Alumni Profile



photo William Hamm
William E. Hamm

Interim President, Wartburg College


William E. Hamm (M.A. ’75) is once again a college president, this time as interim president of his undergraduate alma mater, Wartburg College, in Waverly, Iowa. Previously, he served for 13 years as president of Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa. More recently, he was the president of the Foundation for Independent Higher Education (FIHE) in Washington, D.C., a national network of 34 state and regional associations of private colleges and universities with 650 member institutions. The FIHE network develops resources for private colleges and works to engage institutions in collaborative endeavors. One recent FIHE initiative is First Opportunity Partners, which assists colleges broaden access and improve success for first-generation, low-income, minority and new American students. Hamm has served other institutions in Alabama and California, and he has chaired a variety of state and national boards, such as the Iowa Humanities Board and the Council of College Presidents of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.