Eliyahu Gasson | editor-in-chief

David Dausey has been announced as the 14th president of Duquesne University.

Dausey, the current executive vice president and provost of the university, will take on the role starting on July 1. The announcement was made on Wednesday by Duquesne University Board of Directors Chair Diane Hupp following a national search.

“Today, I stand here with profound humility. To be entrusted as the next president of this historic university as it approaches its 150th anniversary is the greatest honor of my life,” he said in his speech.

Dausey said his primary goal as president will be to tailor a new comprehensive master plan. The current plan ends in 2028.

“I would love if Duquesne continued to be transformed for the better, that we sustain our momentum,” he said. “That would be manifested in new buildings, new initiatives, new programs, but also in students graduating from our institution who are grounded in our mission and are out in the community changing lives and changing the world for the better.”
 
Dausey said he hopes to expand Duquesne’s academic programs in the areas of AI ethics and applications, topics related to disabilities and “the disparities we see in our world right now.”

“If you look at healthcare disparities, education disparities, disparities in wealth, what can we do from a research perspective, from a teaching perspective, from a program perspective to limit those problems that our society is facing and to create a more inclusive society? And that’s really what I’ll be focused on,” he said.

Dausey will replace President Ken Gormley, who has served in the role since 2016. Gormley announced in March that he would be stepping down as president in July.

Gormley will stay at Duquesne as chancellor, a role that hasn’t been filled since John F. Murray held the position from 2001 to 2015. Gormley said he expects to work well with Dausey following their transition into their new roles.

“I was happy to see [the board] weighed all these very real decisions and concluded that David Dausey was the very best choice for Duquesne,” Gormley said. “I think that his experience here and his creativity is going to be a huge asset to the university.”

Dausey was the founding chair of the department of public health and later the founding dean of the Zurn College of Natural and Health Sciences at Mercyhurst. He was appointed as the provost at Mercyhurst in 2015. He left for Duquesne in 2018 to serve as executive vice president and provost. During his time at Duquesne, Dausey has overseen the creation of the School of Osteopathic Medicine, which opened last year.

“There’s no question that he has enormous energy, like the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps going and going,” Gormley said. “He has that sort of vision to look into the future to see how big things are possible on the horizon, even if you have challenges looking at you.”

Nick Miller, president of the Student Government Association, said he’s excited to see Dausey chosen as president of the university and thinks he was a good choice for students.

“I’ve only ever heard positive things about him,” he said. “He, as a person, is so genuine and carries so much humility. I already felt the momentum moving forward in that room.”

Miller said he has had the chance to work with Dausey before and is impressed with his communication with the student body.

“He meets with our VP of academic affairs extremely frequently, more than any administrator does. So he already communicates extremely well,” he said. “I truly believe, from the bottom of my heart, this is the best thing that could happen.”

Until he starts, Dausey said, he will be on a listening tour around the university, meeting with departments, student leaders, staff and alumni.

“The success of Duquesne relies on all of us, on our shared effort, on our shared governance and on our shared belief that students are the polestar of everything that we do,” he said.

Eliyahu Gasson can be reached at gassone@duq.edu