Ruscio, who served as president of Washington and Lee University from 2006-2016, will return to the role in an interim capacity until the University’s next president is named and seated.
He will complete the current academic year at W&L and begin his new role on July 1, 2026.
The board elected Bacdayan as the university’s 32nd rector during its October 2023 meeting.
Wangdali C. "Wali" Bacdayan '92, a current trustee of Washington and Lee University, will be the next rector of W&L’s Board of Trustees. The board unanimously elected Bacdayan as the university's 32nd rector during its meeting in Lexington on Oct. 21, 2023. He will assume his duties at the conclusion of the February 2024 meeting, succeeding Michael R. McAlevey '86, who has been rector since 2020.
The AALS House of Representatives voted to accept Wilson’s nomination as the 2023 President-elect. Wilson has served the AALS in numerous capacities, including membership on its Executive Committee since 2020.
Michael Hill, professor and chair of the Africana Studies program at Washington and Lee University, has been named the inaugural director of the University’s new DeLaney Center, an interdisciplinary academic center for teaching and research on Southern race relations, culture, and politics.
Melanie D. Wilson has been named the next dean of Washington and Lee University’s School of Law. She will also hold the Roy L. Steinheimer Jr. Professorship in Law.
Pakenas and Wortham joined the W&L Board of Trustees on October 15.
Cassie Ritter Hunt, executive director of advancement operations at Washington and Lee University, has been named executive director of strategic analysis, effective October 18. She succeeds Tim Diette, who will join the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty as its executive director this month.
Washington and Lee has been selected as the new academic home of the Shepherd Higher Education Consortium on Poverty (SHECP) following a competitive application process. Tim Diette has been named executive director of the consortium.
