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Huntingdon College names Anthony Leigh as its 15th president

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Huntingdon College has named Anthony Leigh as its 15th president. After being unanimously chosen by the board of trustees this week, his term will begin July 1.

Board chair Leura Garrett Canary said Leigh’s leadership is what the college needs to propel itself forward. Leigh, a Sheffield native, is currently the college’s senior vice president for student and institutional development and dean of students.

“He is a gifted administrator, and he clearly understands the internal operations of the college and effectively communicates the mission of the college to external constituencies,” Canary said in a statement announcing the news.

Laura Brelsford, assistant vice president for alumni engagement and public relations, told Alabama Daily News that the transition is one that has been in discussion for a while. The 74-year-old outgoing President J. Cameron West will be president emeritus and senior advisor for United Methodist polity when his term ends, according to the release. West spoke highly of Leigh.

“Dr. Anthony Leigh knows and loves Huntingdon College, has been a trusted colleague to me in crafting and operationalizing the college’s mission, and is a wise counselor in all matters internal and external in the life of this thriving institution of teaching and learning,” he said.

The United Methodist-affiliated school’s new president is a member of Montgomery United Methodist Church and also attends Frazer Methodist Church, according to the release. He is married to Wendy Leigh and they have a 7-year-old daughter. 

“We have such a beautiful story to tell of who we are as an institution and the great experience that we offer our students and the tremendous value that Huntingdon provides to our City of Montgomery and to the State of Alabama,” Leigh told Alabama Daily News. “I can’t wait to hit the ground running on July 1 and widely tell that story.”

Leigh received a bachelor’s degree in government from Wofford College in South Carolina and a master’s degree in philanthropy and development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. He has a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Georgia.

“I’ve had a front row seat to the transformational experience a Huntingdon education offers our students,” Leigh said in the press release. “Huntingdon changes lives.  Thanks to our outstanding faculty and staff, Huntingdon graduates are prepared to be difference makers in the communities and in the career fields in which they serve.  Some of the finest people I know are Huntingdon alumni, and the world is a better place because of the lives of service of Huntingdon women and men.”

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