Lynn M. Morton, Ph.D.

President

The President serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the College with responsibility for ensuring the success of the institution’s mission, enrollment growth and management, academic integrity, fiscal stability, fundraising, personnel, and physical plant management. The President provides vision and strategic leadership to college operations and engages the governing board, faculty, staff, and students in realizing the future of the College’s extraordinary potential. The President acts as a mentor for vice presidents, faculty, and staff, collaborates on strategic issues impacting the college, and serves as the decision-maker for all aspects of campus operations, policies, practices, and activities.

Morton is the eighth person and first woman to be president of Warren Wilson College. Before assuming the presidency at Warren Wilson in July 2017, she served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, Associate VP for Academic Affairs, and Chair of the English Department at Queens University of Charlotte as well as Director of the First Year Writing Program. Morton has spent her career as a teacher-scholar and administrator focused on student learning outcomes; curricular innovations; career development; diversity, inclusion and community engagement initiatives; and academic excellence. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina-Columbia in Renaissance and Medieval Literature, her M.A. from the University of Nevada-Reno in British Literature, and her B.A. in English and History with Secondary Teaching Licensure from University of North Carolina-Greensboro.

Jay Roberts, Ph.D.

Provost & Dean of the Faculty

The Provost and Dean of the Faculty has oversight over Academic Affairs (all academic programs and degrees, faculty recruitment and evaluation, faculty development, curriculum standards and accreditation, student success offices, the library, careers and internships, land resources, and international education); Student Life (WIDE – Wilson Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, all Counseling and Wellness Centers, the Chaplain and Center for Spiritual Life), the Work Program, International Education, Career Services, and Land Resources. The combination of Provost and Dean signifies a special responsibility and relationship with the academic faculty and the academic mission. This role is responsible for strategic planning and implementation of initiatives to further integrate the principal components of a Warren Wilson education (academic, community engagement, and work) in both design and function.

Roberts joined Warren Wilson College in June 2020 as Vice President of Academic Affairs and, as of July 1, 2021, transitioned to Provost and Dean of the Faculty. Previously, Roberts spent 20 years at Earlham College as a Professor of Education and Environmental Studies, serving 7 years as the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. Roberts was also a 2019-20 American Council on Education [ACE] Fellow with the Great Lakes College Association. Roberts is a noted authority on experiential learning, publishing multiple articles and books on the subject. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Miami University, a Master of Education from University of Virginia, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology and Environmental Studies from Lawrence University.

Belinda Burke

Vice President for Administration & Finance / CFO

The Vice President for Administration and Finance/CFO is responsible for the overall budget and expenditures of the College. In addition, this position has direct oversight for the following units: Finance and Accounting, Facilities Management, Public Safety, Risk Management, Human Resources, Financial Aid, Information Technology, Student Store, Auxiliary Rentals, Swannanoa Gathering (summer music program), and Dining Services. This position manages facilities needs for all events on campus, as well as contract management and legal services as needed by the College. The Vice President for Administration and Finance/CFO is also responsible for strategic planning and implementation of all operational initiatives.

Burke came to Warren Wilson College in July of 2019 from Wesley College in Delaware, where she was the Vice President of Finance and Administration/CFO responsible for Human Resources, Business Office, Financial Aid, Public Safety, Dining Services, and Facilities Management. Burke possesses extensive financial experience in a variety of executive level financial roles, from banking to higher education. Burke earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Virginia Tech University and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Management Account (CMA). Additionally, she has earned the designation of Certified Chief Executive (CCE) in a three-year graduate program that dealt with strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, and strategic leadership development.

Brian Liechti ’15

Vice President for Enrollment & Marketing, Director of Sustainability

This position is responsible for the recruitment of undergraduate students to the College, searching for individuals who demonstrate strong academic ability and curiosity, personal integrity, and alignment with the College’s mission. The Vice President supervises the following: the Director of Admissions, the Assistant Director of Admissions, the admissions counselors, and an administrative assistant, and he currently also serves as the Director of Sustainability.

Liechti, a Warren Wilson College alum, joined the College as an Admissions Counselor in 2015. In 2016, he was promoted to Assistant Director of Admissions and then to the Director of Admissions in 2018. In July 2020, with the departure of Vice President Matt Edlund, Liechti assumed the role of Interim Vice President for Enrollment and, in July 2021, became the VP for Enrollment & Marketing and Director of Sustainability. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Studies from Warren Wilson College with a concentration in Sustainable Agriculture and a Master of Business Administration in Sustainability from Bard College in New York. These experiences afford him the ability to accurately represent and promote the experiences of being a student at Warren Wilson College.

Kortet Mensah, Ph.D.

Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Strategy

The Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Strategy is responsible for guiding the efforts to conceptualize, define, assess, nurture, and cultivate diversity as an institutional and educational resource. Reporting directly and under the guidance of the President of the College, the VP for DEI and Strategy leads in the development and implementation of proactive diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in support of the College’s strategic plan to create a learning and working environment where all in the campus community have an opportunity to succeed and thrive. This role is designed to lead the College’s effort toward building and sustaining a diverse and culturally vibrant campus.

Mensah came to Warren Wilson College in July of 2021 from Bastyr University in Washington state, where she was the Associate Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion/Chief Diversity Officer. There, she was the inaugural person in the role that established the DEI department and infused that work into all aspects of the institution. She led university-wide conversations, provided mentorship, designed trainings, and led efforts in recruitment and program development to achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. She has spent more than 20 years in higher education and nearly a decade as a leader in DEI work. She earned her BA in Business Administration from Stephens College, her M.Ed. in Educational and Counseling Psychology, and her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at University of Missouri – Columbia.

Tacci Smith

Interim Dean of Students

The Interim Dean of Students reports to the Provost and is responsible for all aspects of Student Affairs and also serves as the College’s Title IX Coordinator. This position has oversight over the following units: Student Activities, Residence Life, Spiritual Life, Health and Wellness, the Counseling Center, the Queer Resource Center, as well as the Wilson Inclusion, Diversity and Equity [WIDE] department. The Interim Dean of Students serves on both the Provost Leadership Team and Cabinet to ensure careful coordination, collaboration, and representation of student life issues within the senior leadership of the College.

Smith joined Warren Wilson College in 2016 as Director of Student Activities and has since served in a variety of student-focused positions. Smith recently served as the Associate Dean of Student Life Engagement where her work focused on student communication and advocacy.

Prior to her work at the College, Smith was the Associate Dean of Students and Director of New Student Orientation at Kenyon College in Ohio. She received her B.A. in Communications/ Broadcasting and Psychology from Otterbein College and her M.A. in College Student Personnel from Bowling Green State University.