The Next President of W&L
(Old George (c.1844) stands on display in the W&L Colonnade next to an oil painting of General Washington crossing the Delaware. Source: Washington and Lee University)
We received the announcement yesterday from President Dudley that he is leaving W&L at the end of the 2026 academic year. We wish him well in his future role at Claremont-McKenna College.
The choice of the next president of W&L is profoundly important. We have been blessed by visionary leaders throughout our rich history—men like William Graham, Robert E. Lee, Francis P. Gaines, Bob Huntley, and John Wilson, among others. They each faced enormous challenges in their day and built a stronger University in the face of adversity.
Our greatest president, ironically, was not an academic. He was a soldier. He arrived in Lexington in 1865 when Washington College was on the verge of insolvency, with only forty students on the war-ravished campus. In the short five-year span of his presidency, he grew enrollment to over four hundred students, modernized the curriculum, restored the school’s financial strength, and shaped our culture by emphasizing honor, reconciliation, and gentlemanly conduct.
What made Robert E. Lee our greatest president was his character. His humility, kindness, and unwavering sense of duty inspired all those around him. He strove to unite us when we were divided. He encouraged young men to be better students, to be gentlemen, to be honorable, and yes, to attend chapel.
Our country is deeply divided today, just as we were in 1865. The parallels are interesting. Times like this call for a leader who knows where he or she stands, who is driven by strong core values, who possesses strong business and management acumen, who leads by example, and who does not yield to the errant whims of the day.
Our next president should be one who follows the example of Lee, respecting tradition while strengthening the University’s reputation for academic excellence and ideological diversity. One who is firmly grounded in the values of W&L’s past yet remains non incautus futuri (“Not Unmindful of the Future,” the Lee Family motto).
We live in a rapidly changing world, with AI and other technological advances creating immense challenges on many fronts. In the midst of such chaos and upheaval, good leaders are guided by timeless values, embracing change when appropriate and reforming when necessary.
The shortcomings of modern academia in America are well-known. Higher education needs visionary leaders and creative thinkers who are not afraid to buck the trends.
This is a critical time for W&L. We should seek a leader who will not succumb to pressure to make W&L indistinguishable from so many other wayward universities.
Our hope is that our next president will make the W&L brand stronger than ever. And we are grateful that the Board of Trustees will be consulting alumni in this critical process.
Happy Holidays and Go Generals!
Stephen W. Robinson, ’72, ’75L
President, The Generals Redoubt