David Shi

GREENVILLE, S.C.—Furman University president David E. Shi has been named to The Chronicle of Higher Education/New York Times Higher Education Cabinet, a new organization of university presidents and chancellors who are charged with identifying the key issues and trends in higher education.

The group, which consists of 57 higher education leaders, will meet for the first time Sept. 15 at The Times headquarters in New York.  In addition to a number of scheduled speakers, the cabinet will participate in break-out sessions moderated by reporters from The Chronicle and The Times.

The session topics will include “Sustaining the Higher Education Financing Model,” “E-Learning and Education” and “Internationalization.”  The group will also participate in four online gatherings between September and May 2009.

Before becoming Furman’s president in 1994, Shi spent one year as the university’s vice president for academic affairs and dean. He came to Furman from Davidson College, where he taught history for 17 years. A 1973 Furman graduate, he earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history at the University of Virginia.

Shi is the author of several books, including The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture (1985), which was recently reissued by the University of Georgia Press.  He is also the co-author with the late George B. Tindall of the best-selling textbook, America: a Narrative History, now in its seventh edition.

Shi’s columns have appeared in a variety of newspapers around the nation, including The Christian Science Monitor, The Charlotte Observer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Philadelphia Inquirer. His columns and essays are also heard on South Carolina Educational Radio.

Shi has received honorary degrees from Centre College and Mercer University.  In 1999, he was among a group of 50 college and university presidents who were recognized by the John Templeton Foundation for their outstanding leadership in the development of student character.  In 2006, he chaired the Board of Directors for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

For more information, contact Furman’s News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107.

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8-10-08