Jeff Childress will serve as Pfeiffer's Interim Director of Athletics for the summer of 2025, it was announced on May 23, 2025. He will continue to serve as Special Assistant to the President and will continue his work on special projects for the President's Office.
Childress joined Pfeiffer University as the Vice President of Athletics and External Relations on June 1, 2022. Childress also serves as a member of the President's Cabinet.
Childress served Catawba College for 28 years in several roles, most recently as the Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Development and the Director of the Catawba Chiefs Club.
Under his leadership, Catawba Chiefs Club membership rose from 306 to over 700, raising over $200,000 in gifts in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
Also during his time at Catawba, Childress served as the Head Coach for Men's and Women's Tennis. Childress guided the men to 276 wins and the women to 174 victories. Before his service at Catawba, Childress was the Director of Athletics at Pfeiffer University.
As Vice President of Athletics and External Relations for Pfeiffer University, Childress will oversee all aspects of athletic programming and fundraising. Key responsibilities include developing an athletics’ master facilities plan which will contribute to and shape the university's strategic plan and vision, ensuring that Pfeiffer University is an attractive destination for high school and transfer students.
Childress played tennis and ran cross-country for four years at Pfeiffer University from 1985 to 1989. He served as the graduate assistant for the men's and women's tennis teams at East Carolina University from 1990 to 1991. Childress received his M.A.Ed. from East Carolina in 1995.
Childress is married to Dr. Donna Childress, MD. They have two sons, Michael, who played golf at the University of Richmond and is entering his first year of law school at Villanova; Ben, a junior at Duke University; and a daughter, Lauren, who is entering her senior year at The Cannon School. The Childress family resides in Salisbury.
