The Davidson Legacy of Albert Keiser ’66

Albert Keiser Jr. ’66, who was a scholar of historic preservation, North Carolina pottery, folk art and Catawba County history and genealogy, built a career as a private investor. A man of broad interests and expertise, his various endeavors benefited from Keiser’s keen ability to think—a skill he honed at Davidson.

Keiser majored in history with honors at Davidson and co-authored the book From Tavern to Town Revisited: An Architectural History of Hickory, published in 2004. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and was involved with the Eumenean Literary Society, Kappa Sigma Fraternity and forensics/debate activities.

When Keiser’s support of professorships was first announced by the college in 2018, he said, “Davidson was tough at times, but there’s a statement that there’s no gain without pain. Davidson offers a first-rate education. It provided me with a liberal arts background that I could pair with something I enjoyed that could earn money.

“Most importantly, students need to be good citizens of the world, and Davidson helps people do that.”

Keiser’s estate was realized earlier this year, and his gifts totaled more than $6 million in support of professorships—funds that will allow the college to recruit and retain exceptional teachers and leading experts who prepare students for lives of leadership and service.

In addition to transformational faculty support, Keiser long funded an annual prize at Spring Convocation that recognizes superior contributions by one Davidson student each year to the performance of classical English literature. He also established and has been the major supporter of the Keiser Family Library Resource Fund, the second largest family endowed book fund at E.H. Little Library.