GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — At around 10 o’clock on Friday morning Georgetown College made history when it inaugurated its 26th president. For the first time in its 193-year history, the college’s president is now a female.
“I’ve been here for 38 years, and I’ve watched this college change, and it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to be the first female president of this college,” said Dr. Rosemary Allen.
During those 38 years, she referenced, Allen worked at the college as a professor, provost, and interim president until a full-time replacement was in office.
She replaces William Jones, who was dismissed after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced last year. (Jones and his attorneys have since filed a wrongful termination suit against the college).
Governor Andy Beshear attended Friday’s ceremony, and many of Dr. Allen’s colleagues on campus couldn’t have been happier about this appointment.
“She brings a deep inside knowledge of this institution and what makes Georgetown College the college that it is,” said Provost, Dr. Jonathan Sands Wise. “I think she is going to serve us very well in the years to come,” he continued.
Dr. Allen addressed the exorbitant costs of college during her address and then spoke about the additional scholarship dollars the university has at its disposal, thanks in part to state and federal grants. She also noted what she thinks will become the most vital part of her tenure.
“Our sense of how we connect together as a community that genuinely loves and cares for each other. That’s where the strength we have here goes into a strength for the future,” she explained.
And while she ascends to the college’s top job, it was not something she had set her sights on at any time before.
“Never thought I was going to be President here, but I always wanted to stay,” she said when asked if she ever considered other positions elsewhere.
