Washington and Lee Names New Associate Dean of the Williams School

By News Office
January 9, 2017

Timothy Diette, the Harry E. and Mary Jayne W. Redenbaugh Term Associate Professor of Economics at Washington and Lee University, is the new associate dean of the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics, beginning July 1. He succeeds Raquel Alexander, who has held that post since 2015. Alexander is leaving W&L in June to become dean of the College of Management at Bucknell University.

Diette joined the Williams School faculty in 2004. 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 has served since 2016 as acting head of the Economics Department, teaching 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 Reaffirmation Team and as a faculty representative to the Board of Trustees, as well as on a number of university committees, including the Faculty Administrators Evaluation Committee and the President’s Advisory Committee. He previously served on the Student Affairs Committee, the Faculty Executive 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.

“I am excited to serve W&L in this capacity,” said Diette. “I look forward to strengthening the Williams School’s connections to the College, the Law School and our interdisciplinary programs, and to supporting student and faculty initiatives that further the mission of the university.”

In addition to advising the dean on a variety of matters, the associate dean of the Williams School focuses on operations and accreditation. The associate dean also represents the Williams School on a number of university committees and works closely with the dean and faculty of the Williams School on curriculum and program development.

“Tim has been a great example of the W&L teacher-scholar throughout his time at W&L,” said Robert Straughan, Crawford Family Dean of the Williams School. “He has a passion for understanding the human-capital impact of a variety of institutional variables, particularly related to education. The classes that he teaches, the research that he conducts, and his involvement in the broader Lexington community reflect that passion.

“I’m quite excited to welcome Tim to this new role,” Straughan continued. “I think he will find even more ways to contribute to the advancement of the Williams School and Washington and Lee.”

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