On Tuesday, December 13, Strom C. Thacker, chief academic officer at Union College in New York, was announced as Pitzer College’s seventh president and will officially take office on July 1, 2023.

Thacker succeeds sixth president, Melvin L. Oliver, who retired in 2022 after a six-year tenure. Jill A. Klein is currently serving as interim president for the 2022-23 academic year.

Strom C. Thacker has been named Pitzer College’s seventh president. He will take office July 1, 2023. Photo/courtesy of Pitzer College

Thacker previously served as dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs at Union College in Schenectady, New York.

Thacker’s selection caps an eight-month search.

“Thacker graduated from Pomona College in 1988, and his selection as president marks the first time in Pitzer history that the College will be led by a graduate of a member institution of The Claremont Colleges,” read a Pitzer news release.

Prior to his current work at Union College, Thacker served as Boston University’s associate dean of the faculty and social sciences within the College of Arts and Sciences. He’s also held appointments at the University of Gothenburg (Sweden), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Stanford, and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México.

To learn more, visit pitzer.edu/president/president-designate.