Averett president steps down after 3 months, citing wife’s illness

David Joyce stepped down Friday as the 15^th president of Averett University due to a family medical matter, according to the Danville private school.

“It is with a heavy heart I share that my wife, Lynne, has experienced a serious medical diagnosis that will require our fulltime attention,” Joyce said in a statement. “Lynne and I regret we will be unable to walk alongside Averett students as they succeed inside and outside of the classroom and will greatly miss the many dear colleagues, community members and friends we’ve made here, but will continue to support and cheer for this great institution as it moves forward.”

Venita Mitchell, currently Averett’s vice president for student engagement, will serve as acting president as the university’s board “continues an expedited search for the university’s next president,” according to a news statement.

The announcement came a day after news broke that Averett filed a federal lawsuit March 26 alleging its former chief finance officer worked with an investment firm to conceal illicit draws from its endowment that were used to cover budget deficits.

In a complaint, Averett states that Donald Aungst, who was hired by the university in 2020, colluded with Arizona-based Global Strategic Investment Services to “surreptitiously” drain close to $20 million from the university’s endowment. GSIS rebukes the allegations.

“Averett University repeatedly accessed its own endowment fund to meet payroll, invest in technology, pay down debt and cover other operational expenses due to liquidity challenges at the university,” the company said in a statement. “It is truly unfortunate that Averett — through this spurious federal lawsuit — is now seeking to scapegoat our firm … for the decisions, actions and inactions of its own officers and directors during this unfortunate period.”

In July 2024, Averett revealed publicly that it was responding to a temporary funding shortage due to mismanagement of the school’s finances, instituting salary reductions for top leaders and furlough days for staffers.

The cost cutting has been extensive with the university going on to cut positions and eliminating several majors. In March, the school listed its equestrian center for sale for $1.6 million.

Averett announced in December 2024 that Tiffany Franks, who served nearly 17 years as president of the university, would retire Jan. 5.

Selected by the board with assistance from Academic Search, a Washington, D.C. higher-education executive search firm, Joyce has nearly 30 years of experience as a college president. For eight years he led Union College in Kentucky. He spent another 10 years as president of Ripon College in Wisconsin and most recently worked for nine years as president of Brevard College in North Carolina.

Mitchell joined Averett in July 2021 with more than three decades of higher education experience in higher education administration. Previously, she served as vice president and dean of student life for 18 years at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri. She has a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri.

“We are grateful for Dr. Mitchell’s willingness to briefly serve in this acting capacity at such a busy time of the academic year,” Rev. Daniel Carlton, chair of the Averett Board of Trustees, said in a statement. “A natural leader and collaborative problem-solver, Dr. Mitchell has been a true asset to Averett for nearly four years, making great impacts on Averett students, faculty and staff.”

Averett’s board has again hired Academic Search to secure a permanent leader and the board is currently interviewing candidates, according to the announcement.

Also Friday, Averett University announced Deborah Hall is the school’s interim chief financial officer. Hall, who was brought to Averett by Joyce, according to the statement, has 30 years of leadership experience in financial and operational management in higher education. She was previously vice president for finance and operations at LaGrange College in Georgia.

A spokesperson for Averett said Hall began work at the university Jan. 17, replacing Donald Merricks, a retired bank president, former state delegate and two-time alumnus, who was named Averett’s interim CFO in September 2024.

“Deb is an incredible financial leader, and we are most appreciative she will remain in her interim post during this time of transition,” Carlton said in a statement.