Dr. Jeffrey R. Docking began his work as the seventeenth president of Adrian College on July 1, 2005. Since then, he has transformed the College from a struggling institution of less than 900 students to one enrolling nearly 1,700 today. During this same period, he grew the College budget from $28.4 million to more than $70.3 million, doubled the endowment to more than $51.2 million, and raised the academic profile of incoming students in nearly every important benchmark category. Under his leadership, Adrian College has experienced a 500% increase in applications and invested significant revenue in the local community, including more than $50 million in new construction, nearly 100 new jobs, an increase in faculty positions from 63 to 103, and the purchasing power of nearly 600 additional first-year students each year.

Docking has also led the development of eight academic institutes, the addition of several new majors and co-curricular programs, and the rebirth of graduate programs. This renaissance of Adrian College is the result of a unique business plan that Docking implemented and has been nationally reported on television and in publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Toledo Blade, FOX News, The Wall Street Journal, and U.S. News & World Report's list of America's Best Colleges.

Docking is a rising speaker and leader in higher education circles, having served as chair of the ACE Fellows Program Board. He speaks often about his recently published book, Crisis in Higher Education: A Plan to Save Small Liberal Arts Colleges in America. He has testified to the Education and Workforce Committee for the United States Congress and to various committees of the Michigan Legislature. He recently served as chair of the Executive Committee for Michigan Independent Colleges & Universities (MICU), and he is the chair of the President's Council for the Michigan Colleges Alliance (MCA) and a member of the President's Council for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He attended Harvard's Institute for Educational Management and The Harvard Seminar for New Presidents. He is actively involved with the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) and recently sat on the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) and was chairman of the Tax Policy Committee.

Docking holds a Ph.D. in ethics from Boston University, having done considerable work in Martin Luther King, Jr. studies. He holds a Masters of Divinity Degree from Garrett Evangelical Seminary in Evanston, IL, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Michigan State University. He published two book reviews in The Journal of Value Inquiry and has consulted widely on ethical decision making in higher education. His work includes numerous television and print interviews on topics ranging from town-and-gown relations to the millennial generation.

Dr. Docking is married to Elizabeth DeRose Docking, and they have four children: Jake (29), Carter (28), Taylor (26) and Julianna (21).