After extensive search, Baptist Health Sciences University names new president
Baptist Health Sciences University has announced Hampton Hopkins will be the university’s new president starting on July 10.
Hopkins will become the third president since the school started offering a four-year baccalaureate program in 1994.
“After conducting a national search and considering numerous qualified candidates, I am pleased to share Hampton Hopkins will be the next president of Baptist Health Sciences University,” said Zach Chandler, executive vice president/chief strategy officer for Baptist Memorial Health Care. “Hampton is an accomplished leader and has an extensive background in higher education, which made him the best candidate to lead Baptist Health Sciences University and the BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine into the future.”
Hopkins comes to BHSU from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he simultaneously served as the president of Carolinas College of Health Sciences and assistant vice president of medical education for Atrium Health since 2016. During that time, he planned a $4.5 million renovation and relocated the college; transitioned the college from an associate level to baccalaureate; created The Learning Symposium, a signature college event exploring innovative strategies that can be employed to improve health care and the patient experience; and secured the largest donor gift commitments in college history.
From 2001 to 2016, Hopkins served as the dean of student affairs and enrollment management for the Carolinas College of Health Sciences in Charlotte where he increased enrollment by 31% between 2001 and 2015. His other accomplishments at Carolinas College of Health Sciences include developing a comprehensive facility master plan and emergency response plan, building workforce and career pathways and improved placement of graduates, creating the Student Success Center and implementing online student and enrollment management services for new student orientation, registration, transcript requests, student support and admissions.
Between 1993 and 2016, Hopkins held numerous other positions in education and business. He started his career in higher education as the assistant director of student activities at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, North Carolina, in 1990.
Hopkins has a Doctor of Education in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a Master of Science in leadership studies from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.