Education 2025: ROWE, KATHERINE A.

Rowe became president of the nation’s second-oldest university in 2018, after serving as provost and dean of faculty at Smith College. She has shepherded the creation of William & Mary’s first sustainability plan, an entrepreneurship hub and the college’s strategic plan, Vision 2026.

In July, the college opened the School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics. W&M also introduced the state’s first coastal and marine sciences major this year, part of the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences, thanks to a $100 million gift from Jane Batten in 2024. In February, Dr. R. Todd Stravitz, an alumnus, donated $50 million to create a full-tuition scholarship fund for the Batten School and the Virginia Institute for Marine Science.

Rowe holds master’s and doctoral degrees from Harvard University and spent 16 years as an English professor at Bryn Mawr College. She serves on the Northern Virginia Technology Council’s board of directors and the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission.

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: I spent two months learning to navigate campus in a boot this spring, following a foot injury. It also made a great, resonant boom while cheering at basketball games.

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