Boone J. Hopkins Inauguration

Boone J. Hopkins, Ph.D. was announced as the twelfth president of Converse on February 25, 2022 by the Converse University Board of Trustees. Dr. Hopkins has been a dedicated member of the Converse community since 2012.

Originally from Gainesville, Georgia, Dr. Hopkins is a proud Red Elephant from Gainesville High School. He experienced an innovative undergraduate liberal-arts education through a unique partnership between Brenau University, a historic women’s college, and Gainesville State College, a two-year state institution now known as the University of North Georgia.

Dr. Hopkins delights in helping those with whom he collaborates reach new heights and achieve excellence. In parallel with his leadership work for Converse, Dr. Hopkins brings his love of empowering others and impacting his community for good through his work in Spartanburg on the Board of the Chapman Cultural Center, as a member of the Ten at the Top Board to support economic development in the Upstate, and as a member of the Integrated Planning Advisory Group for the Spartanburg Academic Movement.

This is a time of beginnings, of open doors, of transformation and of bright futures. Converse is embarking on a three-year strategic vision plan. This bold new proposal launching in 2023 is designed around:

• enriching Converse’s programs;
• enhancing Converse’s places; and
• empowering Converse’s people.

Now more than ever, Converse is heeding the clarion charge of our founder, Dexter Edgar Converse, as we proudly stand together and resolve that WE WILL advance a culture of belonging and collaboration that ignites creativity, innovation, and transformation.

• Dr. Hopkins is Converse’s twelfth president.
• Dr. Hopkins has a Bachelor’s degree from the Gainesville Theatre Alliance, an MFA in Directing and Acting Pedagogy from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Ph.D. in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Kansas.
• President Hopkins is married to Dr. Chandra Owenby Hopkins, Dean of Converse College for Women, and they have two children: Owen and Jack.
• The first person who told Dr. Hopkins that he had potential to be a university president was mentor and dear friend, Dr. Jeffrey H. Barker (Converse’s President in 2021).
• Dr. Hopkins built his family’s dining room table of heart pine reclaimed from an old mill in Laurens, South Carolina. He also built his sons a backyard playhouse.
• Dr. Hopkins is a member of Trinity United Methodist Church and serves as an assistant basketball coach for the Advent Episcopal first and second-grade teams.
• While at Converse, Dr. Hopkins has served as the Senior Associate Provost for Student Success, Dean of the School of the Arts, and Chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance at Converse.