Ashley Kistler to lead academic affairs as provost at Wooster
After a national search, The College of Wooster selected Ashley Kistler as provost and chief academic officer, to begin July 1, 2026. Kistler brings to the role more than 18 years of experience as an educator, scholar, and faculty leader.
Currently serving as dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, a top private and regional institution, Kistler oversees liberal arts academic programs including 35 majors, 45 minors, and three general education programs for approximately 2,300 students.
“Dr. Kistler’s commitment to the value of a liberal arts education and the importance of mentored student research will make her an impeccable leader for our community and strong steward of our Independent Study signature capstone program for every student,” said Wooster President Anne McCall.
Kistler’s personal experience with mentored research when completing her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Latin American anthropology at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, instilled a deep appreciation for the impact of Wooster’s I.S. program on students. Volunteering alongside her professor teaching English as a second language led her to a mentored research project on the journey of adult immigrants to the U.S. She cites this as a formative experience preparing her for graduate school and her career, as she guided her own students through similar research projects.
“The commitment Wooster’s faculty and staff have to mentoring students in undergraduate research sets students up for success after graduation, and really attracted me to the College,” Kistler said. “I look forward to becoming part of that community.”
As dean at Rollins, Kistler supervises tenure and promotion evaluation processes, manages key parts of the budget for academic affairs, collaborates with academic departments on faculty hiring and retention, and serves as the chief academic planning officer for the College, managing course offerings for a growing student enrollment. She also works closely with the College’s Advancement team to explore fundraising opportunities and prepare grant proposals to support the school’s general education programs. Kistler previously served as president of the faculty for two years, a role in which she oversaw the college’s faculty governance committees, managed the governance budget, facilitated discussion on legislation at faculty meetings, helped to develop the College of Liberal Arts’ first philosophy of compensation, built consensus to ratify a new governance structure for the College of Liberal Arts, and advocated for faculty to senior leadership and the Board of Trustees. She has also served in roles as interim dean, associate dean, department chair of anthropology, and coordinator of the Latin American and Caribbean studies program.
While at Rollins, Kistler has won numerous awards for her research and teaching. She’s published two books, Faces of Resistance: Maya Heroes, Power, and Identity and Maya Market Women: Power and Tradition in San Juan Chamelco, Guatemala, as well as several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in anthropological field journals, and she has presented at multiple international and national conferences on anthropology and integrated learning and teaching practices. Kistler earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in anthropology from Florida State University.
Kistler will succeed Lisa Perfetti, who concludes her time as Wooster’s provost at the end of the 2025-26 academic year. Perfetti has served under three College presidents since becoming provost in 2019, navigating challenges from a global pandemic to the rise of AI and helping to lead the College through the development of new interdisciplinary, co-curricular, and preprofessional programs. She has also supported experiential learning such as enhancements to the campus garden and faculty-led study abroad. Under her guidance, faculty revised the student course evaluation system, adopted new criteria of evaluation, and streamlined the faculty review process.
The provost search, chaired by McCall, was supported by Academic Search Leader Ann Die Hasselmo, Senior Consultant Christopher Butler, and Manager Kate Cusimano.
Image: Ashley Kistler, photo provided by Rollins College.
Posted in Homepage Featured, News on December 10, 2025.
