As president of Bennington, he oversaw the transition to a co-educational institution and was instrumental in a major campus expansion, including three new student houses, a new science building and lecture hall, and plans for a visual and performing arts center. During that time, Mount Holyoke completed a record-setting endowed scholarship challenge and the strongest 24-month fundraising period in the college's history. Examining her own privilege and whiteness to identify "blind spots" has also been important, she says, in thinking about how to address potential issues of harassment, racism, and bullying. Like us on Facebook. Faced with an outcry over her handling of harassment at New York Public Radio nonetheless, and doubts regarding her limited experience in academia, Walker says that she has prioritized honesty and dialogue by meeting with students directly to address their concerns. At Bennington he oversaw the construction of the original campus, which was built by more than 100 local craftsmen, many of whom had been out of work since the stock market crash of 1929. Prior to joining the University of the Arts, Shelton worked and taught at Montserrat College of Art. Walker's selection followed a search and interview process led by a committee made up of faculty, staff, and members of the board of trustees, according to the release. 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[10][11] Walker oversaw New York Public Radios subsequent $62.9 million capital campaign to finance its new headquarters on Varick Street in New York and to fund programming initiatives. "We thought that she could be brought up to speed in those areas of academic governance that we needed.". "The main thread is that people wanted someone who could be more of a campus presence. Dr. Isabel Roche was appointed Interim President of Bennington College on July 1, 2019 and served until President Walker took office on August 1, 2020. He would go on to found The Darwin Correspondence Project in 1974, which has published 15 volumes of Charles Darwins letters, with aims to publish more than 30 volumes in allcreating the first authoritative text of Darwins correspondence. Benningtons second president, Lewis Webster Jones, was an economist. Walker is an adviser to the nonprofit Springboard Enterprises and online education platform MasterClass, according to the release. Before coming to Bennington, he served on the staff of the Foreign Policy Association and the League of Nations. Photo courtesy of Bennington College. She took office in July 2013 as the successor to Elizabeth Coleman. Upon Bennington College's announcement of her appointment, however, it became clear that the controversy would not remain in the past. The college also has an all-time high enrollment with nearly 700 undergraduates and another 136 graduate students last academic year. Cloudy with rain ending for the afternoon. He held honorary Doctors of Law degrees from Middlebury College and the University of Vermont. The thing about this one was it wasn't something we could fix locally. Were directly feeling the competitive threat of the changing demographics, Daly said. Dr. Isabel Roche was appointed Interim President of Bennington College on July 1, 2019 and served until President Walker took office on August 1, 2020.. During her term, Isabel Roche led Bennington College through a year of exciting changes for the institution and unprecedented tumult in America. SSE winds shifting to W at 10 to 15 mph. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Though no two institutions responses to the pandemic were exactly alike, the five first-year presidents experiences were quite similar. "It is hard not to understate the profound impact that President Coleman has had on this institution," Alan Kornberg, chairman of the Bennington College Board of Trustees, wrote in a letter. [16], In late 2017, charges of sexual harassment at NYPR came to light, with allegations leveled specifically against longtime host John Hockenberry, who had left the station earlier that year. Takes Down System After Network Incident, Societal Re-Entry for Elderly Former Prisoners: Academic Minute. She was also the founder of the all-womens podcasting festival Werk It!, which was created to increase female representation in the burgeoning field. Walker sits on the board of The Commonwealth Fund and the Yale Center for Customer Insights. And then the COVID impact -- real dislocation in terms of students losing their jobs or families losing their jobs.. For months prior to taking up the presidency, Daly worked with Fitzpatrick on future planning for the college. "Presiding over Bennington has been more than I had dared to dream -- exhilarating, tumultuous, challenging, heady -- and always, always about things that mattered, things that mattered a lot, and about people of immense dignity, grace, intelligence, and courage," Coleman wrote in a letter to the college community. "Whatever its merits, this perception reflects a lack of confidence in the fairness of decision-making and the addressing of complaints.". She and her team held virtual town halls, outdoor small group meetings and dozens of videoconference calls. In 1928, four years before the College would begin, Robert Devore Leigh was recruited by the Bennington College executive committee to serve as the first president of Bennington. She led on the day to day, and I led on the future, since Id be inheriting it, Daly said. Colemans vision of a liberal