In a December announcement to the community, Claremont McKenna College’s Board of Trustees—on the unanimous recommendation of the Presidential Search Committee—named philosopher, scholar, and sitting college president William C. Dudley the sixth president of CMC and successor to President Hiram E. Chodosh, effective July 2026.
“Over the course of its work, the Search Committee solicited input from students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other members of our community. A constant throughline was the importance of finding a leader who deeply understands our culture and foundational mission—to prepare students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions—and who will continue to drive bold strategic thinking,” said Ken Valach ’82, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee and Chair of CMC’s Board of Trustees.
“The committee could not have found a better candidate than Will Dudley to meet this moment. He brings all the qualities that we seek: a grounding in our mission, tested presidential experience, and the vision and gusto to move us to a future of excellence.”
President-elect Dudley currently serves as president of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., where he has led since January 2017. Within the first year of his nearly decade-long tenure, he set in motion a strategic planning process with priorities including increasing student access and affordability, enriching the university’s robust liberal arts curriculum, expanding support for faculty research, investing in initiatives for civic engagement and environmental stewardship, and augmenting the physical footprint of the campus. This process culminated in the “Leading Lives of Consequence” campaign, the largest in Washington and Lee’s history, which has raised more than $585 million to date.
A Virginia native, President-elect Dudley attended Williams College, graduating magna cum laude with a double major in mathematics and philosophy. While at Williams, he was captain of the water polo team, a member of the swim team, and the recipient of a Herchel Smith Fellowship to study at Cambridge University. Following work in the private sector, President-elect Dudley earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy at Northwestern University. He returned to Williams as a faculty member in 1998. From 2011 to 2016, he was the provost at Williams, overseeing academic operations, allocating resources, and establishing priorities for the college’s $750 million fundraising effort, “Teach It Forward: The Campaign for Williams.”
President-elect Dudley’s scholarship is rooted in 19th-century German philosophy. In his current role at Washington and Lee, he has continued to teach, offering an annual seminar on virtue ethics and liberal arts education. He is a recognized leader in higher education, serving on the boards of the Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges, the Associated Colleges of the South, and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.
