Biography

Christopher Ames Russell The Sage College’s 10th president. He joined Sage in July 2017 from Shepherd University, the public liberal arts university of West Virginia, where he served as provost.

A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Ames earned a Ph.D. in English Literature at Stanford University. He taught 20th-century literature and film for 15 years at Agnes Scott College, a liberal arts college for women in Atlanta. He has published two books: The Life of the Party: Festive Vision in Modern Fiction and Movies About the Movies: Hollywood Reflected. He previously served as provost and senior vice president at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and as provost and dean at Washington College in Maryland. He is a graduate of Harvard’s Institute of Educational Management and the Aspen Institute Executive Seminar on Leadership.

At Shepherd University, Ames directed academic affairs and oversaw the Division II athletic program. He spearheaded the creation of a satellite campus serving working adults, and he collaborated with faculty on new programs, including a Doctor of Nursing Practice, a Master of Science in Data Analytics and Information Sciences, and undergraduate degrees in Music Performance, Early Education, Engineering Science and Health Promotion and Exercise Science.

At Washington College, he contributed to significant growth in enrollment and fundraising and oversaw centers of excellence in early American history; the environment and society; and creative writing.

Ames grew up in an environment that emphasized the importance of education and the arts. His father was a high school teacher in the Bronx for thirty years and later a professor at the University of Texas. Ames managed the collaboration between Oglethorpe University and the Georgia Shakespeare Festival, served on the board of 7Stages in Atlanta and on the board of the Contemporary American Theater Festival at Shepherd University.

A native of River Edge, New Jersey, he has been married to his wife, Lauren, for more than two decades. Together they enjoy traveling, music, theater, the visual arts and their cats.