He will replace former president Morton Owen Schapiro, who left the Purple Valley for Northwestern University at the end of the 2008-09 school year after 20 years of service. A 16-member search committee was subsequently formed, consisting of Trustees, students, alumni, faculty and staff, and scoured the nation for a replacement while appointing Williams Dean of Faculty Bill Wagner as interim president.
Falk, who will be Williams’ 17th president, is currently Dean of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University and will assume his presidency April 1. The 44-year-old Falk received his Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of North Carolina (UNC), where his father chaired the philosophy department, before completing his Ph.D. in physics at Harvard University. He then held post-doctoral positions at the University of California at San Diego and at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center before joining the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1994. He earned tenure within three years and also served as Vice Dean of Faculty, Interim Dean and lastly his current position. He will be joined in Williamstown by his wife and three children.
As Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins, Falk was responsible for steady increases in admissions selectivity and the establishment of the Williams Multicultural Center, and earned many awards at both Johns Hopkins and Harvard.
Falk particularly loves residential college life, according to Greg Avis, Chair of the Board of Trustees and the Presidential Search Committee, as he grew up around the UNC campus.
“He particularly loves residential college life,” Avis wrote. “Having practically grown up on the campus of the University of North Carolina … he loves the richness of life outside the classroom, from academic and cultural events, to conversations in the snack bar and intense athletic rivalries. (Hint: Don’t wear Duke clothing when near him).”
In his announcement, Avis also delineated some of the reasons why the committee selected Falk, praised his qualities and said that he is a perfect fit for Williams.
“Adam’s values align remarkably with those of Williams. He is deeply and broadly curious and instinctively collegial,” wrote Avis on the Williams Web site. “He sets the highest standards, yet is very down to earth. Adam appreciates Williams and what makes it exceptional. He is eager to advance our commitments in such areas as diversity and inclusion, sustainability and international education. He knows the importance of alumni engagement. Those who work with him say he is a great listener and community-builder, in touch with the many people required to operate a campus.”