By Ji Kim
Elm Staff Writer
Washington College proudly presents and welcomes its new Provost and Dean Emily Chamlee-Wright, who will be starting her new position this July. Chamlee-Wright is currently an associate dean and the Elbert H. Neese professor of economics at Beloit College in Wisconsin.
Chamlee-Wright grew up in McLean, Va., but she said that her “heart was always on the Bay.”
She has many fond memories about her childhood weekends and summer vacations on the water with her family, where they would go sailing on the Patuxent River and travel along the Chesapeake Bay and the Eastern Shore.
During her early college years she attended George Mason University near Washington, D.C., where she taught dance and was part of a modern dance company.
“But it was at GMU where I fell in love with economics, and my focus on dance gradually diminished as economics captured more and more of my time and attention,” she said.
Chamlee-Wright earned her Ph.D. in economics in 1993 and started earning an impressive list of accomplishments. Her remarkable qualifications and invigorating character were what landed a unanimous vote for her from the search committee.
“I was very happy with the process; the whole campus was involved and there was a lot of input from different areas,” said Associate Professor of Political Science Melissa Deckman, who chaired the search committee for the new provost and dean.
“[Chamlee-Wright] is terrific. She’s done many innovative things at Beloit College; she seemed really excited, and I think she’ll bring a new level of dynamism to Washington College.”
Chamlee-Wright is a strong advocate of WC’s teaching philosophy and goals.
“A rich tradition and history are only part of what makes WC distinctive. I believe that WC is on the cutting edge of integrative learning. WC taps the emancipating power of liberal education by making its historical, cultural, and ecological context a kind of laboratory for discovery. It’s in this kind of context that liberal education comes alive,” she said.
While Chamlee-Wright considers the college a “very serious place,” she likes how it “does not make the mistake of taking itself too seriously…The image of George Washington strolling across campus inviting people to his birthday party springs to mind,” she said.
She will be moving to Chestertown over the summer, along with her husband Brian, 11-year-old daughter Linden, and 9-year-old daughter Cailin. She said her husband looks forward to moving closer to his family in northern Virginia.
“Our girls are also excited about the move,” she said. “They are a little concerned that there won’t be enough cheese, snow, and Packer-mania. I have assured them that there will be plenty of cheese, that the warmer climate is really not such a bad thing, and that sailing is more fun than watching football. June Bug, our one-year-old American Mastiff, tells us that the word on the street is that Chestertown is a dog-friendly place, so she is on board with the move.”
She said that the strangest fact about her is that she is a huge fan of “The Godfather” trilogy.
“Yes, I even have some affection for the third in the series that was horribly cast and poorly acted,” she said. “So many aspects of the human condition are explored in what can only be described as (Dear English Department colleagues, please forgive me) ‘American Shakespeare.’”
When she’s not watching her favorite movie trilogy, she indulges her passion for the culinary arts.
“I love to cook good food, read about good food, eat good food, and share good food with family and friends. I also do yoga to help offset the effects of all that good food,” she said. “In addition to good food, my favorite things are hanging out with my family and having geeky conversations with friends, colleagues, and students.”