Bobby Vagt (photo) has landed a new job, following his August retirement as Davidson College’s president. He will become president of The Heinz Endowments, a Pittsburgh-based charity that is chaired by Teresa Heinz, wife of Sen. John Kerry.

And while we’re on the subject of Davidson presidents: Mr. Vagt’s replacement at Davidson, Tom Ross, was also in the news over the weekend, after receiving the top award from the American Criminology Society.

VAGT TO HEINZ

The Heinz Endowments said in a press release Monday it chose Mr. Vagt, 60, after a six-month search by board members including Ms. Heinz. He succeeds Maxwell King, who is retiring after eight years.

Ms. Heinz said in the press release that as a professional and volunteer, Mr. Vagt has helped in “bettering prospects for children and families, especially in connection with housing, education and the environment. His focus has been on the needs of underserved and underrepresented portions of the population. These also are areas which have been central to the Endowments’ mission.”

The Heinz Endowments make contributions in a variety of fields, including five major areas of focus: arts and culture; children, youth and families; education; environment; and “innovation economy.”

Former Davidson President Vagt is taking on a job like the one that his successor left in order to come to Davidson. President Ross formerly worked at the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation in Winston-Salem, where he gave away money as the foundation’s president.

In a Davidson press release about his new job Monday, Mr. Vagt joked: “I guess I’m just a Tom Ross wanna-be!”

While at Davidson over the past decade, Mr. Vagt oversaw many changes in the campus. He raised enough money to more than double the college’s endowment – from $178 million to $460 million — and engaged in a major building and renovation program. He also presided over the decision to allow non-Christians on the Board of Trustees. And he saw the trustees adopt his proposal to eliminate loans from student financial aid packages – making Davidson one of only a few campus in the country with a “no-loan” policy.

At the Heinz Endowments, he won’t be raising money, but giving it away – about $80 million a year. “Having been on the other side of the process, asking for help, I hope I’ll be more thoughtful, serious, and understanding in interacting with the people and organizations that seek our help,” Mr. Vagt said in the Davidson press release.

ROSS AWARD

In Atlanta on Friday, current Davidson President Ross received the President’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Justice from the American Criminology Society Friday night.

President Ross’s career includes 17 years as a North Carolina Superior superior court judge. In 1990, he was appointed to head a committee charged with overhauling the state’s sentencing sentencing system. The panel eventually created a new system that became a model for systems in other states.

Later, President Ross was named director of the state’s
Administrative Office of the Courts. After leaving the judiciary, he was president of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation for seven years.