Author Profile

Jeffrey Docking

Dr. Jeffrey R. Docking began his work as the 17th President of Adrian College on July 1, 2005. Since that time he has transformed the College from a struggling institution of less than 900 students to nearly 1,700 today. During this same period he grew the College budget from $28.4 million to over $70.3 million, doubled the endowment to over $51.2 million and raised the academic profile of incoming students in nearly every important benchmark category. Under his leadership, Adrian College has experienced a four hundred percent increase in applications and invested significant revenue in the local community including over $50 million in new construction, nearly 100 new jobs, increasing faculty positions from 63 to 98, and the purchasing power of over 500 additional first-year students each year.

Docking has also led the development of eight academic institutes, the addition of several new majors and co-curricular programs as well as the rebirth of graduate programs. This renaissance of Adrian College is the result of a unique business plan that Docking implemented and has been nationally reported by publications such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Toledo Blade, Time Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and US News & World Report’s "America’s Best Colleges."

Docking is a rising speaker and leader in higher education circles, having served as Chair of the ACE Fellows Program Board. He has testified to the Education and Workforce Committee for the United States Congress and to various committees of the Michigan Legislature. He recently served as Chair of the Executive Committee for Michigan Independent Colleges & Universities (MICU) and he is the Chair of the President’s Council for the Michigan College Alliance (MCA) and is a member of the President’s Council for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He attended Harvard’s Institute for Educational Management and the Harvard Seminar for New Presidents. He is actively involved with the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and he sits on the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) and is chairman of the Tax Policy Committee.

Docking holds a Ph.D. in Ethics from Boston University, having done considerable work in Martin Luther King, Jr. studies. He holds a Master of Divinity Degree from Garrett Evangelical Seminary in Evanston, Ill., and a B.A. from Michigan State University. He published two book reviews in the Journal of Value Inquiry and has consulted widely on ethical decision making in higher education. His work includes numerous television and print interviews on topics ranging from "town and gown" relations to the Millennial Generation. He recently authored a book entitled Crisis in Higher Education: A Plan to Save Small Liberal Arts Colleges in America.

Dr. Docking is married to Elizabeth DeRose Docking and they have four children: Jake, Carter, Taylor and Julianna.

Articles by Jeffrey Docking