Dr. Kathryn McClymond has been inaugurated as Oglethorpe University’s first female president.

Last week, the university held events including a faculty lecture, community picnic, and a service project with students – all part of McClymond’s official inauguration.

After a processional on Friday, Sept. 20, McClymond reflected on a pivotal childhood moment with her mother, a college professor and department chair. McClymond said those in higher education “deliberately choose to pour their knowledge, passion, energy, and caring into other people’s children. They deliberately choose to make life-changing opportunities available to complete strangers.”

McClymond described Oglethorpe’s culture as personal, deeply invested in the community and in each student.

“At Oglethorpe, we understand that excellence develops one student at a time. It is a deeply personal experience. Academic excellence is nurtured and blossoms uniquely in each individual student. This is time- and labor-intensive, and we don’t graduate the tens of thousands of students each year that other institutions graduate. For us, that’s a good thing,” she said.

As Oglethorpe’s 18th president, McClymond formerly served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. She joined the faculty in July 2021, and was appointed as president in November 2023. She’s also served as Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Arts and Sciences at Georgia State University.

McClymond is a scholar of comparative religions. She is the author of numerous articles and books, including a co-edited volume exploring how humanities disciplines contribute to research on moral injury among veterans. She has served on the board of directors for the American Academy of Religion and the American Society of the Study of Religion.

McClymond’s investiture was an opportunity to celebrate as a community, the university said.

“My focus over the coming years will be to serve Atlanta, Georgia, and the Southeast well by serving our students well. We will do this by maintaining our commitment to the traditional liberal arts and empowering our students with “new” liberal arts skills: digital fluency, climate literacy, intercultural competence, and high stakes and high conflict leadership skills,” she said. “My vision is that when we celebrate our 200th anniversary in 2035, Oglethorpe will be rightfully recognized as Atlanta’s premier undergraduate learning experience.”

Oglethorpe University was founded in 1835, and has been at the campus in Brookhaven since 1915.