George Washington University alumna Katia Passerini, M.B.A.’96, Ph.D.’01, has been selected to serve as the 27th president of Gonzaga University. She will be the first woman to hold the position at the university.
Passerini is an accomplished academic and a seasoned university administrator. She previously served as the interim president at Seton Hall University (SHU) during the 2023-24 academic year. More recently, she worked as the provost and senior executive vice president at SHU.
Her professional background includes multi-industry projects at Booz Allen Hamilton and the World Bank, where she focused on information technology initiatives in Europe and North America. She is a certified project management professional and has worked on various projects in the automotive, telecommunications and higher education sectors.
Passerini was a Fulbright Student Scholar and Fulbright Administrator Scholar, as well as an Italian National Research Council Fellow.