A trailblazer in the field of higher education leadership, Dr. Heather Knight has been the first black woman to serve in each of her college and university administrative positions. These positions have included associate provost for faculty development, diversity, and special programs for the University of the Pacific (UOP) and director of the UOP Center for Teaching and Learning. Dr. Heather Knight has also served as provost and chief operating officer of Andrews University.
Dr. Knight most recently oversaw institutional operations and directed administrative strategy as president and chief executive officer of Pacific Union College (PUC). Over her eight years as president, she spearheaded a significant expansion of PUC’s main campus in Napa Valley, California. Dr. Heather Knight also presided over a substantial rise in student enrollment and streamlined organizational finances to return PUC to upward mobility. She also engendered improvements in student support and campus culture, yielding a 14 percent increase in freshman-to-sophomore retention rates and garnering recognition from U.S. News and World Report as the most diverse liberal arts college in America.
