HBCU President Grateful After Kidney Transplant Following Commencement Plea For A Donor

Livingstone College President Dr. Anthony J. Davis is thriving after his Nov. 13 procedure.

Livingstone College President Dr. Anthony J. Davis had a successful kidney transplant last month following his heartfelt public appeal for a donor at the HBCU’s 2025 commencement.

Davis has had a challenging year battling stage 5 kidney disease, spending 18 months on dialysis and at times relying on golf carts to get around campus. His life turned around after an anonymous donor answered his public plea at the May 5 commencement.

“How do you ask somebody to give something as vital as a body part?” he told HBCU Gameday. “It was humbling. The hardest season of my life.”

He also thanked the HBCU-focused publication for sharing his story, which ultimately caught the eye of his anonymous donor. “Had you not pushed it out,” Davis said, “I wouldn’t be sitting here today on the other side of transplant.”

His surgery was scheduled for Nov. 13, a fitting date. “I’m the 13th president. And it happened on the National Day of Giving,” he said. “Seven days later, all my kidney markers were normal.”

He praised the Livingstone College community for supporting him throughout 18 months of dialysis, during which he battled fatigue, nausea, anemia, and weight gain while still leading the college. Toward the end, he often relied on a golf cart when walking became too difficult.

Davis credited the community’s encouragement for helping him persevere.

“Students would stop me, circle the golf cart, and pray for me,” Davis said. “Young brothers grabbing my hands in the cafeteria… bishops in the AME Zion Church—everywhere I went, people were praying.”

“I believe God heard all those prayers and said, ‘Let me hurry up and bless this guy,’” he added with a laugh.

Now restored and reinvigorated, Davis says he’s ready to continue the work he feels called to do. “If service is beneath you, leadership is beyond you,” he said. “I’m here to serve.”

But there’s more to celebrate than his health recovery. During his journey, Livingstone College saw a 43.5% enrollment increase over three years, with 51% male students—a rare occurrence in higher education. Retention is also rising, with 76% of freshmen returning and 92% of upperclassmen persisting.

“We’re not just growing numerically, we’re growing in quality,” Davis exclaimed. “Students are making Livingstone College their first choice.”

Davis confirmed that following another $5 million gift from the anonymous donor, a major angel investor is planning a $225 million campus overhaul, including a new 350-bed residential quad, a four-star college-operated hotel, expanded solar energy, and comprehensive campus-wide modernization.

“Livingstone College will not look the same,” Davis said. “We will be a different HBCU—still affordable, still mission-driven, but competitive with the higher-echelon schools.”