Richard Henley and Susan Davis are accomplished healthcare executives who have directed their philanthropy to a number of important initiatives spanning from health care to higher education over the years. Today, Franklin & Marshall is pleased to announce a new investment, which will create the Richard J. Henley and Susan L. Davis Leaders-in-Residence endowment. 

The new endowment will support the College’s ability to bring seasoned professionals to campus as mentors to Franklin & Marshall College students. The program is designed to provide F&M students with valuable access and perspective to a broad range of professions and career paths, with one or more health care professionals selected as a resident each year.

Leaders-in-Residence will operate in close collaboration with the just-announced Curiosity Center, an initiative that will connect orientation, advising, mentoring, design thinking, and early leadership development for every F&M student.

“The Leaders-in-Residence program is about improving opportunities and chances for students to build successful careers,” said Richard Henley. “Regardless of the industry, there will always be an underlying need for mentorship and coaching, and for creating the foundation to learn professional skills and promote lifelong learning.”

“I am deeply grateful for the generosity of my dear friends Richard Henley and Susan Davis. This is a significant investment in our students, and it will dramatically improve our promise to prepare every student for a life of impact,” said Franklin & Marshall President Andrew Rich. “Our Leaders-in-Residence program will deliver an exceptional resource for our students, bringing talented and accomplished professionals to campus as mentors and as examples of the countless career paths available to F&M alumni.”

"There will always be an underlying need for mentorship and coaching, and for creating the foundation to learn professional skills and promote lifelong learning."

- Richard Henley and Susan Davis

Henley is president and CEO of Healthcare Strategic Solutions, LLC, where he leverages more than 35 years of senior healthcare executive experience to optimize healthcare organization performance. Davis is a distinguished healthcare executive recognized for her leadership and development of clinical services, and who previously served as the CEO of the Sacred Heart Health System and St. Vincent’s Health Service as well as senior roles at Ascension Health.

The couple first met President Rich when he was dean of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, the largest student division of the City College of New York (CCNY). Henley, a bachelor’s and master’s graduate of CCNY, connected with Rich when considering how he could support the institution that helped him launch his career. He and Davis made a gift to endow the Richard J. Henley and Susan L. Davis Deanship at the school in 2020, when Rich was dean, and they supported the development of CCNY’s Office of Student Success, also developed by Rich.

Henley and Davis continued to stay in touch after Rich left the Colin Powell School to join Franklin & Marshall as its 17th president in 2025, even traveling from their home in Florida to tour the Lancaster campus.  Henley remembers considering F&M when he was in high school; he knew it for its strong reputation of producing excellent medical school candidates.

The couple were drawn to Rich’s vision for the Curiosity Center and what it will do for students. Its mission reflects their belief that asking questions, accepting risk, and becoming comfortable with uncertainty can be valuable tools for personal and professional growth. 

“To be curious means taking risks, and taking risks means you might not be successful. But that's okay as long as you learn from it,” said Davis. “You don't hit a home run every time you step up to the plate.”

When it launches next year, the Richard J. Henley and Susan L. Davis Leaders-in-Residence program will provide F&M students structured and ad-hoc professional development opportunities, including employment trajectory perspectives, candid conversations and observations about workplace etiquette, and exposure to career role models from multiple industries, including healthcare and medicine.