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.
2024 was exceptional by any measure. Here are some of the notable achievements of our students, faculty and staff over the past 12 months, all of which were possible thanks to the generosity of our alumni, parents, and friends.
The board elected Bacdayan as the university’s 32nd rector during its October 2023 meeting.
Washington and Lee is a remarkable place, and 2023 gave us many reasons to celebrate. We continue to attract exceptionally talented students, our faculty provide them with an outstanding education, and they enjoy excellent post-graduate opportunities. Here are just a few highlights:
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.
Four historical plaques relocated on campus are being installed in a new exhibit in University Chapel.
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.
2022 was a remarkable one for Washington and Lee by any measure. In addition to the full program of academic and extracurricular activities and campus events that we enjoyed this year, we have many reasons to celebrate this remarkable institution and give thanks for the tremendous community that makes our success possible:
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.
Washington and Lee University will name a new interdisciplinary academic center for teaching and research on Southern race relations, culture, and politics in honor of late professor of history emeritus Theodore “Ted” Carter DeLaney Jr. '85.
Maria A. Feeley '97L, vice president, general counsel, secretary and interim director of athletics at the University of Hartford, has been named chief legal officer and general counsel at Washington and Lee University.
Chawne Kimber, Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Professor of Mathematics, head of the Mathematics Department, and co-director of the Hanson Center for Inclusive STEM Education at Lafayette College, has been named dean of the College at Washington and Lee University.
James D. Farrar Jr., secretary of the university and senior advisor to the president at Washington and Lee, has announced his retirement effective Dec. 31, 2021.
Washington and Lee University is among the 51 inaugural member institutions* of the Liberal Arts Colleges Racial Equity Leadership Alliance, a new initiative from the University of Southern California's Race and Equity Center.
Lena Hill, dean of the College and professor of English and Africana studies at Washington and Lee, has been appointed to be the university’s next provost, beginning July 1, 2021.
Michelle Lyon Drumbl, Robert O. Bentley Professor of Law and director of the Tax Clinic at the Washington and Lee University School of Law, has been appointed to a one-year term as interim dean of the law school effective July 1, 2021.
The title of Lynn Rainville’s talk is “Untold Stories of Founders, Leaders and Other Visionaries at W&L.”
Elizabeth Goad Oliver, associate dean of the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics and Lewis Whitaker Adams Professor of Accounting, has been appointed to a one-year term as interim provost at Washington and Lee University, effective July 1, 2020. She will return to her position as associate dean in July 2021.
Washington and Lee University has already exceeded carbon-reduction goals for 2013 and 2020. The latest updates keep the university on track to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Lynn Rainville, community initiatives fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities and former dean of Sweet Briar College, will be the inaugural Director of Institutional History at Washington and Lee University.
