city avoid bankruptcy. Prior to accepting the presidency of Davidson College, Vagt served as chairman, president and chief operating officer for Seagull Energy Corporation, an international oil and gas exploration and production company based in Houston, Texas.
Vagt has extremely close ties to the Davidson College community. His wife, Ruth Anne, is a graduate of Queens College in Charlotte and his daughters, Ashley and Lindsay, are, respectively, 1995 and 2001 graduates of Davidson College. Vagt completed various renovations on campus and concluded the Let Learning Be Cherished Campaign, while at Davidson, raising $272 million for the Endowment. President Vagt announced his retirement on June 8, 2006, and left his post on August 1, 2007.
Presidents – Works Cited
Robert Hall Morrison, Samuel Williamson, Drury Lacy, John Lycan Kirkpatrick, George Wilson McPhail, John Rennie Blake, Andrew Dousa Hepburn, Luther McKinnon, John Bunyan Shearer, Henry Louis Smith, William Joseph Martin, Jr., Walter Lee Lingle, John Rood Cunningham, David Grier Martin, Samuel Reid Spencer, Jr., John Wells Kuykendall, Robert Fredrick Vagt, Thomas Warren Ross, Sr.
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“Davidson Apoints Thomas W. Ross, Sr., As College’s Next President.” Davidson College Press Release, 29 March 2007, on the World Wide Web at: <http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x23408.xml>
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“An Honored Career .” Davidson College Press Release, 29 March 2007, on the World Wide Web at: <http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x23404.xml>
Kelley, Robert Lincoln. Davidson College: A Diagnosis and a Prescription. Lancaster, PA: Council of Church Boards of Education in the U.S.A., 1926.
Lingle, Walter L. Memories of Davidson College. Richmond, VA: John Knox, 1947.
Logan, Van Lear. “Growing Up in Davidson.” Davidson Journal 1 (1987): 20-23.
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Ramsey, Robert Wilson. Milestones Backward Run: The Story of Beta Theta Pi at Davidson,1858-1940. Davidson, NC: The Phi Alpha Chapter of Beta Theta Pi, 1940.
Ratliff, Charles E. Economics at Davidson: A Sesquicentennial History. Davidson, NC: Davidson College, 1987.
Scherer, John P. A Code of Civility: Antiwar Dissent at Davidson College During the Vietnam Era. Davidson College Honors Thesis, 1989.
Shames, Steven A. A Good Faith Effort: Integration at Davidson College. Davidson College Honors Thesis, 1996.
Shaw, Cornelia Rebekah. Davidson College. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1923.
Shaw, Cornelia Rebekah, comp. War Records of Davidson College, 1917-1918. Charlotte, NC: Presbyterian Standard, 1923.
Spencer, Samuel R. The First Year. Davidson, NC: Davidson College, 1969.
Shaw, Cornelia Rebekah. Davidson College. New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1923.
“Timeline.” Davidson College Press Release, 29 March 2007, on the World Wide Web at: <http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x23406.xml>
Author: Molly P. Gillespie & Mark Grotjohn
Date: 1998 & 29 June 2006
Cite as: Gillespie, Molly P. and Mark Grotjohn. “Robert Fredrick Vagt” Davidson Encyclopedia, 29 June 2006
https://digitalprojects.davidson.edu/omeka/s/college-archives-davidson-encyclopedia/page/vagt-robert-fredrick
Related Entries: President’s House, Presidents of Davidson College
Related Links: Vagt’s Presidential Portrait