Hollins University appoints new provost

Laura A. McLary to serve as chief academic officer at Roanoke-based university

Published April 23, 2021 by Jason Roop

Laura McLary. Photo courtesy Hollins University.

Hollins University has named Laura A. McLary as its new provost effective July 1, the Roanoke-based university announced this week.

McLary arrives from the University of Portland in Oregon, where she served on the faculty teaching German starting in 1999 and became academic associate dean for the university’s College of Arts and Sciences in 2016.

Since July, McLary has served as interim dean for the college, overseeing 15 departments, 250 full- and part-time faculty and more than 1,300 student majors.

The president of Hollins, Mary Dana Hinton, called McLary a “creative and proactive problem-solver who leads with compassion and courage,” in a statement.

Hollins was founded in 1842 as Virginia’s first chartered women’s college. The independent, liberal arts university offers 29 undergraduate majors and eight coeducational graduate programs.