September 21, 2026
After a decade of growth and momentum at the helm of Hampden-Sydney College, President Larry Stimpert announced this summer that the 2026 – 27 academic year will be his last, paving the way for the next era at the College.
Arriving at Hampden-Sydney in 2016, Stimpert has outlasted the national average tenure for college presidents, which sits at less than six years. His era has been marked by significant achievements that have elevated the Hampden-Sydney experience.
The College’s physical campus has been thoroughly revived, with more than $200 million invested in campus infrastructure, including the newly renovated Gilmer Hall and Kirby Sports Center, the historic renovation of Venable Hall, and the construction of the state-of-the-art Pauley Science Center, which ranks among the top 10 science facilities in the nation, according to the Princeton Review.
Stimpert has spearheaded academic programming that integrates and expands scholarly opportunities for H-SC students. The College has prioritized hands-on learning through its required experiential study program, Compass, increased support of faculty-guided student research, study abroad, and access to internships. The president has also overseen the establishment of two new schools of study: the Citrone School of Business and Economics and the Hickok School of Government, History, and Civic Leadership, representing a more integrated and purposeful experience in some of the College’s most popular fields of study.
Hampden-Sydney has reaffirmed its commitment to its liberal arts foundations and expanded its science and technology offerings through emerging developments in these fields under the stewardship of top faculty. The new degree offerings in biochemistry and molecular biology, engineering physics, and neuroscience have served as highly successful recruiting tools as these fields are consistently popular with college-aged young men.
The institution’s flagship Rhetoric Program, another requirement for all students, has grown significantly under Stimpert’s decade of leadership. “Dr. Stimpert helped with the creation of the Pannill Center for Rhetoric and Communication, which houses three state-of-the-art classrooms, faculty and administrative offices, digital studios, the Tiger office, and the Center for Public History,” says Jake Euteneuer, director of the Rhetoric Program. “It is also home to the Rhetoric Studio, which is one of the strengths of the Rhetoric Program at Hampden-Sydney. In 2019, under Dr. Stimpert's presidency, the College created the Rhetoric Studio to help cultivate students’ writing, speaking, and digital work. Coupling faculty expertise with peer student consultants, the Rhetoric Studio supports students across the curriculum and in and out of the classroom.”
“Our approach has been to double down on who we are as an institution, focus on our mission, core values, identity, and commitments, and then work diligently to improve everything else about the College,” Stimpert says.
Before joining Hampden-Sydney, Stimpert served as vice president of academic affairs and professor of economics and management at DePauw University in Indiana. He previously spent 17 years as an economics professor at Colorado College.
Far from stepping into the background, President Stimpert emphasizes that his final year will be one of active, strategic progress to continue the College’s forward momentum.
As Hampden-Sydney enters its next exciting chapter, Dr. Stimpert remains focused on the daily business of leading. The agenda includes further growing the school’s endowment—which has nearly doubled during Stimpert’s tenure—continuing to expand scholarship access so that financial circumstances are never a barrier for talented students, completing capital projects, and facilitating a seamless transition to the next leadership.
“We’re not taking our foot off the gas,” Stimpert assures. “We’ve got the strongest, most collaborative team we’ve had in my 10 years here. We’re going to work hard every day to ensure the next president steps onto a launchpad of incredible momentum.”
The College has partnered with the executive search firm WittKieffer in its presidential search. This is the same firm the institution employed to hire Stimpert.