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G. David Gearhart

G. David Gearhart was born in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas, on June 9, 1952.

He attended Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, and graduated in 1974. Gearhart then enrolled in the University of Arkansas School of Law. Upon earning a law degree, he returned to Westminster as director of development.

In 1978 Gearhart accepted a development position at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. Four years later he took the position of director of development at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville and also earned his Ed.D. In 1985 Gearhart accepted the position of senior vice president of development and university relations at Penn State University. After serving there for ten years, he joined the consulting firm Grenzebach Glier and Associates as vice president and managing director.

Gearhart returned to the University of Arkansas as vice chancellor in 1998 and led the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, which raised $1 billion for the university. In 2008 he became chancellor and held that position for seven years. Gearhart stepped down in 2015 to teach in the UA's higher education program for another seven years before his retirement in 2022.