Tracy Fitzsimmons

Tracy Fitzsimmons is the 16th president of Shenandoah University, a private nonprofit institution in Winchester, Virginia, a role she has held since July 1, 2008. She is the first woman to lead the university since its founding in 1875 and also holds a faculty appointment as professor of political science, maintaining an annual teaching commitment. She earned her undergraduate degree in politics from Princeton University (magna cum laude) and both a master's degree in Latin American studies and a doctorate in political science from Stanford University. Before joining Shenandoah, she was a tenured faculty member and faculty leader at the University of Redlands in California.

Fitzsimmons arrived at Shenandoah in 2001 as dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, became vice president for academic affairs in 2002, was named senior vice president in 2006, and ascended to the presidency in 2008. Under her leadership, enrollment has grown by more than 1,000 students to an all-time high of over 4,400. Major capital projects during her tenure include the James R. Wilkins, Jr. Athletics & Events Center and the Cecil Pruitt, Jr. Health & Life Sciences Building, plus the renovation of a historic armory into an innovation space, expansion of the Loudoun campus and online programs, and the addition of a 195-acre living laboratory along the Shenandoah River.

Beyond the university, Fitzsimmons serves on the board of directors of Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel, Nasdaq: SHEN), where she is the Lead Independent Director and chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee. She is also involved with the Loudoun Education Foundation, Opportunity Scholars, the Commonwealth GenEdge Committee, the International Women's Forum of DC, and 100 Women Strong of Loudoun County, and is a past chair of the Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia and past president of the ODAC athletic conference. She has been recognized on Virginia Business magazine's Virginia 500 Power List, named a 2022 Virginia Business "Women in Leadership" awardee, and named the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber's 2026 Citizen of the Year. She resides in Winchester with her husband, Knox Singleton, former CEO of Inova Health System.

• No publicly stated personal investment thesis was found. Fitzsimmons is a university president and public-company board director, not a documented angel or venture investor.
• Where her work intersects with entrepreneurship, it is institutional: she championed the launch of Shenandoah's HIVE (Hub for Innovators, Veterans & Entrepreneurs), which opened in fall 2024, and broader investment in health & life sciences facilities and programs.
• Her strategic "focus areas" as an executive are enrollment growth, campus/capital development, academic program expansion (including online and Loudoun-campus offerings), and regional economic and workforce development in the Shenandoah Valley.