Timothy Diette Named Senior Advisor to the President for Strategic Analysis

By News Office
March 16, 2018

Timothy Diette, associate dean of the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics and the Harry E. and Mary Jayne W. Redenbaugh Term Associate Professor of Economics at Washington and Lee University, has been named senior advisor to the president for strategic analysis, effective July 1.

President William C. Dudley announced Diette’s appointment in a message to the W&L community on March 16.

Diette joined the Williams School faculty in 2004, serving as acting head of the Economics Department in 2016 before being appointed associate dean in 2017. He holds an honors B.A. in economics and history, summa cum laude, from the University of Vermont, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to W&L, he worked in the finance departments at Bank of America and Wachovia, followed by a stint as an economist for the North Carolina Department of Revenue.

He teaches courses in Economics of Education and Health Economics, and is affiliate faculty in both the Africana Studies Program and the Shepherd Poverty Program. He also helped create and advises students for the Education Policy minor.

Diette serves on the university’s SACS Self-Study Leadership Team and as a member of the university’s Data Analytics Working Group, as well as on a number of university committees, including the International Education Committee, Writing Program Advisory Committee, and Registration and Class Schedules Committee. He previously served on the President’s Advisory Committee, the Student Affairs Committee, the Faculty Executive Committee, Faculty Administrators Evaluation Committee, and the Student Faculty Hearing Board. He is also a member of the Shepherd Program’s Strategic Planning Steering, Faculty Review and Advisory committees, and served on the organizing committees for Questioning the Good Life and Questioning Passion, two year-long seminar series devoted to the interdisciplinary study of contemporary topics.

“As we examine the challenges facing the university and higher education today, it’s clear that sophisticated analytical work is essential to making good decisions and making progress toward our most important goals” said Dudley. “Through his research and work experience, and most recently as a member of the Data Analysis Working Group, Tim has a demonstrated a talent for using information to improve institutional self-understanding and decision-making, and his insights will be invaluable in moving the university forward.”

As senior advisor to the president, Diette will work on strategic issues across the university, including admissions, financial aid, student affairs, academic affairs, and advancement.

“I am grateful for this opportunity to serve and partner with people across all areas of the university at this important moment in the life of our institution,” said Diette. “This position is particularly exciting to me, as it brings together my experiences as a faculty member and associate dean, my academic research in the area of the economics of education, and the analysis work I performed in the government and private sectors in ways that I hope will be beneficial to W&L.”

An internal search for a new associate dean of the Williams School will be announced soon.

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