Whittier College Announces Kristine Dillon as President
Although the 2023–2024 academic year has come to an end, Whittier College enters a beginning in new leadership with alumna Kristine Dillon now serving as President.
Six months prior to the announcement, it was stated that she would extend her term as interim president until June 2025. Since then, Kristine E. Dillon was appointed as the newest President of Whittier College in an announcement via email from Ronald R. Gastelum, Chairman of the Board of Trustees in the morning of May 10. This makes Dillon the 16th President of the College and 4th female president overall. Along with feedback from various members of the College community, the board’s decision to appoint Dillon’s as president was by a “unanimous vote,” describing this transition as a “significant milestone in our institution’s journey.”
The newly-appointed President Dillon stated, “Whittier College has always been close to my heart, and I am honored to lead this institution which shaped my own educational and professional journey. My focus will continue to be on enhancing our enrollment strategies, increasing our financial resilience, and ensuring that Whittier stands out as a leader in providing a personalized, liberal arts education.”
Following the resignation of former President Linda Oubré on May 12, 2023, Dillon took up the position as Interim President of the College on July 1, 2023. Since then, Dillon has spent her tenure focusing on improving the College’s enrollment numbers and finances, enlisting the support of new leadership that is currently in progress, and investing in “staffing and resources.”
Prior to her involvement as Interim President, Dillon has served as a member of the Board for 18 years, being part of “the search committee that recruited [former Whittier College President] Sharon Hertzburger,” she stated in a previous interview with the Quaker Campus. She remained in the Board until 2014, remaining in close contact with the College. In addition to Whittier, Dillon has served in other leadership roles at Tufts University and USC, along with serving as president of the Consortium of Higher Education and the Senior Advisor at Huron Consulting Group.
In Spring 2023, Dillon returned to Whittier, continuing her position as a Board member. Initially, she had no plans of becoming president despite having multiple opportunities for the position in the past. However, she decided to accept the role as Interim President upon seeing her alma mater in need of help. See Interim President Dillon is Keeping the Door Open on the Quaker Campus Medium page if you would like to learn more.
Upon the first few weeks of taking office, Dillon developed a short-range strategic plan to support the College. “It’s a pretty simple plan. A three-to-four-year time frame to get Whittier back in a viable enrollment state,” she described in an interview with The Rock. Approved by the Board in August 2023, this plan focuses on enrollment and fundraising for the College. The members of the Board were asked to issue $2 million dollars in order to focus on “the appropriate staffing and strategic tools” to increase enrollment numbers for the upcoming school years. Given that they had until December 2023 to make their pledges, the Board members completed them two months prior to the deadline.
A portion of the funding went to the return of Interim Vice President Ken Woods, whose team is focused on boosting enrollment through making connections with high schools and community colleges, increasing marketing strategies, and gaining more support from faculty and alumni.
Additionally, a part of the short-range strategic plan was the launch of Whittier Now! in November 2023: a fundraising initiative that invites alumni and members of the Poet community to participate in financially supporting the College with a goal to reach $1 million dollars by the end of year, leading to the plan of raising $12.5 million dollars to the Whittier Fund. See Whittier Launches Whittier Now! on the Quaker Campus Medium page if you would like to learn more about the fundraising initiative.
The Quaker Campus reached out to the President’s Office for a statement on her newly appointed position. She has yet to give a response.
With a background in leadership in the field of higher education, as well as her dedication to Whittier College, the Board of Trustees express their support for the newly appointed President. “The Board of Trustees and I are very pleased to support Dr. Dillon in these initiatives and are confident that her strategic vision, coupled with her profound love for this institution, will enrich our community immeasurably,” wrote Gastelum.
A celebration event in honor of the newly-appointed President is in the process of being planned; details will be announced in the near future.
Photo Courtesy of Whittier College
