Wim Wiewel

Wim Wiewel
Birthplace	Netherlands
Nationality	American
Occupation	Academic administrator, urban planning scholar
Employer	Lewis & Clark College (2017–2022)
Known for	President of Portland State University (2008–2017), President of Lewis & Clark College (2017–2022)

Wim Wiewel is a Dutch-born American academic administrator and urban planning scholar who served as president of two prominent Portland, Oregon, higher education institutions over a span of nearly fifteen years. He led Portland State University (PSU) as its president from 2008 to 2017, overseeing one of the largest public universities in Oregon, and subsequently served as president of Lewis & Clark College from 2017 until his retirement in 2022. A scholar whose academic interests have centered on the relationship between universities and their surrounding urban communities, Wiewel has been recognized as a thoughtful voice on higher education policy, the role of liberal arts colleges in modern society, and the civic responsibilities of academic institutions. His tenure at both Portland institutions placed him at the center of discussions about the evolving nature of higher education in the Pacific Northwest during a period of significant demographic, economic, and social change.

Career

Portland State University

Wim Wiewel served as president of Portland State University beginning in 2008. During his tenure, he led PSU, one of Oregon's largest public universities, through a period that included significant changes in enrollment patterns, state funding structures, and the broader landscape of public higher education. By the time of his departure, he had served approximately nine years in the role, making his one of the longer presidential tenures in the institution's history.

In July 2016, Wiewel announced that he would step down from the PSU presidency in 2017, at the conclusion of the upcoming academic year. His announcement initiated a formal search process for his successor at the university. Portland State University launched its presidential search in September 2016, with the expectation that a new president would be in place by the time Wiewel concluded his service the following year.

Lewis & Clark College

Shortly after leaving Portland State University, Wiewel was selected as the next president of Lewis & Clark College, a private liberal arts institution also located in Portland, Oregon. The appointment was announced in June 2017. The hire was notable in that Wiewel was moving from leading one of the city's largest public universities to heading a smaller, private liberal arts college within the same metropolitan area.

At Lewis & Clark, Wiewel led a college that encompasses an undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, a Graduate School of Education and Counseling, and a Law School. His presidency at Lewis & Clark coincided with a period of considerable challenge for small private colleges nationwide, including demographic shifts affecting enrollment, rising questions about the value proposition of liberal arts education, and ultimately the unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in early 2020.

Advocacy for Liberal Arts Education

During his time at Lewis & Clark, Wiewel became a vocal advocate for the enduring relevance of liberal arts education, particularly during the crises of 2020 and beyond. In a 2020 piece published in The New Republic, the case was made for liberal arts colleges as institutions that teach students to be not only workers but civically engaged citizens of the world—a perspective that Wiewel championed as president of such an institution during a time when the coronavirus pandemic was raising fundamental questions about the future of higher education.

University-Community Relations

Wiewel's scholarly and professional interest in the relationship between universities and their surrounding communities continued during his time at Lewis & Clark. In February 2021, he discussed the complexities of university-city relationships in a period shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic. He addressed what he described as the already complicated relationships many universities have with the cities where they reside, noting that the pandemic was adding new layers of difficulty to these dynamics. This topic—the intersection of higher education institutions and urban environments—had been a consistent theme throughout Wiewel's academic and administrative career, dating back to his earlier work in urban planning.

Retirement

In May 2021, Lewis & Clark College announced that Wiewel would retire from the presidency, with his departure planned for 2022. His retirement brought to a close nearly fifteen years of university and college presidential leadership in Portland.

Following Wiewel's retirement, Lewis & Clark College conducted a search for his successor. In January 2022, the college announced the appointment of Robin Holmes-Sullivan as its next president, effective July 2022. Holmes-Sullivan became the first woman, the first African American, and the first person of color to serve as president of Lewis & Clark College.

Legacy

Wim Wiewel's career in higher education administration in Portland spanned a transformative era for both public and private institutions. His tenure at Portland State University, lasting approximately nine years, placed him among the longer-serving presidents of that institution, and his subsequent move to Lewis & Clark College demonstrated a breadth of experience across different types of higher education institutions—from a large, urban public research university to a smaller, private liberal arts college.

His consistent advocacy for the civic role of higher education institutions and for the value of liberal arts education positioned him as a contributor to national discussions about the purpose and future of colleges and universities. His commentary on university-community relationships, published during the COVID-19 pandemic, reflected a career-long engagement with questions about how institutions of higher learning interact with and serve the broader communities in which they are situated.

The transition from Wiewel's presidency to that of Robin Holmes-Sullivan at Lewis & Clark marked a significant moment in the college's history, as Holmes-Sullivan became the institution's first woman and first African American president.