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Raynard S. Kington

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Raynard S. Kington
Official portrait, 2008
16th Head of School of Phillips Academy
Incumbent
Assumed office
2020
Preceded byJohn Palfrey
13th President of Grinnell College
In office
August 1, 2010 – 2020
Preceded byRussell K. Osgood
Succeeded byAnne F. Harris
Principal Deputy Director of the National Institutes of Health
In office
August 17, 2009 – August 1, 2010
Succeeded byLawrence A. Tabak
In office
February 9, 2003 – October 31, 2008
Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health
In office
October 31, 2008 – August 17, 2009
Personal details
EducationUniversity of Michigan (BS, MD)
University of Pennsylvania (PhD, MBA)

Raynard S. Kington is an American educator and the 16th Head of School of Phillips Academy in Andover.[1][2] Previously, he was the 13th president of Grinnell College.[3] He has served as the deputy director and acting director of the National Institutes of Health.[4]

Education

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At age 16, Kington became a student at the University of Michigan. He received a Bachelor of Science degree with distinction at age 19 and an M.D. degree at age 21. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Michael Reese Medical Center. He was then appointed as a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. While there, he received an Master of Business Administration degree with distinction, and a PhD degree in health policy and economics from the Wharton School.[3][5]

National Institutes of Health

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Kington served as principal deputy director of the National Institutes of Health from 2003 to 2008. He led the agency in this capacity until August 17, 2009, when Francis Collins was appointed director. He continued to serve as principal deputy director of the agency until August 2010.[6][7] Speaking of Kington's tenure at the agency, Senator Tom Harkin praised his leadership for judiciously allocating $10 billion in congressionally-approved funds, implementing then president Obama's Executive Order on human embryonic stem cell research, and strengthening conflict of interest regulations.[8] He is on the board of directors of the American Council on Education.[9] As Deputy Director, he co-authored a study which found that Black scientists were less likely than White scientists to win approval of research grants, exposing racial discrimination in academia.[10]

Grinnell College

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Kington became the thirteenth president of Grinnell College on August 1, 2010. At Grinnell, Kington was noted for increasing diversity and inclusion efforts,[11] promoting innovation and entrepreneurship,[11] creating a prestigious Social Justice Prize,[11] and working toward greater career preparation for students after they left college by championing Grinnell's Center for Careers, Life and Service.[11] He led an effort to invest $140 million in renewing the campus.[11] He strengthened ties to the city of Grinnell, in part by promoting a Zone of Confluence in which the campus and downtown areas work on joint redevelopment projects.[11] During his presidency, he created a $300,000 annual prize to honor three persons throughout the world who have advanced the cause of social justice; the Grinnell College Innovator for Social Justice Prize has attracted substantial interest since its inception in 2010,[12] and it has been cited as being the largest award of its kind by The Nation.[13] He said that the purpose of the award was to encourage young persons who share a commitment to change the world for the better.[14] Along with 350 college presidents, he signed a joint letter urging Congress to pass greater gun control measures.[15] After Donald Trump was elected, he signed a letter along with 109 other college presidents, to urge the president-elect to take a more forceful stand against harassment, hate and acts of violence.[16] In addition, Kington established a fund to spur innovation, oversaw the allocation of $140 million for campus buildings, and promoted ties to the city of Grinnell through investment programs.[1] He faced criticism for his handling of an effort to expand the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers.[17] To honor Raynard S. Kington’s achievements during his 10 years as Grinnell’s president, a popular outdoor plaza on Grinnell’s campus was named in his honor.[18] In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, there were no cases at Grinnell, but Kington and the administration asked students to go home and continue their learning online, as a general safety precaution.[19]

Andover

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In December 2019 Kington was selected to be the 16th Head of School of Phillips Academy in Andover, an elite boarding school with 1100 students.[20][21][9] He took over the role in the summer of 2020, succeeding John Palfrey who resigned to become the head of the MacArthur Foundation.[9] Kington is the first African-American and openly gay head of school in the academy's 240+ year existence.[20] He began his leadership there as the school was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.[20]

Personal life

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Kington is married to Peter T. Daniolos, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Iowa. They have two sons: Emerson and Basil.[5]

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Presidential Transition Announcement". Grinnell College. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  2. ^ "President of Grinnell College named Phillips Academy's 16th Head of…". Andover | An independent and inclusive coed boarding high school. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  3. ^ a b "Biography," Grinnell College, accessed December 5, 2019, https://www.grinnell.edu/about/leadership/president/bio.
  4. ^ "Raynard S. Kington, M.D." National Institutes of Health (NIH). 2015-08-07. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  5. ^ a b "Grinnell Announces 13th President," The Grinnell Magazine, February 17, 2010, https://magazine.grinnell.edu/news/releases/grinnell-announces-13th-president.
  6. ^ Jocelyn Kaiser, "NIH Deputy Director Kington Leaving for Grinnell," Science, February 17, 2010, https://www.science.org/content/article/nih-deputy-director-kington-leaving-grinnell.
  7. ^ Gardiner Harris (April 17, 2009). "Some Stem Cell Research Limits Lifted". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  8. ^ Senator Tom Harkin, "Tribute to Dr. Raynard S. Kington," 111th Cong., 2nd sess., Congressional Record 156, pt. 8 (June 18, 2010): S5152, https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2010/6/18/senate-section.
  9. ^ a b c Mike LaBella Staff Writer (December 12, 2019). "Phillips Academy names new leader: Dr. Raynard Kington to become Head of School". Andover Townsman. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  10. ^ Kenneth Chang (August 18, 2011). "Black Scientists Less Likely to Win Federal Research Grants, Study Reports". The New York Times. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d e f BUSINESS RECORD STAFF (December 5, 2019). "Grinnell College's president to depart, will head prestigious Phillips Academy". Des Moines Business Record. Retrieved February 11, 2022. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  12. ^ "4 Under 40 Making a Difference for Social Justice". 2011-05-05. ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  13. ^ The Nation, Anna Lekas Miller, September 13, 2011, Grinnell College Announces $300,000 Social Justice Prize:The Nation commends Grinnell for sponsoring the award and encourages all eligible readers to apply for this prize, which is one of the largest of its kind available in the US., Retrieved January 11, 2020
  14. ^ "2020 Grinnell Prize Call for Nominations". Grinnell College. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  15. ^ Valerie Strauss (February 4, 2013). "350 out of 4,150 college presidents sign gun control letter". Washington Post. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  16. ^ Scott Jaschik (November 18, 2016). "Presidents' Message to President-Elect: More than 100 campus leaders urge Trump to take more forceful stand against "harassment, hate and acts of violence." UPDATE: More presidents sign on". Inside Higher Education magazine. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  17. ^ "Are Universities Political?". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  18. ^ "Outdoor campus plaza named in honor of departing Grinnell College president - Grinnell College". campaign.grinnell.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  19. ^ Sarah Beckman, Eva Andersen (March 10, 2020). "Grinnell College telling students to leave campus due to COVID-19 concerns: Students are being asked to continue their learning online". We Are Iowa (TV news). Retrieved February 11, 2022.
  20. ^ a b c ALEXANDRA PECCI (October 28, 2021). "Dr. Raynard S. Kington Strives For Diversity and Social Justice at Phillips Academy". Northshore magazine. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  21. ^ Kim Norvell (December 5, 2019). "Grinnell College president stepping down to lead historic East Coast boarding school". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
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