A steady hand for the transition
Kenneth P. Ruscio '76 has been named as the interim president to replace the departing William Dudley. A solid, interim choice, but hard work remains.
Last week, the Board of Trustees announced that Kenneth P. Ruscio '76, president emeritus of Washington and Lee, will return as interim president effective July 1.
This is a good call.
Ruscio is not a mere placeholder. He served as president from 2006 to 2016. His tenure was marked by genuine progress on inclusion and access—expansion of co-education, significant growth in need-based financial aid, and a campus that became a more welcoming place for students who would have been afterthoughts when I was there. That record matters.
Beyond his record at W&L, Ruscio recently served on the board of the American Civil War Museum. This Richmond institution has made a deliberate effort toward honest, balanced interpretation of the Civil War and its legacy. It has done the work that Washington and Lee has not.
None of this, however, changes what's still unresolved. The Board's presidential search remains ongoing, and the questions about Washington and Lee's relationship with its Confederate identity don't go away. The kind of leadership the institution needs is one that honestly reckons with that history. The search is now running against a defined clock with a respected figure at the helm. The Board has bought itself time and credibility. What it does with both is worth watching.
Ruscio inherits an institution at an interesting moment. The planned Institutional History Museum remains on the table. The search for a permanent president continues. And the broader question of what Washington and Lee wants to be—for its alumni, its students, and the country that has to live with what it represents—is still open.
We'll be watching.
Non incautus futuri
