By News Office
December 4, 2025

William C. Dudley, president of Washington and Lee University, has been named the sixth president of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California. He will complete the current academic year at W&L and begin his new role on July 1, 2026.

In a personal announcement to the W&L community on Dec. 5, President Dudley noted that 2026 would mark his 10^th Commencement at Washington and Lee. He praised the students, faculty and staff, noting that “I take pride in leaving Washington and Lee in a strong position, and in knowing that our exceptionally talented students, faculty, and staff will continue to advance our educational mission long after I am gone. Each of you plays a part in making the university the best it can be for current students. And all of you seize opportunities to strengthen the university for future generations. If you do those things every day and take stock once a decade, it is gratifying to consider what we have accomplished.”

Wali Bacdayan, Rector of Washington and Lee’s Board of Trustees, said the Board will engage a nationally recognized search firm to assist the University in conducting a search process that includes input from students, faculty, staff, and alumni of the university. Details on the search will be announced in the coming weeks.

“Will has been an exceptional leader for Washington and Lee for almost a decade,” said Bacdayan. “From the moment he stepped on campus, he has exhibited a deep appreciation for W&L’s culture and distinctive strengths, which are encapsulated in the strategic plan that he developed in concert with the Board of Trustees and campus community. His commitment to expanding access and affordability was realized through Bill Miller’s extraordinary $132 million gift, which made the university need-blind in undergraduate admissions. He was also instrumental in expanding student opportunities, curricular programs, and campus facilities. Will is leaving W&L in a position of strength, and we are grateful for his dedication and service.”

As president of Washington and Lee, Dudley initiated a comprehensive strategic planning process to build on the university’s strengths while furthering initiatives in support of W&L’s aspiration to be a national model for liberal arts education in the 21st century. In 2024, the University launched the largest fundraising campaign in its history, Leading Lives of Consequence, with a $650 million goal. The campaign has raised over $568 million to date and is ahead of schedule for a successful conclusion in June 2027.

Throughout his tenure at W&L, Dudley prioritized student access, affordability, and opportunity, implementing need-blind undergraduate admissions and boosting enrollment among first-generation, low-income, and rural student populations. The university expanded financial support for faculty-mentored research and study abroad and enhanced its curriculum with new minors in data science, entrepreneurship, legal studies, and arts management, and the creation of the DeLaney Center for the study of Southern race relations, culture, and politics. Critical facilities added to the campus include the Duchossois Athletic and Recreation Center; the new academic building for the Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics; the Lindley Center for Student Wellness; and the Harte Center for Teaching and Learning. Plans are underway for a new Admissions and Financial Aid center, an institutional history museum, and an expanded and renovated science center.

Dudley became the 27th president of Washington and Lee in January 2017, after serving for five years as the provost of his alma mater, Williams College. In that role, he oversaw academic operations, allocated college resources, and helped to establish priorities for Teach It Forward: The Campaign for Williams, which raised more than $750 million.

A respected leader in higher education, Dudley currently serves on the boards of the Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges, the Associated Colleges of the South, and the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges.  He received a gubernatorial appointment to the board of trustees of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2010 and served as the vice-chair in 2015-16.

Dudley earned a B.A. in mathematics and philosophy, magna cum laude, from Williams College in 1989, where he was captain of the water polo team, a member of the swim team, and the recipient of a Herchel Smith Fellowship to study at Cambridge University from 1989 to 1990. Dudley worked for AES from 1990 to 1992 before pursuing graduate studies at Northwestern University, where he earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in philosophy.

His scholarship focuses on 19th-century German philosophy. Dudley is the author of two books — “Understanding German Idealism” (2007) and “Hegel, Nietzsche and Philosophy: Thinking Freedom” (2002) — the editor of volumes on Kant and Hegel, and has published numerous scholarly articles. He received fellowships in support of his research from the American Council of Learned Societies and the Humboldt Foundation.

Dudley joined the Williams College faculty in 1998, teaching courses on moral and political philosophy, metaphysics and epistemology, the philosophy and economics of higher education, and the spiritual significance of sports. At W&L, he teaches an annual seminar on virtue ethics and liberal arts education.

“Washington and Lee is an extraordinary university, with tremendous momentum,” said Dudley. “It has been my honor and pleasure to serve as the president. I treasure my relationships with W&L students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of this exceptional place.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI made an arrest on Thursday in its nearly 5-year-old investigation into who placed pipe bombs in Washington on the eve of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.

The arrest marks the first time investigators have settled on a suspect in an act that had long vexed law enforcement, spawned a multitude of conspiracy theories and remained an enduring mystery in the shadow of the dark chapter of American history that is the violent Capitol siege.

The official who described the arrest was not authorized to publicly discuss a case that has not yet been made public and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The arrest took place Thursday morning, and the suspect is a man, the official said. No other details were immediately available, including the charges the man might face.

The pipe bombs were placed on the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, near the offices of the Democratic and Republican national committees in the District of Columbia. Nobody was hurt before the bombs were rendered safe, but the FBI has said both devices could have been lethal.

In the years since, investigators have sought the public’s help in identifying a shadowy subject seen on surveillance camera even as they struggled to determine answers to basic questions, including the person’s gender and motive and whether the act had a clear connection to the riot at the Capitol a day later when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building in a bid to halt the certification of the Republican’s 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Seeking a breakthrough, the FBI last January publicized additional information about the investigation, including an estimate that the suspect was about 5-foot-7, as well as previously unreleased video of the suspect placing one of the bombs.

The bureau had for years struggled to pinpoint a suspect despite hundreds of tips, a review of tens of thousands of video files and a significant number of interviews.

In the absence of harder evidence, Republican lawmakers and right-wing media outlets promoted conspiracy theories about the pipe bombs. House Republicans also criticized security lapses, questioning how law enforcement failed to detect the bombs for 17 hours. Dan Bongino, the current FBI deputy director, floated the possibility last year before being tapped for his job that the act was an “inside job” and involved a “massive cover-up.”

But since arriving at the FBI in March, he has sought to deliver action to a restive base on the far right by promising that the pipe bombs investigation would be a top priority and defending the bureau’s work.

“We brought in new personnel to take a look at the case, we flew in police officers and detectives working as TFOs (task force officers) to review FBI work, we conducted multiple internal reviews, held countless in person and SVTC meetings with investigative team members, we dramatically increased investigative resources, and we increased the public award for information in the case to utilize crowd-sourcing leads,” he wrote in a long post on X last month.

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© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

President Donald Trump’s name was added to the United States Institute of Peace building in D.C. Wednesday.

The change comes amid an ongoing legal battle over whether the Trump administration can dismantle the institute.

A lawyer for former USIP leadership and staff condemned the addition, saying it “adds insult to injury.”

The administration released a statement, saying the institute blew millions per year “while delivering no peace.”

It went on to say the building is now “beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended 8 wars in less than a year.”

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