Davidson College will use $47M in donations to start ‘Institute for Public Good’

Davidson College announced Thursday it’s raised $47 million to create an institute to promote civic engagement and free expression.

The Martin Institute for Public Good will host visiting leaders and fellows to collaborate with and mentor students to ensure “every Davidson student has the opportunity to prepare for lives of leadership, service and integrity,” according to the institute’s website. Visiting scholars will also teach courses and host public lectures.

“It combines the strengths of a civic engagement center, which helps guide practical work in communities near and far; a think tank, to help develop policy ideas; and a site for programs and events that connect students with experts from all sectors of public life,” a university spokesperson said in a news release.

The college, just north of Charlotte, raised the $47.7 million from around a dozen donors since August.

The announcement comes a month after Davidson received a $4 million grant from the federal Department of Education – the largest competitive government grant in the school’s history – to lead a network of 100 colleges and universities over the next four years in promoting civil discourse. The Martin Institute will lead the effort.

The institute is named in honor of D.G. and Harriet Wall Martin. Harriet is a community leader and Davidson supporter, and the late D.G. was a Davidson alumnus, longtime Charlotte attorney and former Green Beret who made multiple bids for a seat in U.S. Congress. His father, David Grier Martin, Sr., served as Davidson president from 1958 to 1968.

Davidson’s Martin Institute

The Martin Institute will have five program areas:

• The Grier Martin, Class of 1932, and Louise McMichael Martin Program on Arts and Public Life
• The Beacon Program on Deliberation and Free Expression
• The Allison S. and Thomas C. Franco Program on Public Policy and Research 
• The Neely and Jack Purcell Program on Ethics, Honor and Leadership 
• The William F. and Betty G. Mulliss Center for Civic Engagement

Chris Marsicano, Davidson associate professor and chair of education studies, will lead the institute as its director. Marsicano also leads the College Crisis Initiative at Davidson, a research team that studies how colleges and universities respond to times of crisis, which will now be housed within the new institute. It was originally launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to track how schools were responding to the crisis.

“Our nation and our world require more of our leaders and citizens each day,” Marsicano said in a news release. “They need an unprecedented array of skills, as they tackle tough challenges from every angle.”

Stacey Riemer, the current director of Davidson’s Mulliss Center for Civic Engagement, will serve as managing director of the Martin Institute. She’ll retain her post at the Mulliss Center as well.

Part of the $47 million will go toward renovating Philanthropic and Eumenean Halls, some of the oldest buildings on Davidson’s campus. The Martin Institute will be housed there, in addition to Elm Row.

Phi and Eu halls, as they’re often called on-campus, were built in 1849 and 1850, respectively, for dueling debate societies. The buildings have balconies facing each other to facilitate discussion, and the planned renovations include the construction of a shared plaza between the two.

“The college brings students from around the country and world to learn together on campus in a major metro area of a political swing state,” Davidson President Doug Hicks said about the new initiative. “These combined strengths of free discourse, integrity and local context situate the college well to meet the current moment, and the future.”

Davidson leaders officially held an event to announce the initiative Thursday morning at the school’s Duke Family Performance Hall in front of a crowd of students, staff and donors. The crowd included Harriet Wall Martin and her and D.G.’s children, May and Grier, both of whom are Davidson alumni.

At the ceremony, both Hicks and Marsicano underscored the need for the institute during a time of intense political division.

“Nearly two centuries ago, Presbyterians set out to build an institution where hard work was expected, where service was a way of life, where honor and integrity were our North Star,” Marsicano said. “Today, in a fragmented society and a world where truth can feel elusive, some question whether institutions devoted to such high ideals can still make a lasting difference. The Martin Institute is Davidson’s answer.”

This story was originally published February 26, 2026 at 9:30 AM.