Former Peace Corps Director Mark Gearan leaves HWS with a bang (and Bill Clinton)

Mark Gearan, who worked on the nomination of Bill Clinton and then as Senior Staff in the White House before becoming Director of the Peace Corps in 1995, has asked his friend and the former president to be the commencement speaker at Hobart and William Smith College this spring.

Bill and Mark on campus

Mark D. Gearan, the longest-serving president in the history of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, has already announced that he will conclude his duties as president at the end of the 2016-17 academic year. At the time of his appointment in 1999, Gearan was one of the youngest college presidents in the nation and a “non-traditional” choice given his background as Director of the Peace Corps and White House senior staff member. When he concludes his presidency in 2017, he will have served for 18 years, leading the Colleges through a period of unprecedented growth.

Gearan, with help from his friend, Bill Clinton, leaves Hobart and William Smith Colleges in a blaze of glory and achievements.