Center for Politics Advisors

President Emeritus, Washington and Lee University

Kenneth P. Ruscio is President Emeritus of Washington and Lee University, where he served as President from 2006-2016. Prior to that he held faculty and administrative positions at W&L and was Dean of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond from 2002-2006. From 2017-2018, he was President of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges and Senior Distinguished Lecturer at the Jepson School from 2019-2023. He received his MPA and Ph.D. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and is the recipient of honorary degrees from Roanoke and Hampden-Sydney Colleges. His writing and teaching have focused on democratic theory, political leadership, trust, and public policy. He is the author of the 2004 book The Leadership Dilemma in Modern Democracy. He currently serves on the Boards of Skidmore College in New York and the Collegiate School in Richmond. Past Board appointments include The American Civil War Museum, The Council of Independent Colleges, and the American Association of Colleges and Universities, which he chaired in 2014. Upon leaving the W&L presidency, the Board recognized his leadership by naming the Ruscio Center for Global Learning in his honor.