Davidson College. President (1877-1885 : Hepburn)

Andrew Dousa Hepburn, 1830-1921, was Davidson College's sixth president. A native of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Hepburn attended the University of Virginia and Princeton Theological Seminary. He began teaching at the University of North Carolina in 1860 and resigned in 1867 but maintained close ties to the university. Hepburn joined the faculty of the University of Miami, Ohio in 1868 and returned to North Carolina in 1874 to teach at Davidson College. He was elected president of Davidson in 1877. During his presidency he abolished the master of arts degree and instituted curricular reform, especially in the area of language and Bible classes. Hepburn also introduced the concept of an honor code in 1881. Hepburn resigned his presidency in 1885 and returned to the University of Miami as a professor of English literature.