1/9/26: Presidential Search Update

January 9, 2026

Dear Members of the W&L Community,

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am providing an update on our progress in the search for the 28th President of Washington and Lee University.

Search Leadership and Support

• We are pleased to announce that John Robinson ’94 has agreed to chair the Presidential Search Committee. John has served on the Board of Trustees since 2020 and currently chairs the Board’s Governance Committee.
• Following a series of interviews with several respected firms, we have selected Isaacson, Miller to support our search. As a leading higher education executive search firm, they have successfully completed leadership searches for many of the nation’s top colleges. John Isaacson, the firm’s founder and chairman, will lead the team assisting our committee.

Next Steps and Community Outreach

• Our immediate priority is to define a leadership profile for the next president. To do this, we will soon begin broad outreach to students, faculty, staff, and alumni through interviews, focus groups, and surveys.
• In the coming weeks, we will also appoint W&L community representatives to the search committee.
• In January, the University will launch a dedicated search website. This site will include committee membership; information about Isaacson, Miller; the final leadership profile, when completed by the search committee; a record of our correspondence with the community; and a nomination form for submitting candidate recommendations directly to the search firm. Our goal is to provide transparency into the search process while maintaining strict confidentiality regarding specific candidates.
• Concurrent with these efforts, the Board will prepare plans for interim leadership should a new president not be in place by July 1, 2026.

We look forward to working with the entire community to find the best possible leader for Washington and Lee.

Very best,

Wali Bacdayan ’92
Rector, Washington and Lee University Board of Trustees