Shenandoah University President Tracy Fitzsimmons
Under the leadership of Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., Shenandoah University has continued and expanded on a long tradition of audacious growth, academic rigor, financial strength, and compassionate culture for the benefit of its students and the broader community. Since her tenure as president began on July 1, 2008, the university has increased enrollment by more than 1,000 students to a current all-time high of over 4,400. It has constructed and opened two major facilities – the James R. Wilkins, Jr. Athletics & Events Center and the Cecil Pruitt, Jr. Health & Life Sciences Building and renovated a historic armory into the Hazel-Pruitt Armory, which provides space for state-of-the-art programs and serves as the home of the university’s Hub for Innovators, Veterans and Entrepreneurs (HIVE). Sarah’s Glen, a memorial garden area and gazebo at the heart of the main campus that has become a symbol of the university for many, was also created under Dr. Fitzsimmons’ watch.
The university is celebrating its 150th anniversary with a slate of events and its largest-ever fundraising effort, the $100 million Shine sesquicentennial campaign, which is focused on transformative learning, student success, creating inspired spaces and launching into a bold future.
During her presidency, Shenandoah gained the elite All-Steinway School designation as well as Apple Distinguished School honors, installed a rooftop solar panel array across several buildings, transformed the look of the main campus by expanding its green space, and significantly expanded its Loudoun location and online offerings. Under her leadership, the university was gifted and established a 195-acre living laboratory along the Shenandoah River in Clarke County, Virginia, just east of the main campus, which is used by students in a wide variety of programs, as well as recreationally by the general public. As well, SU built Aikens Stadium to supplement Shentel Stadium, and constructed a whole new residential area on the main campus in Winchester – The Village, which provides apartment-style living for upperclass students who commit to mentoring other students when they apply for the honor of living on one of its five buildings. The university also received two additional major property gifts: The Feltner Building, a historic structure in downtown Winchester now used for administrative offices, and Vaden Campus Commons, which combines residential, learning and dining areas.
Fitzsimmons is the first female president to lead Shenandoah since its founding in 1875. She came to Shenandoah in 2001, as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, became vice president for academic affairs in 2002, and was named senior vice president in 2006. She holds a faculty appointment as professor of political science and still teaches a course each year. Previously, Fitzsimmons was a tenured faculty member and faculty leader at the University of Redlands in Redlands, California.
As president of Shenandoah University, she helms an institution of not only more than 4,400 students, but also 900 faculty and staff. Virginia Business magazine has featured President Fitzsimmons multiple times in its Virginia 500 Power List, and she was featured in 2022 as one of the Virginia Business Women in Leadership awardees.
Fitzsimmons serves on the board of directors of the publicly-traded company Shentel (Shenandoah Telecommunications, Inc.) where she is the lead independent director and the chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee. Fitzsimmons is a past president of the ODAC Conference and a past chair of the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia. As past president, she remains very involved at NAICU (the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities). She also serves on the board of the Loudoun Education Foundation, Opportunity Scholars and Virginia’s gubernatorial-appointed Commonwealth GenEdge Committee; she is a member of the International Women’s Forum of DC, and 100 Women Strong of Loudoun County. Currently, she is the presidential sponsor of the VA Women’s Network through which she mentors women leaders in higher education
Her undergraduate degree in politics is from Princeton University, magna cum laude, and her master’s and doctoral degrees are from Stanford University in, respectively, Latin American studies and political science.President Fitzsimmons lives in Winchester, Virginia, with her husband, Knox Singleton; combined, they have seven children.