Robert W. PeariGen
Robert W. Pearigen, Ph.D., was elected to serve as Sewanee’s 18th Vice-Chancellor and President by the University’s Board of Trustees on January 26, 2023. Formerly the president of Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, Dr. Pearigen began his tenure as Vice-Chancellor on July 1, 2023.
After graduating from Sewanee in 1976, Pearigen earned master’s and doctoral degrees in political science from Duke University. He returned to Sewanee in 1987 as dean of men and as a member of the political science faculty. Over the next 23 years, he served as dean of students and then as vice president of University Relations, all while teaching courses in constitutional law and political theory.
Joining Rob on the Mountain is his wife, Phoebe, who served for years at Sewanee as an adjunct professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance and who founded the Sewanee Conservatory and initiated the student-led dance organization Perpetual Motion. The Pearigens have two children, Carolyn, C’14, and Wes, C’17, both actively engaged alumni.
