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Hilary L. Link, Ph.D.

Hilary L. Link, Ph.D.
(Photo courtesy of Temple University)

The Allegheny College Board of Trustees has unanimously elected Hilary L. Link, dean of Temple University Rome, as Allegheny’s 22nd president. Link will assume the presidency on July 1, 2019.

The board’s vote followed the unanimous recommendation of Link by the Presidential Search Committee, which conducted a national search for a successor to James H. Mullen, Jr., who is retiring after 11 years as president of Allegheny College.

“I am deeply honored to have been selected to succeed President Mullen as Allegheny College’s next leader,” Link said. “I look forward to working with Allegheny’s outstanding faculty, staff, students and alumni as together we honor the college’s history and advance the promise of its future. I am inspired by Allegheny’s innovative and interdisciplinary approach to the liberal arts, and by the spirit of innovation, access and dialogue exemplified throughout the Allegheny community. I am thrilled to be joining this dynamic time at the college, as it continues to harness its collective energy to adapt to the changing environment in higher education and effect global change as well.”

Link has more than 20 years of experience across a broad range of institutions of higher education, from large public and private universities to small private colleges. She has built programs, increased resources, enhanced institutional visibility and created innovative interdisciplinary and experiential approaches to education.

“I am delighted to welcome Hilary Link as Allegheny’s next president,” said Mark Campbell, a 1982 Allegheny graduate and chair of the Board of Trustees. “Hilary is a visionary, entrepreneurial leader and interdisciplinary scholar of the humanities with significant experience in inspiring sustainable organizational change by engaging and empowering others in institutional transformation. She is a bold thinker interested in bringing important voices and ideas to the table as part of Allegheny’s legacy of innovation. Hilary is the right individual to lead the college at this pivotal moment in our 200-plus year history, building upon the distinguished service and visionary leadership of Jim Mullen.”

Link was appointed to her current position at Temple University in 2013. As the senior Temple University administrator in Rome, she is responsible for all aspects of Temple Rome’s campus, which annually enrolls more than 600 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. She has strategically expanded and revamped curriculum to enhance enrollment by including more contemporary topics and developed new courses and internships with Temple’s Klein College of Media and Communication; College of Liberal Arts; College of Science and Technology; College of Engineering; and School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management. She also has led recruitment initiatives to achieve an enrollment that is the highest in the 52-year history of the campus, and initiated and garnered support for a full-fledged development program, including creation of a Temple Rome Board of Visitors.

“Hilary’s tenure as dean of Temple University Rome has been nothing short of transformative,” said Temple University Provost JoAnne A. Epps. “She is a visionary whose leadership and innovation have helped our university celebrate Temple Rome’s 50th anniversary, while also keeping an eye toward the next 50 years and furthering the impact of Temple’s European footprint. While her departure is a great loss for Temple, it also represents a great opportunity for Hilary and Allegheny College.”

Prior to joining Temple, Link served as the vice provost at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she had oversight of Barnard’s curriculum, international programs, academic assessment, faculty grants and select academic initiatives. She worked alongside the provost and other senior administrators on academic budgets, faculty governance and global institutional advancement. Previously, Link held the positions of assistant and associate provost and dean for international programs, where she is credited for developing Barnard’s international vision, strategic agenda, and programming, and accreditation for the college.

“The search committee looked for a collaborative, strategic leader and scholar capable of engaging the entire community and continuing Jim Mullen’s dedication to the college and surrounding community,” said Eddie Taylor, a 1987 Allegheny graduate, chair of the presidential search committee and member of the Board of Trustees. “Hilary’s leadership qualities represent the academic and community values of Allegheny, and we are delighted to welcome her.”

Taylor led a 17-member search committee whose membership included a cross-section of constituents, including trustees, faculty, students, staff, administrators, alumni and the local community. The Presidential Search Committee, assisted by Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, reviewed the profiles of more than 130 individuals during a 10-month search process.

Link’s professional and academic accolades include membership in the Stanford University Associates, honoring her long-term service to Stanford; selection as a Presidential Fellow of the Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA); the Administrator of the Year Award from the Barnard College Student Government Association; the Elizabeth Deering Hanscom Fellowship in the Humanities at Yale University; and the Pi Mu Iota Award for the highest achievement in the Italian Department at Stanford University. She is currently the vice chair of the American Overseas School of Rome Board of Trustees and is a member of the Centro Studi Americani Board of Directors.

A transdisciplinary and globally oriented scholar of Italian art and literature, Link will have a faculty appointment at Allegheny. She has taught at Temple University Rome, Barnard College, New York University, Columbia University and Yale University. She is a graduate of Stanford University and earned her M.A. and Ph.D. from Yale University in Italian language and literature. Link and her spouse, Jeff Link, have three sons, Jason, Alexander and Zachary.