GETTYSBURG, PA (January 30, 2019) – The Board of Trustees at Gettysburg College today announced the selection of Robert W. Iuliano as the institution’s 15th President. Mr. Iuliano currently serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Deputy to the President at Harvard University, and a lecturer at the Harvard College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He will assume office on July 1, 2019, following the retirement of Gettysburg College President Janet Morgan Riggs ’77.
“Through an extensive and inclusive search process, our Board of Trustees unanimously and enthusiastically selected Bob Iuliano to lead Gettysburg College into the future,” said David Brennan ’75, chair of the College’s Board of Trustees. “At Harvard, Bob has been involved in key decisions the university has made about strategy, policy, and student life. This wide variety of experience at such a remarkable institution, coupled with his passion for teaching and the liberal arts, translates into the type of leader we need at Gettysburg College. Bob is insightful, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and inquisitive and is well-equipped to move Gettysburg College forward.”
A graduate of Harvard College and the University of Virginia School of Law, Mr. Iuliano has spent the last two decades gaining a deep understanding and appreciation for issues fundamental to higher education leadership, including admissions, student life, athletics, governance, finance, and philanthropy.
Mr. Iuliano has been deeply engaged in Harvard’s approach to online and related forms of learning, including the formation of edX with MIT, and its Harvard-based sibling, HarvardX. In addition, he was instrumental in initiating governance changes enhancing the educational, research, and academic mission of Harvard, which represented the first changes to Harvard’s senior board since its formation by charter in 1650.
“Bob Iuliano is one of the most talented leaders with whom I have ever been privileged to work,” said Harvard President Larry Bacow. “He cares deeply about students and undergraduate education. He is a gifted teacher and a fabulous leader. He also is incredibly decent, principled, and humble. Gettysburg has chosen well.”
During his tenure, Mr. Iuliano developed an intricate understanding of Harvard’s financial infrastructure, collaborating with university leadership on issues such as tuition, financial aid, endowment distribution, debt and liquidity, while directly managing a considerable annual budget. Likewise, he participated in the university’s fundraising efforts, partnering with Harvard’s development team to consider philanthropic opportunities and strategies, engage donors on gift negotiations and stewardship issues, and provide counsel for Harvard’s now-completed capital campaign.
A trusted voice on critical matters facing the university, Mr. Iuliano has exhibited an unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion throughout his career. At Harvard, he was responsible for articulating the university’s position on student body diversity and its admissions processes—a topic that has gained national attention. He partnered with Harvard President Emerita Drew Gilpin Faust to charge and compose a university-wide committee on belonging and inclusion. Similarly, in 2015, he helped convene a cross-disciplinary committee of tenured faculty that worked for over two academic years to restate and reaffirm the faculty’s commitment to student body diversity and its importance to Harvard’s pedagogy and mission.
“I leave Harvard to join a community that truly inspires me. I am honored beyond words by the invitation to serve as Gettysburg College’s 15th President,” said Mr. Iuliano. “I look forward to taking all I have learned throughout my career and helping the faculty, students, and staff, in the words of Gettysburg’s motto, to ‘do great work.’ Like Harvard, Gettysburg is infused by its history but has a restless ambition as it looks to its future. I am excited for the opportunity to have a role in shaping that future and ensuring that Gettysburg continues to afford its students an unparalleled educational experience.”
For more information on the President-elect of Gettysburg College, please visit https://www.gettysburg.edu/