Davidson College will bring former U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice and U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis to campus as part of its first class of leaders-in-residence.
The college's D.G. and Harriet Wall Martin Institute for Public Good announced Wednesday, Oct. 7, that Rice, Tillis and Arab American Institute President James Zogby will join the new program. The three will meet with students and faculty, visit classes and take part in public talks.
Tillis lives in the Lake Norman area. He is finishing his second Senate term and is not seeking re-election after first winning his seat in 2014. In June 2025, he was one of two Senate Republicans to oppose advancing President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, citing concerns about its Medicaid provisions, the Charlotte Observer reported. Trump publicly criticized Tillis over the vote, and Tillis announced the following day he would not seek a third term.
Before the Senate, Tillis served eight years in the N.C. House of Representatives, the last four as speaker.
Rice served as U.N. ambassador and national security adviser to President Barack Obama and as director of President Joe Biden's domestic policy council. She will be in full-time residence during the second week of classes in January 2027. Tillis and Zogby will make a series of campus visits over the coming year, with no end date set for Tillis's appointment, according to the Observer.
"We created the Martin Institute to advance the civic purpose that Davidson College, our students and our alums always have pursued — lives of leadership and service," Davidson College President Doug Hicks said in the announcement.
Chris Marsicano, the Martin Institute's Humphries Director and an associate professor of educational studies at Davidson, said the residents bring a range of thought and experience to campus. Students will work with them on collaborative projects, he said.
The three join current leader-in-residence Bob McKillop, former Davidson men's basketball coach and N.C. Sports Hall of Fame member, who mentors students and speaks on ethics and leadership.
Davidson launched the Martin Institute in February after raising $47.7 million from roughly a dozen donors, according to the Observer. The institute aims to bring public officials, scholars and other leaders to campus to expand the college's work in civic engagement, public policy, free expression and leadership, the Observer reported.
Zogby, a parent of two Davidson graduates, previously served as the James K. Batten Professor at the college in spring 2003. Rice visited Davidson classrooms in February 2020. In October 2025, Tillis and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar visited campus and spoke with Hicks about overcoming political polarization.
The Martin Institute will also host two Davidson alumni legislators in November: U.S. Rep. Greg Murphy on Nov. 13 and state Rep. Beth Gardner Helfrich on Nov. 18.
