Wright State University President, David R. Hopkins has announced he’ll retire in June, 2017 when his current contract expires.
Hopkins spent three years as university provost before becoming president in 2007. Since then, he’s overseen dramatic expansion of the campus and its curriculum. He says, in that time, more than 30,000 students have finished degrees at Wright State.
“But what’s really remarkable about those 30,000, almost 40% are first generation college students," he said in an interview with WYSO. "Nobody in their family ever finished a college degree, and having been one of those, it means a lot to me because we’re not only changing that individual’s life, we’re changing their family’s for generations to come.”
During Hopkins’ tenure, Wright State has seen national prominence with the recent visits from actor and director Tom Hanks—Wright State’s newly renovated film department bears Hanks' name, and Pulitzer Prize-winner David McCullough. The university will also host the first presidential debate this fall.
In a statement released earlier in the day, Hopkins said, “Serving as the president of this great university has truly been the most gratifying experience of my 42-year career in higher education. My goal was to lead Wright State to become a more relevant public research university in meeting the 21st century needs of our students and the communities we serve."
Hopkins said, "To achieve that, we have aspired not to be the best university in the world, but rather the best university FOR the world.”
In 2015, Wright State came under scrutiny for possible violations of its H-1B visa program for guest workers and they recently announced $19 million dollars in cuts due to a budget shortfall.
The 67 year-old Hopkins is the 6th president at Wright State and says he looks forward to spending more time with family.
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