BLUEFIELD, Va. (ABP) — David Olive will be the next president of Bluefield College, the Virginia Baptist school announced April 21.
Olive, who currently is executive vice president and chief operating officer at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, N.C., will be the ninth president in Bluefield's 85-year history. His hiring followed a 10-month search involving 26 applicants. Olive will begin his duties July 1.
Olive has worked at Pfeiffer since 1998. During his nine years there, he played an instrumental role in the growth of the university, expanding its operating budget by $14 million, increasing annual donor support by more than $3 million, growing enrollment more than 40 percent and increasing alumni giving by 13 percent.
“His ability in fundraising is excellent,” said Jack Marcom, chair of the presidential search committee. “We are confident he will bring growth, both in students and in institutional development, to Bluefield College.”
Before Pfeiffer, Olive served three years as director of charitable gift planning at Carson-Newman College in Jefferson City, Tenn., two years as a legal advocate for students at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and one year as the coordinator of alumni and development programs at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tenn.
Before his career in higher education, Olive, a licensed attorney with a law degree from the University of Tennessee, worked in law firms in Tennessee and Kentucky. He is an ordained minister with a master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and served two years as an interim and associate pastor for Georgetown Baptist Church in Georgetown, Ky.
“I am honored and humbled to have been asked to serve Bluefield College in this capacity,” Olive said, in college press release. “My family and I are excited about living in the Bluefield community and working together to further the college's mission.”
Olive said he has a passion for faith-based higher education. As a fifth-generation Baptist, he said he also appreciates and admires the mission of Bluefield College, a private institution affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia since 1922.
“Being a Baptist my entire life, this is a dream come true to serve in this capacity at a Baptist college,” Olive said. “I also believe the best days of Bluefield College are still ahead. This place has phenomenal potential to impact a greater number of students' lives and demonstrate servant leadership to the community and surrounding region.”
Olive will replace Charles Warren, who served Bluefield College as interim president for the 2006-2007 academic year.
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