Dr. Heather Knight served as the first black woman president and chief executive officer of Pacific Union College in Angwin, California. The trailblazing administrator oversaw all essential aspects of the institution’s function, including those related to enrollment, finance, fundraising, strategic planning, faculty and staff development, online education, and facility enhancements. As president of the college, Dr. Heather Knight boosted enrollment to its highest levels in more than two decades while also increasing the ethnic diversity on campus. As a result of this increase in ethnic diversity, Pacific Union College was recognized as U.S. News and World Report’s Most Diverse National Liberal Arts College in America in 2016. Furthermore, the college achieved the highest freshman-to-sophomore retention rates in PUC’s history with an increase from 71% to 85% in the first four years of Dr. Knight’s tenure.
Under Dr. Knight’s leadership, Pacific Union College earned additional accolades for its many achievements. Newsweek ranked it as the Most Beautiful College in America in 2012, and the campus launched its first Service Learning Program, which gained national honors in the 2015 and 2016 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Role. In addition to these academic achievements, Dr. Knight saw the need for a well-balanced student body, and for the first time developed Athletic Scholarships for PUC’s Student Athletes and supported the development of a strong Athletic Program, which resulted in PUC’s Varsity Men’s Basketball team winning the NAIA California Pacific Conference Championship in 2017 for the first time in Pacific Union College’s history.
Dr. Knight herself earned honors for her successes at Pacific Union College. Most recently, the NAACP and the American Association of University Women (AAUW) chose her to receive the 2017 African-American Trailblazers Award. This award recognized and honored Dr. Knight’s achievements as a pioneer and pacesetter during her career in higher education, as well as her community service in the communities where she has worked professionally and resided. As a first-generation college student herself, Dr. Knight has displayed a passion for securing access and success for other first-generation college students as well.
Beyond her background at Pacific Union College, Dr. Knight gained hands-on administrative experience while serving as the provost and chief operating officer at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan where in 2009, she helped boost the university’s enrollment to a peak of nearly 3,600 students. Dr. Knight also served as Assistant Provost for Faculty Development, Diversity and Special Programs, as well as Associate Provost for Faculty Development, Diversity and Special Programs at the University of the Pacific, a three-campus comprehensive university with campuses in Stockton, San Francisco and Sacramento, California.
Heather Knight 