Campbell University Hires President from Gardner-Webb

Campbell University named William M. Downs as its sixth president. He will succeed Bradley Creed on July 1, who will retire at the end of a 10-year term. A Raleigh native, Downs has been president of Gardner-Webb University in the Cleveland County town of Boiling Springs since 2019. He has more than 30 years experience in higher education, and previously was dean of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of political science at East Carolina University. He has a bachelor’s degree (1988) from NC State University and master’s and doctorate degrees (1994) from Emory University in Atlanta.