William Frawley, dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, was named president of the University of Mary Washington Friday. He was one of three finalists for the presidency of the Fredericksburg, Va., school.

“It is a great honor to be entrusted with the leadership of this fine institution,” Frawley said in a statement released Friday by the University of Mary Washington. “I am very fortunate to become part of its century of tradition and especially to be able work with UMW’s accomplished faculty, students and staff; the engaged and helpful community of Fredericksburg and the region; and UMW’s thoughtful and dedicated Board of Visitors. Together we will move forward into Mary Washington’s next century of excellence.”

Frawley will be formally welcomed to the school’s campus on Monday. He will finish the spring 2006 semester and aid Donald Lehman, executive vice president for Academic Affairs, in finding his replacement. He is expected to begin his new duties as UMW president on July 1, according to the UMW statement.

Frawley joins Michael Young, former head of the GW Law School, as a University dean who recently ascended to a college presidency.

University of Utah in May 2004.

“We celebrate his selection as president of our neighbor, the University of Mary Washington,” University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg said in a press statement, referring to Frawley. “We are confident that his talents will take him and his new institution from strength to strength.”

Frawley rose to the top of a field of nearly 100 candidates, UMW Rector Mona Albertine, who headed the search committee, said in the statement. The other two finalists for the presidency were Risa Palm, 63, executive vice chancellor and provost at Louisiana State University, and Karen Gould, 58, dean of McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati. The process of searching for a new UMW president began nearly a year ago, when William M. Anderso Jr. announced his plans to retire in June 2006.

“Dr. Frawley brings the proper mix of academic achievement, managerial expertise and strong leadership skills to take the University of Mary Washington to new heights of excellence in the 21st century,” Albertine said.

As dean of the Columbian College, Frawley is responsible for technology, resource and executive decisions affecting the school, and he oversees a staff of assistant deans. The Columbian College is home to nearly 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students at GW. Frawley was the University of Delaware director of undergraduate studies and faculty director for academic programs and planning before coming to GW in 2002. His academic specialization is linguistics; he speaks Spanish, French and Polish, and can read Russian and German, the statement said. n

-Michael Barnett contributed to this report.