Hobart and William Smith President Mark D. Gearan exemplifies the strongest attributes of the Colleges he serves: civic engagement, global awareness, a focus on the 21st century and a commitment to students.
Since his appointment in 1999, President Gearan has reinforced the Colleges’ commitment to academic rigor, global understanding, study abroad opportunities, community service and service-learning, with the goal of providing these elements through contemporary facilities and state-of-the-art technology.
When named president, Gearan was serving as director of the Peace Corps in Washington, D.C., a post he assumed in 1995. Under his leadership, the Peace Corps experienced a resurgence of interest. The Colleges have similarly progressed under his guidance.
At the close of his first year on campus, President Gearan began the development of a five-year strategic planning initiative, HWS 2005. Since then he has led the next two phases of the planning initiative, HWS 2010 and HWS 2015, as well as Campaign for the Colleges, the $200 million capital campaign scheduled for completion in 2012. These strategic plans and the campaign have provided a clear road map to achieving academic excellence, intensifying student engagement, improving and enlarging facilities, advancing financial stability and expanding access.
Today, nearly 60 percent of HWS students study abroad on six continents and the Colleges rank in the top 15 nationally among liberal arts colleges for the percentage of students participating in off-campus study. With nearly every student taking part in community service projects, the Colleges have been named in Colleges with a Conscience: An Engaged Student's Guide to College. In 2007, President Gearan signed the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment, making HWS a charter member of a national effort to reduce emissions of the gases responsible for global warming. He also established the Commission on Inclusive Excellence, and developed a Geneva Partnership to further deepen the Colleges' productive relationship with the City of Geneva, N.Y.
In addition, President Gearan established the President’s Forum lecture series, which for the past 11 years has brought national and international speakers to campus. On campus, he stays connected with students, participating in campus and community events as well as service projects. He is a member of the political science department and is a guest lecturer in the classroom. He and his wife, Mary Herlihy Gearan, frequently host events for students in their home.
President Gearan is currently Chair of the Talloires Network Steering Committee and is a member of the Leadership Council of ServiceNation. He is the past chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Annapolis Group and the National Campus Compact and served as a Board member of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and The Partnership for Public Service. Additionally, President Gearan serves on the Ontario ARC and Community Center advisory boards.
Outside of the education and service arenas, President Gearan has been active on the advisory board of The Presidential Appointee Initiative, a project of the Brookings Institution that has worked to revamp the process through which U.S. Presidential appointees are chosen. Locally, he serves on the Board for Jobs for Geneva, Advisory Council to the Happiness House Foundation and the Advisory Council for the Geneva Community Center.
Prior to his Peace Corps directorship, President Gearan served in the White House as Assistant to the President and Director of Communications, as well as Deputy Chief of Staff during the Clinton administration. During the 1992 presidential campaign, he was Al Gore’s campaign manager, segueing to the position of Deputy Director of President-elect Clinton’s transition team.
A native of Gardner, Mass., President Gearan earned his B.A. in government cum laude at Harvard University and his law degree at Georgetown University. He is the recipient of 12 honorary degrees.
President Gearan resides on campus with his wife, Mary Herlihy Gearan, and their two daughters, Madeleine and Kathleen.
The former director of the Peace Corps, President Mark D. Gearan is a national expert on the service movement. He is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service and Chair of the Talloires Network Steering Committee. He is also a member of the Leadership Council of ServiceNation.
In election years, President Gearan co-teaches a course on campaigns and elections with Professor of Political Science Iva Deutchman.
During the Clinton administration, President Gearan served at the White House as Assistant to the President and Director of Communications, as well as Deputy Chief of Staff.
In 2007, President Gearan signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment and authorized the creation of The President's Climate Task Force, with the immediate goal of delivering Hobart and William Smith Colleges to climate neutrality.
The President's Forum Series brings to campus important politicians, intellectuals and social activists such as presidential candidates Howard Dean, Alan Keyes and Michael Dukakis; journalist George Stephanopoulos; author Michael Tanner; Secretary of State Madeleine Albright; Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathi.
While serving as Director of the Peace Corps, President Gearan opened programs in South Africa, Jordan, Mozambique and Bangladesh and returned volunteers to Haiti after a five-year absence. He also created the successful Crisis Corps, which sends volunteers to crisis areas to help during emergencies.
