Maria Donoghue Velleca selected as William & Mary dean of Arts & Sciences

Distinguished neuroscientist at Georgetown University to be W&M’s next dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences

March 18, 2020
By University Communications Staff

Maria Donoghue Velleca, an accomplished scholar and award-winning educator who served as senior associate dean for faculty affairs and strategic planning at Georgetown University’s College of Arts & Sciences, has been selected as William & Mary’s dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, President Katherine A. Rowe announced today. The president will recommend her appointment to the W&M Board of Visitors at the board’s April meeting.

“Professor Donoghue Velleca brings an impressive track record of thoughtful and creative leadership,” said Rowe. “I am very much looking forward to working with her to advance Virginia higher education.”

Donoghue Velleca, a specialist in brain development, will begin at William & Mary after Kate Conley steps down from the role of dean in May. Conley, who served eight years, will return to the classroom in fall 2020 to teach French and Francophone studies.