FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Catherine Xia

Aug. 26, 2020 xiac23@mail.wlu.edu

480-270-0290

Washington and Lee University Welcomes New Dean of College

LEXINGTON, Va. – Washington and Lee University announced Lena Hill as the new dean
of the College, effective July 1. Hill will succeed Suzanne Keen, who was the dean of the
College since 2013.

“Lena brings impressive administrative and leadership experience from a major national
university,” Provost Marc Conner, who announced Hill’s appointment, said. “Her perspective
and skillset will be of great benefit to our community.”

Hill was the senior associate to the president, the interim chief diversity officer, and the associate
vice president at the University of Iowa. She was also a professor of English and African
American Studies, and has published multiple books on 20th-century African American literature.
Hill received her doctorate degree in English from Yale University and was awarded the James
N. Murray Faculty Award in 2011.

As dean, Hill will oversee the College, which is composed of 21 departments, four
interdepartmental majors, and seven interdepartmental programs. The College has more than 140
faculty members and more than 200 students. She will also report to the provost and serve on the
Provost’s Academic Council.

“What distinguishes W&L are the talented students and exceptional faculty and staff who form
the lifeblood of this institution,” Hill said. “Coming here, meeting them, and understanding the
amazing intellectual energy around the creative work and intellectual enterprise taking place here
has been very impactful for me.”

Her husband, Michael Hill, will also join Washington and Lee University as a professor of
Africana Studies. The Hills have two children, a daughter and a son.

If you want to learn more about Hill and her appointment, you can reach her by email at
lmhill@wlu.edu.
About Washington and Lee University

Washington and Lee University is the ninth oldest institution of higher education in the United
States. Washington and Lee University is composed of two undergraduate divisions, the College
and the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics; and a graduate School of Law.
Offering 37 undergraduate majors and 30 minors, including a number of interdisciplinary
programs, the University prides itself on the depth and breadth of our curriculum, in which
traditional liberal arts courses are augmented by offerings from the only fully-accredited business
school and fully-accredited journalism program among the nation's top-tier liberal arts colleges.

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