Chris A. Wood

Chris A. Wood became the 15th president of Davis & Elkins College on August 1, 2016. A native of Huntington, West Virginia, President Wood graduated magna cum laude from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He earned his Master of Divinity degree from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Additional graduate study was undertaken at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy.

President Wood served as vice president for advancement at Wesley College in Dover, Delaware, from 2009 until his appointment to Davis & Elkins College. During his tenure at Wesley, financial giving to the College increased by more than 400 percent, and he designed and implemented the first major comprehensive capital campaign. As president of D&E, he assumes responsibility for the completion of the $25 million McDonnell Challenge, which is a part of the College’s $100 million Secure the Future campaign.

As an ordained United Methodist pastor, President Wood served congregations in Illinois and Maryland from 1986 to 2000. He returned in 2000 to West Virginia to serve for six years as program and executive director of Mission West Virginia, Inc., an innovative and nationally recognized statewide non-profit organization that works to build capacity for community and faith-based organizations. Prior to serving at Wesley College, President Wood served from 2006-2009 as vice president for advancement at the University of Mount Olive in Mount Olive, North Carolina.