The Claremont McKenna College Board of Trustees announced the appointment of William C. Dudley as successor to President Hiram E. Chodosh, effective July 2026.
CMC Release
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Courtesy of CMC--
In the words of Search Committee Member Eric Helland P’20, William F. Podlich Professor of Economics and George R. Roberts Fellow, “Will Dudley is an academic leader whose life and career have been shaped by the liberal arts, and he deeply appreciates the magnitude of our unique mission in cultivating leaders for the future. His values are perfectly aligned with our focus on excellence in teaching and in research, on making a CMC education accessible to the students who will most benefit from the experience, and to open dialogue as embodied by the Open Academy.”
Indeed, Claremont McKenna’s commitment to student leadership development and constructive dialogue on college campuses is a signature part of our vision for the future. It was important to the committee that our next president is positioned to magnify the impact of our Open Academy, modeling the belief that dialogue across differences is the cornerstone of a civil society.
A related quality that the Search Committee sought was the candidate’s ability to connect with all members of our community—students, staff, faculty, parents, donors, and alumni. Will Dudley embodies that characteristic and his background as a student athlete, a philosophy professor, and a continuously vital member of a residential academic community distinguishes him as one who will be an active contributor to our campus environment.
Search Committee Member and student Kylee Tevis ’26 observed, “As the voice for students, it was important to me that we found a leader who values building relationships with students and whose humanity shows in his interactions. Our conversations with President-elect Dudley and the experiences he shared about teaching and living on campus truly reflected this.”
Reflecting on the Board’s decision, President-elect Dudley shared, “I am honored to be selected as Claremont McKenna’s sixth president. I am inspired by the College’s founding vision that liberal arts education is the best preparation for responsible leadership and impressed by its sustained commitment to academic excellence. CMC’s mission has never been more important, and I look forward to advancing it in collaboration with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the Board of Trustees. Carola and I are excited to move to Claremont and join the community this summer.”
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