On Jan. 28, President Wippman named Gillian King his new Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Trustees. The announcement followed a lengthy nationwide search that ended with the decision to permanently hire King, who had served in both roles on an interim basis since Aug. 2018.

Wippman had high praise for King, saying, “During the four months she served in that position on an interim basis, she demonstrated keen judgment, diplomacy, integrity, and thoughtfulness.” He added, “My colleagues and I look forward to continuing to work with her to advance Hamilton’s priorities in the future.”

In her role as Chief of Staff, King will continue to work closely with President Wippman and his senior staff, supporting them “all day, every day,” according to Wippman. Core responsibilities include strategic planning, day-to-day decisions and operations, and scheduling changes.

In King’s own words, her work involves “trying to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

Now in a permanent role, she feels that she can better assist the execution of the College’s long-term strategic plan and says she is excited to continue the work with her colleagues.

As the Secretary to the Board of Trustees, King will organize quarterly trustee meetings and document the discussions of these gatherings. In this role, King hosts several planning sessions with board members and works with the events team, advancement group, and senior staff. A

dditionally, she frequently corresponds with over 60 trustees, most of whom are Hamilton alumni. She says she tries to stay up-to-date on their requests and concerns to make sure all of their voices are heard. In sum, she says her job is to ensure “the board has a good experience here.”

King has experience with the College beyond her two current roles. She was Hamilton’s Director of Academic Finance and Resources from 2016–2018. During this time, she worked closely with faculty and the Dean of Students to build relationships that she aims to continue to utilize in her new positions.

Prior to her career in higher education, King worked in several prominent financial positions, including time at IBM and Accenture, where her roles were mainly in project management. She says these positions prepared her for her work at Hamilton and will continue to help her for this new title.

King’s connection to the College goes beyond her work. Her nephew, daughter, and brother are all Hamilton alumni, and her husband, Jamie King, has been the Hamilton Squash team coach since 2000. Further, she and her husband currently reside on Griffin Road. Collectively, she says she has felt “part of the community” for a long time.

Now that King has been named the permanent Chief of Staff and Secretary to the Board of Trustees, she hopes to become even closer to the Hamilton community. In her new roles, she says she will additionally look for chances to build relationships with students on campus, pointing to Wippman as an example, who she admires for “being greeted by everyone” around campus.