The Drew University Board of Trustees and Presidential Search Committee today announced that Hilary L. Link, PhD will be named the University’s 15th president. Link brings a distinguished track record of leadership at prominent higher education institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Link will succeed President Thomas J. Schwarz, who will step down at the end of June after successfully fulfilling his three-year commitment.
Link comes to Drew most recently from Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, where she served as president from 2019 to 2022. She successfully guided Allegheny through the COVID-19 pandemic while managing demographic, enrollment, and financial challenges facing institutions of higher education across the country.
Prior to Allegheny College, Link was dean of Temple University Rome and previously served as vice provost at Barnard College of Columbia University. She began her career in higher education as director of scholar programs at New York University. Link earned her bachelor’s degree at Stanford University and both her master’s degree and doctorate in Italian language and literature at Yale University.
“We are delighted to have attracted a candidate who has spent decades in leadership roles at prominent institutions of higher education with such outstanding pedigrees and reputations,” said Fredrick Fuest C’68, P’02,’08, chair of the Presidential Search Committee and vice chair of the Board of Trustees. “Dr. Link’s appointment comes at the end of a national nine-month search process that involved the energetic and thoughtful input of Drew trustees, faculty, staff, students, alums, and the executive search firm Storbeck Search. We sought a bold visionary who is innovative, entrepreneurial, inspiring, and financially astute, and I am proud to say we found all that in Dr. Link.”
“I am excited to step into the leadership of Drew University, a strong institution known for providing its students with a truly immersive learning experience and for a faculty distinctively dedicated to student success,” said Hilary L. Link, PhD, who will officially take office on July 1, 2023. “The past several years have been particularly challenging for small liberal arts colleges, and I look forward to working with Drew’s faculty and staff across the University, including the College of Liberal Arts, Caspersen School of Graduate Studies, and Drew Theological School, to build on their tremendous work. I am eager to begin working with the entire Drew community to forge the University’s path into a vibrant and successful future.”
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Hilary Link to the Drew family. The Board of Trustees unanimously endorsed her appointment, and I personally look forward to working with her to build upon the momentum Drew has harnessed under President Schwarz. I am extremely proud of the work President Schwarz has done over the last several years to put Drew in a position to appeal to another proven leader like Hilary,” said William W. Landis III C’85, chair of the Board of Trustees. “Hilary’s experience and track record make her a natural fit for Drew, from her innovative leadership, commitment to the academic community, experience in the New York and international higher education spheres—in line with Drew’s popular New York Semesters and top-10 international enrollment numbers—and more.”
A more comprehensive introduction of Dr. Link to the Drew community are planned for the spring.
About Drew University
Drew University, a Phi Beta Kappa liberal arts university, includes the College of Liberal Arts, the Drew Theological School and the Caspersen School of Graduate Studies. Drew is located on a beautiful, wooded campus in Madison, New Jersey, a thriving small town close to New York City. Drew has a total enrollment of more than 2,200 students and has 136 full-time faculty members, 96% of whom hold the terminal degree in their field. The Theological and Caspersen schools offer master’s and doctoral degrees, and the College confers BA and BS degrees in 40 disciplines, with 60 available minors, and offers 18 preprofessional and 19 dual-degree programs.
