Hilary L. Link

22nd president, July 1, 2019—September 20, 2022

Dr. 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.

Prior to her arrival at Allegheny, Dr. Link served for six years (2013) as dean of Temple University Rome. As the senior Temple University administrator in Rome, she was responsible for all aspects of Temple Rome’s campus, which annually enrolls more than 600 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. She 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, among other divisions. Dr. Link was instrumental in leading recruitment initiatives to achieve an enrollment that was the highest in the 52-year history of the campus, and she initiated and garnered support for a full-fledged development program, including creation of a Temple Rome Board of Visitors.

Among her most important accomplishments at Allegheny were:

  • Successfully keeping the College open for in-person living and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, through establishment of the on-campus Allegheny College Health Agency;
  • Establishing a brand-new Class Dean structure within the inaugural Maytum Center for Student Success;
  • Expanding and elevating the College’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, to develop and sustain DEI initiatives and strategies across campus and in the local community;
  • Positioning the College as relevant to and engaged in issues confronting the nation and the world by addressing globalization, climate action, interdisciplinarity, and women’s leadership in her role as president, leading to an elevated national and international profile for the College, evidenced by the most recent U.S. News Rankings.

Dr. 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. Until June 2019 she was vice chair of the American Overseas School of Rome Board of Trustees and a member of the Centro Studi Americani Board of Directors.

Dr. Link serves on the Climate Leadership Steering Committee of the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments. The steering committee is the chief oversight body of the Presidents’ Climate Leadership Commitments, signed by presidents of higher education institutions that are taking action on climate change and preparing students through research and education to solve the challenges of the 21st century. Dr. Link also has been appointed to a four-year term on the NCAA Honors Committee, which reviews the nominations and selects the recipients for several prestigious national awards that are presented annually at the NCAA Convention. Dr. Link also is a member of The International Women’s Forum, an invitation-only global network of C-level women leaders with a common mission of advancing women’s leadership and championing equality worldwide.

A transdisciplinary and globally oriented scholar of Italian art and literature, Dr. Link 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.