In June 2022, Amherst College announced that Michael A. Elliott ’92, professor of English and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University, would become its 20th president. Read more in Amherst’s press release.
The inauguration of Amherst’s 20th president, Michael A. Elliott ’92, will take place on October 28, 2022.
As an undergraduate at Amherst College, I encountered the power of a liberal arts education to transform the lives of its students and to shape the world far beyond the campus.” — President Elliott
Michael A. Elliott ’92 is the 20th president of Amherst College. A distinguished scholar of American literature and culture of the 19th and early 20th centuries, he has published widely on the history of fiction in the United States, Native American literature, and practices of public history. He holds a B.A. from Amherst College and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English and comparative literature from Columbia University.
Prior to being appointed to the presidency of Amherst in 2022, Elliott was a faculty member and administrator at Emory University for 24 years. From 2016 to 2022 he served as interim dean and then dean of Emory College of Arts and Sciences, the university’s core undergraduate division and home of the liberal arts. In this role, Elliott spearheaded critical work to establish race and inequality as a signature research and teaching strength of Emory and made significant advances in enhancing faculty diversity. He also increased support for undergraduate research and garnered substantial philanthropic support for need-based financial aid.
In Johnson Chapel, Michael A. Elliott ’92 spoke about growing up in Arizona, his career at Emory University, and his upcoming arrival at Amherst.
News Story
Amherst College announced on June 1, 2022 that Michael A. Elliott ’92, a professor of English and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Emory University, had been named its 20th president.