Provost Katherine Rowe Named President of the College of William and Mary

February 20, 2018

Dear Students, Staff and Faculty:

Moments ago, the College of William and Mary announced its 28th president: Smith College Provost and Dean of Faculty Katherine Rowe. Founded in 1693, William and Mary is a public Ivy, and the second-oldest college in the nation. Katherine will be its first woman president.

I am extremely proud of Katherine and profoundly grateful to her, as are my colleagues on the board of trustees, for the innovative and farsighted academic leadership she has brought to Smith. Among her many achievements are the establishment of our Statistical and Data Sciences major, one of the first at a liberal arts college; development of the program for the new Neilson Library; and fulfillment of our 10-year NEASC re-accreditation self-study. She leaves a legacy that will be felt for years to come.

I have appointed Joe O’Rourke, Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Professor of Computer Science and Professor of Mathematics & Statistics, as our interim provost while I conduct a search. A member of the Smith faculty since 1988, Joe served as associate provost from 2012 through 2015; he will take up the interim provost role on June 1. I am grateful to Joe for interrupting his sabbatical to take on this critical leadership role for the college.

Please join me in congratulating Katherine. I will host a reception in Katherine’s honor toward the end of the semester to celebrate and thank her for her many contributions to our community.

Sincerely,

Kathleen McCartney
President