The longtime Washington and Lee president’s tenure is set to end in the summer of 2026. 

“[T]his will be my final year at Washington and Lee,” President William (Will) Dudley said in a message to the university community, which has been uploaded to the W&L website. 

Dudley, a Virginia native, is in his ninth full school year as president, his last after accepting the presidency at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California. “Ten years is long enough to grow deeply attached to the people and the place,” he said. 

“I will miss it and, most especially, all of you. … Ten years is also long enough for a university community to accomplish a great deal, which we have done together,” he added. “I take pride in leaving Washington and Lee in a strong position,” Dudley said, touting that “W&L is now need-blind in undergraduate admissions,” that “[o]ur community has become much more diverse, in meaningful ways,” and that “the academic credentials of our law students have never been higher.”