Anne M. Houtman has been named the first woman president of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. The college enrolls about 1,100 students. Women make up 55 percent of the undergraduate student body. Dr. Houtman will assume her new duties on July 1, 2019.
Currently, Dr. Houtman serves as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terra Haute, Indiana. Previously, she served as dean of the School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering at California State University, Bakersfield, and as Head and Professor at the Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology. Earlier in her career, she held faculty positions at California State University, Fullerton, Soka University of America in Aliso Viejo, California, and Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois.
“I am honored and delighted to have the opportunity to serve as president of Earlham College and the Earlham School of Religion,” said Dr. Houtman. “As a liberally educated scientist and as a Quaker, I consider this position a once-in-a-lifetime match for my skills, experience and values. I have for many years been impressed with Earlham’s clear commitment to educate contributory citizens and lifelong learners in a collegial and inclusive environment. I look forward to working with faculty, staff, students and alumni to help the College and ESR meet their challenges and fulfill that inspiring mission.”
Dr. Houtman is a graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, California. She holds a master’s degree in anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Oxford in England.