scholarship
& leadership
Dear Fighting Scots,
Wooster’s distinguished history and reputation bear witness to the positive impact of generations of visionary, dedicated, creative, and accomplished staff, faculty, and students.
Our foundational commitment to combining distinctive traditions with an innovative spirit and to uniting the Wooster community with the cultivation of independently minded graduates puts us at the heart of our mission in higher education and at the cutting edge of change.
This commitment to the liberal arts and professional preparation, a high-touch, in-person formation, and combination of local and global learning position Wooster well for more opportunities to participate in and lead inter-institutional dialogues. This is important work that will help shape what higher education can and should become for coming generations.
Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Cincinnati, Dr. Anne McCall also spent a formative semester at the American School of Paris. She joins The College of Wooster from Xavier University of Louisiana, where she most recently served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. During her seven-year tenure at Xavier—ranked among the top HBCUs by U.S. News & World Report—she collaborated with faculty, staff, students and community partners to launch a new core curriculum and nearly two dozen graduate and undergraduate programs in emerging fields.
Under her leadership, Xavier secured major grants from the Mellon, Kellogg, and Kresge Foundations, as well as the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation, forging a flagship partnership with Southeast Louisiana’s largest health system. Dr. McCall also oversaw significant growth in the hiring of underrepresented minority faculty members and campus-wide equity and inclusion initiatives, including an NSF ADVANCE program aimed at strengthening gender and racial equity in STEM.
Before Xavier, Dr. McCall held senior academic leadership roles at three other distinguished institutions. As Dean of Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at Binghamton University (2013–2016) and Dean of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at the University of Denver (2008–2013), she developed new interdisciplinary programs, cultivated domestic and international partnerships, and led successful fundraising campaigns.
At Tulane University—where her career began in 1991—she served as Associate Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Director of Women’s Studies, co-chaired a pre-strategic planning group on diversity, and contributed to the university’s post-Katrina recovery efforts.
A committed scholar of post-Revolutionary French literature, particularly the works of George Sand—Dr. McCall holds a BA in French and German from the University of Virginia and an MA and PhD in French literature from the Université de Strasbourg. She is the past-president of the George Sand Association and continues presenting papers and conducting workshops internationally.
As Chair of the U.S. Steering Committee for Scholars at Risk, she advocates for academic freedom by supporting persecuted scholars and promoting the free exchange of ideas worldwide.
Dr. McCall and her husband, Dr. Ravi Palat—historical sociologist and political economist—are parents to three adult children. An avid enthusiast of world literature, cinema, music, and the visual arts, she looks forward to engaging with Wooster’s vibrant cultural life—from gallery openings and campus concerts to book readings and community events.