Dr. William M. Downs
Welcome to the Office of Dr. William Downs, President of Gardner-Webb University.
Dr. William M. Downs is Gardner-Webb University’s 13th President and began his term on July 1, 2019.
A Raleigh native, Downs earned his BA in Political Science (with a minor in Journalism) from North Carolina State University in 1988, and he holds MA (1990) and PhD (1994) degrees in Political Science from Emory University. Dr. Downs grew up in an academic family, with both parents on the faculty at NCSU.
Prior to his appointment at Gardner-Webb, Downs was Dean of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, Professor of Political Science, and W. Keats Sparrow Distinguished Chair in the Liberal Arts at East Carolina University. As Dean, Downs had responsibility for ECU’s largest and most diverse academic college, with 16 standalone departments, 17 interdisciplinary programs, 6,500 majors at undergraduate and graduate levels, and more than 530 faculty and staff. During his five years in Greenville, Dr. Downs served as president of ECU’s chapter of the Phi Kappa Phi national honor society and as a member of the executive board for A Time for Science.
Downs was Area Dean for Social and Behavioral Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University, where he was a member of the faculty for 17 years. Before his service in the Dean’s Office at Georgia State, Downs was Chair of the Department of Political Science and, before that, Director of Graduate Studies in Political Science. At Georgia State he was founder and Co-Director of the interdisciplinary Center for Human Rights and Democracy as well as faculty coordinator for semester-long study abroad programs in Strasbourg, France and Nottingham, England. He served as liaison to the GSU College of Education and to the University System of Georgia’s educator preparation and teacher training programs. For more than a decade, Downs coordinated the University’s Certificate Program in European Union Studies, combining traditional classroom learning with distance education and immersion experiences in Europe.
Downs’ research and teaching expertise lies at the intersection of comparative politics and international relations. His work addresses four interconnected themes: 1) political extremism and the politics of rejection, 2) elections and electoral behavior, 3) decentralization, regionalism, and the politics of place, and 4) legislative institutions. His books have been published by Ohio State University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, and Epikentro. Additional work has appeared in such journals as Parliamentary Affairs, Local Government Studies, Electoral Studies, West European Politics, Government and Opposition, Journal of Legislative Studies, Regional and Federal Studies, and Publius: The Journal of Federalism. His study of “Sub-National Legislatures” appears in The Oxford Handbook of Legislative Studies. Downs’ research in political science led to funded partnerships with faculty at Queens University, Belfast (Northern Ireland), the University of Strasbourg (France), and the University of Pretoria (South Africa).
Downs has been a research fellow at Harvard University’s Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, a graduate research associate working on democratization movements at the Carter Center’s African Governance Program, and a Fulbright dissertation researcher in Belgium. His work has also been supported by the Belgian-American Educational Foundation. As an undergraduate student, Downs served as an intern in the North Carolina Lieutenant Governor’s Office and also studied abroad in the United Kingdom. His first post-doctoral positions were on the faculties of two universities in Denmark—Odense University (now the University of Southern Denmark) and Aarhus University. He also held a one-year post as Visiting Assistant Professor at Emory University.
President Downs is married to fellow Raleigh native and childhood sweetheart, Kimberly Harwood Downs. Kim is a 1989 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Pharmacy and has three decades of experience as a practicing pharmacist. Together, Bill and Kim have raised two children, Rachel and Bradley. Rachel is a 2018 graduate of the University of Georgia (Chemistry, French) and is entering the School of Dental Medicine at East Carolina University. Bradley is a sophomore studying political science and economics at North Carolina State University.
President Downs and his family have joined Pleasant Ridge Baptist Church in Shelby.
Gardner-Webb University President Dr. William Downs joins Brendan Boylan to explore the Campus of Champions. The two chat about the impact of Runnin’ Bulldog athletics, the best places to sit to watch games, and some of the president’s favorite moments for students during his time at GWU.
Dr. William Downs is a regular podcast host for Bulldog Dialogue. Guests offer a landscape of diverse thought and engaging discussions covering a wide-range of topics impacting our world on campus and around the globe.
Join Dr. William Downs, President of Gardner-Webb University, as he embarks on a journey to engage in meaningful conversations with exceptional individuals who have played a pivotal role in shaping the greatness of Gardner-Webb. Explore the distinctive contributions of these special people who have left an indelible mark on the university’s legacy.
1st Downs: Episode #3: Head Football Coach Cris Reisert & guests
Join Gardner-Webb President William Downs as he takes you to midfield of Spangler Stadium for a meet and greet with GWU Head Football Coach Cris Reisert, and a couple of players of the ’24 Runnin’ Bulldogs. I
n 2024, Reisert enters his first season at Gardner-Webb. He comes to GWU after five seasons as the head coach at Tiffin University (Ohio), where he compiled an overall record of 40-11 and a Great Midwest Conference (GMAC) record of 32-4. At Tiffin, Reisert was named GMAC Coach of the Year three times.
In college, Reisert played quarterback for Ohio Dominican, and was the 2007 NAIA Player of the Year and a two-time All-American.
1st Downs: Episode #2: Chef Thomas
Travel with us today as we visit GWU Executive Chef, Thomas Tessnear for some backyard cooking. Chef Thomas shares his love of cooking, his memories of winning cooking competitions, and being named “Best in the State.” Chef Thomas also offers perspectives of prepping food for college students, and building Bo’s Smokehouse from scratch. We also get a taste test from the smoker. All this and more on First Downs.
1st Downs: Episode #1: Carley Tallent
Travel with us today as we visit GWU alumna and current head women’s basketball coach for Shelby High School, Carley Plentovich Tallent. Tallent was a standout student-athlete at GWU, and was one of the most prolific shooters in program history. Tallent finished her career ranked first all-time in free throw percentage, second in three-pointers made, single game records, and 17th overall in points. Today, Tallent speaks with President Downs about her career at GWU, her transition into coaching, NIL, the transfer portal, her future goals, and more.
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