Baptist Health Sciences University is pleased to announce Hampton Hopkins, Ed.D., will be the university’s new president starting on July 10 following the retirement of Betty Sue McGarvey, who has been in the role since 2005. Hopkins most recently served as president of Carolinas College of Health Sciences in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he planned a relocation for the college and a $4.5 million renovation. He also transitioned the college from an associate level to baccalaureate and secured the largest donor gift commitments in the college’s history.
“After conducting a national search and considering numerous qualified candidates, I am pleased to share Hampton Hopkins will be the next president of Baptist Health Sciences University,” said Zach Chandler, executive vice president/chief strategy officer for Baptist Memorial Health Care. “Hampton is an accomplished leader and has an extensive background in higher education, which made him the best candidate to lead Baptist Health Sciences University and the BHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine into the future.”
From 2016 until 2023, Hopkins held the role of president at Carolinas College simultaneously while serving as assistant vice president of medical education for Atrium Health, where he oversaw graduate nursing education. While serving as president at Carolinas College, Hopkins created The Learning Symposium, a signature college event exploring innovative strategies that can be employed to improve health care and the patient experience.
“We must challenge the boundaries of traditional learning by promoting innovative and entrepreneurial thinking to ensure that our students are always prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. We are not training for the present, we are educating for the future,” said Hopkins.
Prior to becoming president of Carolinas College, Hopkins served as dean of student affairs and enrollment management. While in the role, he helped increase enrollment by 31% between 2001 and 2015 and developed a comprehensive facility master plan and emergency response plan. Hopkins started his career in higher education as the assistant director of student activities at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, North Carolina, in 1990.
Hopkins earned his Doctor of Education degree in educational leadership from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 2007. In 1995, he graduated from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a Master of Science degree in leadership studies. Hopkins received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 1989 from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Hopkins and his wife, Olivia, have two adult children, Sam and Meg.
