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Hilary L. Link, Ph.D., began her tenure as the 22nd president of Allegheny College today.

Link’s appointment was announced by the college’s board of trustees in January. Link, the first woman in Allegheny’s history to hold the college’s highest office, succeeds James H. Mullen, Jr., who retired after 11 years at the college.

“I am truly humbled and honored to lead this great institution, which is one of the nation’s oldest and most innovative liberal arts colleges,” Link said. “I am inspired by the spirit of excitement, entrepreneurship, access and dialogue exemplified throughout so many aspects of the community here, and I am looking forward to working collaboratively to build on Allegheny’s traditions and continue to strengthen the college’s profile nationally and internationally.”

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.

Link previously served as dean of Temple University Rome, a post she held since 2013. 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. She also 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.

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, programming and accreditation for the college.

“Hilary Link is an insightful leader and scholar who has a deep appreciation for the enduring value of a liberal arts education in preparing students to think critically and solve problems in a complex world,” said Mary “Missy” Feeley, a 1978 Allegheny graduate and chair of the Board of Trustees. “Her commitment to advancing Allegheny’s mission is inspirational, and we are very excited to welcome Hilary and her family to our community.”

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 has 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.