About President Douglas N. Searcy
Dr. Douglas N. Searcy leads Barton College with a passionate calling and a bold strategic vision. During his presidential tenure, he has transformed the landscape of Barton College and its programs. Under Dr. Searcy’s leadership, new undergraduate and graduate academic and co-curricular programs, new and renovated facilities, and enhanced academic and technology services have opened the door to opportunities for student growth and learning.
During his tenure, Barton has experienced its largest enrolling population in more than three decades; fundraising and campus investment have grown to new heights; and faculty, staff, and student relationships have thrived as the College has continued to respond to changing conditions and has met anticipated needs.
In recognition of his distinguished leadership, Dr. Searcy has been named in Business North Carolina’s Power List for three consecutive years (2022-2024) as one of North Carolina’s most influential business leaders in the education sector.
Prior to Dr. Searcy’s appointment as President of Barton College, he served the University of Mary Washington as Vice President of Student Affairs. He led broad, transformative institutional initiatives and planned, implemented, and evaluated university-wide, outcomes-centered programs and services. He spearheaded curricular and co-curricular offerings, including the creation of an innovative, faculty-led Center for Honor, Leadership, and Service and the development of living-learning communities and faculty-in-residence initiatives.
Earlier in his professional career, Dr. Searcy served as Dean of Student Affairs at Wingate University and also held administrative staff roles at Elon University, Gardner-Webb University, and Appalachian State University. He served on master planning and strategic planning committees of multiple institutions, coordinated assessment of university fiscal and facility resources (including more than $100 million in construction initiatives), engaged campus and community leaders in visioning and planning processes, helped design and implement accreditation processes including Quality Enhancement Plans for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), and championed co-curricular programs and services.
Dr. Searcy’s academic credentials include a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Leadership in Higher Education from the University of Nebraska with a dissertation emphasis on presidential leadership during strategic transitions. He earned his Master of Education degree from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications/Public Relations and English from Mars Hill University, where he was named a Marshbanks-Anderson Scholar and graduated cum laude.
He and his wife, Beth, have two adult children: a daughter, Caroline Faith, who graduated from Wake Forest University, and a son, Carter Gray, who graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and works for Lenovo.