Kathleen Poorman Dougherty Selected as the Next Provost at Marietta College in Ohio

Kathleen Poorman Dougherty will be the next provost and dean of the faculty at Marietta College in Ohio. She will take office on July 1. Dr. Dougherty will lead the Office of Academic Affairs, which includes more than 100 faculty members and dozens of staff, and serves more than 1,200 undergraduate and graduate students.

“I am honored to be joining the leadership team at Marietta College and grateful that my career has led me to this wonderful institution with a rich and compelling history,” Dr. Dougherty said. “Its commitment to academic excellence and its identity as a college that ‘celebrates curiosity, inspires independence, and praises perseverance’ are compelling. I am especially impressed by Marietta’s dedication to fostering the student experience through experiential learning, robust mentoring, and integrated leadership training.”

Over a 25-year career, Dr. Dougherty has worked as a faculty member, researcher, fundraiser, dean, and senior administrator. She was the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Alma College in Michigan from 2018 to 2022 and has been on sabbatical this past year. Earlier, she served as the inaugural dean for the School of Humanities at Mount Mary University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, beginning in 2013, and subsequently led the School of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Education at the university until 2018. Her scholarly interests are in moral theory, specifically virtue ethics and the development of the moral self.

Dr. Dougherty holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Oklahoma.