Education 2024: TRACY FITZSIMMONS

Shenandoah’s president since 2008, Fitzsimmons joined the private liberal arts school in 2001 as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

This year has been a big one for Shenandoah, with a record-breaking $20 million donation in May from SU alumnus Wilbur Dove and his wife, Clare, toward building a performing and visual arts center on campus.

Also, the university launched an undergraduate engineering program, master’s programs in mental health counseling and speech language pathology, and a doctorate in medical science during the past academic year. 

In May, Shenandoah was named one of 11 institutions to receive funding from the Stevens Initiative to launch a global virtual exchange connecting young people in the United States, the Middle East and North Africa. And the university’s Hub for Innovators, Veterans & Entrepreneurs (HIVE) is set to open this fall.

Fitzsimmons has a master’s in Latin American studies and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University. 

WHAT I DO FOR FUN: Ski, salsa dance, hike, read, travel

WHAT I WAS LIKE IN HIGH SCHOOL: Driven, a voracious reader, eager to see the world, hopeful to make a difference someday