H. Kim Bottomly, president of Wellesley College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution for women in Massachusetts, has announced that she will step down at the conclusion of the 2015-16 academic year.
Dr. Bottomly became the 13th president of Wellesley College on August 1, 2007. Previously, she was deputy provost at Yale University and professor of immunobiology at the Yale University School of Medicine.
In a statement to the college community, President Bottomly said that “there will never be an easy time to leave such a wonderful place as Wellesley, but this is the right time for me. With robust financial and intellectual resources in place, and with efforts to renew our celebrated campus well underway, the College is strongly positioned to move forward. I am confident that Wellesley will continue to build on this base to achieve all the goals and aspirations of this remarkable college. I will forever cherish my time at Wellesley and will always remain a proud member of this community that has come to mean so much to me. As I have told every graduating class, one never really leaves; Wellesley is always a part of who you are.”
President Bottomly holds a bachelor’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington.