Katherine Rowe

Background

About Katherine Rowe

Experienced chief executive with a national profile and a background in entrepreneurship. Outstanding track record of catalyzing positive change in U.S. higher education, leading public and private institutions at multiple scales. Compelling external presence with industry leaders, legislators, press and boards. Accomplished fundraiser. Strong advocate for professional education, sciences, and liberal arts in the 21st Century. Adept manager of senior leaders, aligning multiple constituencies around shared purposes. Deep commitment to making large, complex organizations into welcoming, healthy and inclusive places to work – so that community members from all backgrounds flourish. Strategically minded, with a passion for team-building. Trained as a Shakespeare scholar (Ph.D. Harvard, 1992), I have longstanding interests in the transformation of teaching, learning and research in a networked world and a deep conviction in the value of liberal arts education during a period of rapid technology change. I pursue these commitments as a higher education leader, scholar, teacher, and digital entrepreneur. I began my career as an academic at Yale University, where I taught for six years on the English department faculty. Sixteen years at Bryn Mawr followed, as Professor of English. For four years I served as Provost and Dean of Faculty and Sophia Smith Professor at Smith College. Since 2018, I have been honored to serve as the president of William & Mary, the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States – completing the $1B For the Bold Campaign. A recipient of grants from the National Endowment for Humanities, the Mellon Foundation, and the PA Department of Education that have supported a number of digital initiatives in the humanities, I served as President and Trustee of the Shakespeare Association of America and Associate General Editor of The Cambridge Guide to the Worlds of Shakespeare. I co-founded Luminary Digital Media, creator of social reading apps for the Folger Library Shakespeare editions, on the iPad.