Kimberly Lynn named new director of Western's Honors College

Kimberly Lynn has been chosen as the next director of Western Washington University’s Honors College, WWU Provost Brad Johnson announced today. 

Lynn will just need to move across campus for her new role; she is a professor of Global Humanities and Religions at Western, and that department’s chair since 2015. She will officially start her new role at Western on Aug. 19.

“The Honors Director search attracted a truly outstanding set of finalists, which speaks so highly to the quality and engagement of Western’s faculty overall, and to Kimberly’s qualifications and interest in the Honors College in particular,” said Johnson.  “She brings to the position new ideas and perspectives, including her own experience as an undergraduate honors college student at William and Mary, as well as a lot of support and an incredible rapport with Western’s students and the greater WWU community. We are thrilled that she has accepted the position." 

Johnson also thanked outgoing Honors College Director Scott Linneman, who is retiring this summer.  

“I am grateful to Scott for his years of service and for his unwavering leadership during a period of unprecedented growth for Honors,” he said. “His stewardship of Honors and the importance of his guidance cannot be overstated.” 

Linneman said that with the hiring of Lynn, Honors was in good hands. 

“The provost and the hiring committee made a great choice from an impressive group of campus leaders," he said. 

Looking forward to the challenge

Lynn is a graduate of Kirkland’s Lake Washington High School who earned her bachelor's degree at The College of William & Mary in 2001, and her doctorate in Early Modern History from Johns Hopkins University in 2006. As a historian she studies the religious, legal, and political culture of the early modern Hispanic world. She has written about the infamous Spanish Inquisition, including her book “Between Court and Confessional: The Politics of Spanish Inquisitors,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2013. She has been awarded Fulbright and Mellon fellowships, among others.  

Lynn said she was looking forward to the challenge of leading Honors. 

“I am really looking forward to new professional challenges and opportunities as Honors director, to work closely with students, families, partners across campus and beyond the campus community, as well as leading and supporting a college that adds meaningfully to the success of the university in many different ways,” she said.   

Lynn said the experience leading her department was foundational in her ability to successfully move into the role of Honors director. 

“One of the reasons this is such an attractive opportunity is that I have found it really rewarding work to serve as department chair in an interdisciplinary humanities program and to develop partnerships with other units across campus in that role.  It will be exciting to do similar work on a much larger scale, as well as to learn more about current practices and developments in Honors education, and to build relationships with many different stakeholders,” Lynn said. 

To learn more about Western’s Honors College, go to https://honors.wwu.edu/.