About Katherine A. Rowe
Twenty-Eighth President, William & Mary
On February 20, 2018, William & Mary’s Board of Visitors unanimously elected Katherine A. Rowe as the 28th president of the university. A nationally recognized innovator in higher education, Rowe champions the liberal arts, entrepreneurship and pathways to careers. She was sworn in as president on July 1, 2018 and inaugurated during the Charter Day Ceremony in February 2019.
Rowe oversaw the creation of William & Mary’s strategic plan, Vision 2026 – the result of an inclusive, multi-year planning process, which included crafting the university’s first-ever values statement. Built on four cornerstone initiatives — data, water, democracy and careers — Vision 2026 invests in the capacities required for leadership in the 21st century.
At William & Mary, Rowe has advanced access and affordability for first-generation and low-income students, closing the university’s $1.1B For the Bold campaign in 2020 and a dedicated campaign for Athletics, All In, in 2023. Under her leadership, the university founded a new School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics and a new Bachelor of Science in Coastal and Marine Sciences. Rowe’s cross-university initiatives include a university-wide civics curriculum, a central Entrepreneurship Hub, and the restoration of the Williamsburg Bray School – the oldest extant schoolhouse for Black children in the hemisphere. Major gifts during her tenure include support for military and veteran students and conservation science. William & Mary’s Batten School, established with a $100M naming gift in 2024, leads the nation in coastal resilience.
An award-winning teacher and scholar, Rowe is also an entrepreneur. She serves on numerous technology and workforce boards in Virginia. She is a past president of the Shakespeare Association of America.
Rowe holds a bachelor’s degree from Carleton College and a master’s and a Ph.D. from Harvard University. She has completed graduate work in Cinema and Media Studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Rowe spent more than a decade coaching Ultimate Frisbee. She was a World Ultimate Club Finalist and a Women’s Nationals Finalist. She co-founded the nonprofit Boston Ultimate Disc Alliance and the Carleton College women’s Ultimate team.
Rowe shares her love of Ultimate with her spouse, Bruce Jacobson, William & Mary’s First Gentleman. They have two adult children, Daniel and Beah.
