1. ‘W&L After Class’ Podcast Releases New Episode Featuring Lena Hill

'W&L After Class' Podcast Releases New Episode Featuring Lena Hill The Washington and Lee University provost and professor of English speaks to serendipitous opportunities of the liberal arts.

By Laura Lemon
September 16, 2025

We invite students to W&L, and then we give them the keys to unlock all their potential and all the things they're going to do for the rest of their lives."

~ Lena Hill, provost and professor of English

Visually surrounded by the Renaissance in Florence, Italy, Lena Hill, then a junior at Howard University, felt the awe of how much she didn't know. "It was the moment that I realized there was so much more to learn and that I wanted more time to do it," said Hill.

Now as provost and professor of English at Washington and Lee University, Hill wants students to feel that same excitement for discovery. Joining Director of Lifelong Learning James Lambert as the latest guest on "After Class," Hill speaks to her hope of how W&L students live the liberal arts.

"I love inviting and welcoming our newest students to W&L's campus because they're at this wonderful moment when they don't have to be to have already decided exactly what they're going to study," she said. "There are so many things that they're going to discover while they're here. And the thing that I hope most for all of our students is that they embrace the serendipitous nature of the liberal arts curriculum."

In "The Serendipity of Learning," Hill reflects on her own educational journey, and how that hunger for learning ultimately led her to becoming an internationally recognized scholar of Ralph Ellison. She also explains the role of provost and her approach to thinking of curriculum, faculty and students. By discussing general education and the power of study abroad, research and mentoring, Hill speaks to the unique nature of W&L and how it is a place where students can realize dreams.

"At W&L, I feel privileged to stand on a stage and talk to parents and talk to incoming students and to be able to tell them, 'We're going to be able to make just about everything you want to come true in terms of your academic interests,'" she said. "We're going to be able to make that happen; that we're small enough to help you create the kinds of relationships with your faculty members, with each other, with fantastic staff members; that you're going to be able to do things that maybe you don't even know you want to do."

Hill's episode marks the eighth episode in the sixth season of "W&L After Class," which launched Jan. 14. This season includes conversations with Holly Pickett, professor of English, on the universal impact of William Shakespeare; Matthew Loar, director of fellowships and student research, on the transformative nature of collegiate research in shaping individuals; Beth Staples, editor of Shenandoah and associate professor of English, on the power of imagination and the legacy of Shenandoah; Jay Margalus, Johnson Professor of Entrepreneurship and Leadership and director of the Connolly Center for Entrepreneurship, on the richness in risks and reintroducing "play" for students in the Connolly Center; Will Dudley, university president, on cultivating an interesting mind; Stu Gray, associate professor of politics, on the political theories of identity and the meaning of the good life; and James Lambert, new director of Lifelong Learning, on seeking beauty and the true meaning of lifelong learning.

"W&L After Class" began in the spring of 2020 and is a collaborative effort of Lifelong Learning, Alumni Engagement and the Office of Communications and Public Affairs. Each episode invites listeners to experience conversations with W&L's expert faculty, giving listeners worldwide a chance to stroll the Colonnade in the comfort of their homes. W&L faculty members discuss their teaching, research and special interests. Previous topics include chemistry, advertising, witches, AI and free speech.

Listeners in the W&L community and beyond are invited to listen to past episodes and seasons or wherever they listen to podcasts.