ROME, Ga. — After 15 years of leadership, Don Dowless will retire as president of Shorter University at the end of the current semester in May 2026.
Dowless said his decision coincides with the conclusion of his contract and follows a season of prayer and discernment with his wife, Teresa. “We sought God’s counsel, and we feel very positive about it,” he said. “It’s a good time.”
Looking back, Dowless said one of the board’s clearest expectations when he arrived was for Shorter to reaffirm the school’s Christian mission, and he believes the university has faithfully carried that out. During his tenure, Shorter adopted the motto Transforming lives through Christ, a phrase Dowless said captures the heart of the institution.
“That encapsulates the desire of the university to take all areas of inquiry captive for the mind of Christ,” he said. “Students gifted by God in various academic areas are equipped to see how their gifts can be used to serve Christ and be salt and light in every area of life.”
That integration of faith and learning, he noted, is increasingly rare in higher education. “We have rigorous guidelines, but we also realize this is a ministry,” Dowless said. “To have those two together is unusual — but it’s who we are.”
Thomas Hammond, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, said Dowless’s leadership has left a lasting mark on the university and its students. “Dr. Dowless has led Shorter University with a clear commitment to Christ and to the mission of Christian higher education,” Hammond said. “Under his leadership, Shorter has remained faithful to its calling to prepare students academically while grounding them firmly in the gospel.”
Dowless emphasized that Shorter’s identity as both an academic institution and a ministry has shaped decisions at every level, particularly in faculty hiring. He said every faculty candidate meets rigorous academic standards while also walking through a thorough process of sharing their Christian testimony.
“I interview all of them,” Dowless said. “They share their testimony at the department level, with the provost, and with me. One of the joys of that process is developing a family, knowing that the people who are teaching love Christ and are teaching from that foundation.”
Among the many moments that stand out to him, Dowless said nothing compares to hearing how God has worked in the lives of students. He recalled occasions when students shared that they came to faith through campus ministries, chapel services, or conversations with professors.
“One student is worth everything,” he said. “One person going to heaven because someone at this university was faithful to Jesus Christ — there’s no greater joy than that.”
Dowless also shared a story that, for him, illustrates the culture Shorter has sought to cultivate. During an interview years ago, chemistry professor Dr. Bert Exsted arrived with his Bible and, after sharing his testimony, asked Dowless a simple but profound question.
“He asked me to share my testimony,” Dowless said. “He wanted to know the type of people he would be serving the Lord with. I thought, what a marvelous question. That’s someone who wanted to make sure we were genuine.”
As Shorter prepares for its next chapter, Dowless offered simple counsel to his successor: “Be faithful to the mission of the institution, trust the Lord, and honor Him in everything this university does.”
In retirement, Dowless and his wife plan to spend time in the North Georgia mountains before discerning what ministry opportunities God may open next. “When you’ve been called by God, you’re called to ministry,” he said. “Ministry takes different forms at different times.”
Even now, Dowless said daily reminders of God’s presence on campus continue to move him — especially the sight of students, faculty, or staff pausing to pray at the cross.
“It reinforces that the Bible is and always must be the center of our greatest text,” he said, “and that Jesus has to be the center of everything.”
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