William C. Dudley begins tenure as sixth president of Claremont McKenna College

Photos by Anibal Ortiz

Today, President William C. Dudley officially begins his tenure as the sixth president of Claremont McKenna College, succeeding Hiram E. Chodosh, who concluded his accomplished presidency after 13 years.

President Dudley will continue to drive bold, strategic thinking on major initiatives (CMC’s Opportunity Strategy, The Open Academy, integrated sciences, The Roberts Campus and Sports Bowl expansion) and ground CMC’s foundational mission—to prepare students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions—in all facets of the College’s academic and residential experience. He will be joined in Claremont by his wife, Dr. Carola Tanna, a primary care physician and Navy veteran.

“Carola and I are thrilled to be in Claremont and I'm excited to get started at CMC,” President Dudley said. “We've felt so warmly welcomed and look forward to getting to know the community and experiencing all that CMC has to offer."

President Dudley arrives from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., where he served in the top role since 2017. Within the first year of his nearly decade-long presidential 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 $625 million to date.

A Virginia native, President 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 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 Will Dudley speaking with staff at a breakfast during his visit to campus in February.

President Dudley’s scholarship is rooted in 19th-century German philosophy. While at Washington and Lee, he 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 Associated Colleges of the South and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges. In June, he was elected to a two-year term as board chair of the Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges, a national association for 100-plus schools.

While President Dudley has spent much of his academic career on the East Coast, The Claremont Colleges are no stranger to him. His great-grandfather was a 1903 graduate of Pomona College, where his great-grandmother was a biology instructor and women’s basketball coach. President Dudley is also the father of two adult children, Cole and Ella.

“On behalf of the College and Board of Trustees, I am delighted to officially welcome Will and Carola to Claremont,” said Ken Valach ’82, Chair of CMC’s Board of Trustees and Chair of the Presidential Search Committee that hired President Dudley.

“Whether in strategic or informal conversations these past few months, I have continued to be inspired by Will’s dedication to CMC’s mission and our shared commitments to academic excellence, the student experience, and the enduring promise of a liberal arts education. Will’s vision is a natural fit for CMC's future, and we look forward to all that lies ahead under his leadership."

—Thomas Rozwadowski