Charles Petitt, Longtime President of Carolina University, Dies at 23-Year Service Mark
Petitt’s two-decade tenure transformed the small North Carolina school.
Dr. Charles Petitt, the longtime president of Carolina University whose leadership reshaped the school into a modern, globally connected institution, died Wednesday night (May 7) following a heart attack. The news was shared by family and friends in social media posts. He is survived by his wife, Dawn, and their two daughters, Tiffany and Alicia.
Charles Petitt. Source Carolina University
Petitt took the helm of Winston Salem-based Carolina University—then known as Piedmont Baptist College—in 2002, stepping into leadership at a time when the school enrolled only about 200 students. Over the next two decades, he led a dramatic transformation marked by strategic mergers, rebranding, and a growing population of international students. Today, the 80-year-old institution stands at over 900 students, an increase of more than 400% during Petitt’s tenure.
In an interview with MinistryWatch last summer, Petitt said enrollment grew by 29% from 2023 to 2024. He had set an ambitious long-term goal of 7,000 on-campus students and 70,000 online. He expressed confidence in reaching those milestones, thanks in part to a new campus that could accommodate thousands of additional students and a revised academic lineup prioritizing in-demand programs.
Last year, Carolina University announced plans to acquire a 117-acre campus at the former HanesBrands headquarters, which included two multistory buildings totaling 500,000 square feet. That move was made possible after the school sold its former Southeastern Bible College campus in Alabama for $4.9 million and received a few multi-million-dollar donations. This windfall allowed the school to pay off several loans and obligations, reducing its debt “almost down to nothing,” Petitt told MinistryWatch at the time.
Carolina University’s new campus. Photo source: HanesBrands
Petitt was raised on a dairy farm in Virginia and started a multicultural church in Atlanta before spending over a decade in the West Indies as a missionary in the 1980s and ‘90s. According to his LinkedIn profile, Petitt served at Baptist Mid-Missions for 12 years, and then became director of the organization’s Eastern U.S. operations between 1998 and 2002 before joining Carolina University.
In a statement released Thursday, Carolina University said, “He was one of the longest-serving university presidents in North Carolina, a testament to his impact and transformative leadership. Dr. Petitt was known for his commitment to the Great Commission to ‘teach all nations’ (Matthew 28:19-20), his infectious enthusiasm, and his captivating storytelling.”
Petitt’s daughter, Alicia Shinn, wrote in a Facebook post, “Please pray for our family as we take our next steps without him. We will let everyone know about a service honoring his life and legacy when we have details nailed down. We will also be setting up something that will allow everyone to share stories, videos, and photos.”
Forsyth County Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough Jr., a close friend of Petitt, posted a video reflecting on his time at the hospital Wednesday night. He spoke of Petitt’s global influence, bringing students from around the world to Winston-Salem.
An official at Carolina University declined to comment on a timeline for the search for a new president.
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