arts education has been recognized nationally by her place on the Select Committee of the Association of American Colleges and the board of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation; she also has served on the Council for a Community of Democracies, the Board of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, the Annapolis Group, an organization of leading independent liberal arts colleges, and as chair of the Vermont Rhodes Scholarship Trust. His few weeks in Norwich dormitories were a morale boost for campus, he said. Dr. Rodriguez has dedicated his career to high-quality public education and championing equity and inclusion, diversity, and outreach to under-resourced communities. New York, NYMoelis and Company, Michael Hecht Bennington, VT. A member of the leadership team for the Office of External . Under his leadership, the College built the Edward Clark Crossett Library, designed by the award-winning modernist architect Pietro Belluschi. "Things are very uncertain and unpredictable now, and Bennington really needs to be more creative than ever. Liz Coleman was president of Bennington College from 1987 to 2013. investigators "that the departures of numerous women of color were attributable to race and/or gender discrimination or were in retaliation for their having made complaints. Silver previously held positions at Arizona State University, the United States Department of Homeland Security, the office of the governor of Arizona, and Columbia University. Over that period, NYPRs monthly audience grew from one million to 26 million, and annual revenues increased from $8 million to $95 million. OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | Join for a conversation about plastics and the future of our planet with environmental leader and author, Bill McKibben, and Pullitzer prize-winning journalist, Elizabeth Kolbert, moderated by Beyond Plastics president and former U.S. EPA regional administrator, Judith Enck. From 2003 to 2014, Dr. Rodriguez served as the Cosumnes River College President in Sacramento, California, and as the Superintendent/President of the MiraCosta Community College District in San Diego County. We just had to ride the wave.". "As a conscientious leader, Laura took immediate action to repair the culture and hold the organization and herself to a higher standard.". The college. "Hiring Laura Walker is a strong statement from an institution formerly considered to be progressive," said Amelia Marsh, who graduated from Bennington in 2009 and has continued to pressure the College about Walker's appointment. Even after a year as president, he worries he won't be able to recognize the people he works with right away. Bennington is a highly engaged community of active makers and practitioners. With that level of longevity and adoration -- very well-deserved adoration -- it was difficult to follow that, he said. [20] In April, she returned to her alma mater, the Yale School of Management, as an executive fellow. She currently serves on the President's Council at Wesleyan . Leigh presided over the forging of Bennington's structure and its early operation. Under president Walker's leadership, Bennington College is in the midst of an immensely exciting and transformative period in its history and experiencing extraordinary growth. He was the Vice Chancellor for Higher Education for the State of New Jersey and president of Queens College before coming to Bennington. She has also stewarded a number of university centers and special projects, including the acquisition relaunch of both the historic Philadelphia Art Alliance - the nations oldest multidisciplinary art center - and Lightbox Film Center, an experimental and international cinema house. [17] An investigation by an independent law firm commissioned by the NYPR Board concluded that there was no evidence of pervasive discrimination andfound that harassment complaints were investigated when they reached senior management or Human Resources, and that senior management reacted promptly and strongly where violations were found. The NYPR Board expressed its support for Walker and acknowledged her efforts to improve the organizations policies and processes.[18][19]. But Baker brings a different way of thinking about regulating NIL. "Bennington College's historical architecture, brilliant restorations, and new buildings reflect Bennington's history of design and creativity," said Bennington College President Laura. In 1984, he was featured in Esquires story on the Best of the New Generation. He wrote articles on applied ethics and chaired a biotechnology advisory panel for the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment in addition to developing an Internet-based academic program at Chapel Hill. Since her inauguration, the college has raised more than $175 million, has constructed six award-winning buildings including the most recent addition last year of the three-building Center for the Advancement of Public Action (CAPA). In particular, Dr. Rodriguez has focused his career on educational policies that expand access to higher education and financial aid, advocacy for undocumented and low-income students and students with disabilities, and a keen focus on the leadership development of Latino and African American males. During her time there, she ended the tenure system and dismantled academic silos. I had things I really wanted to do in my first year, and it really just became survival mode, Anarumo said. BENNINGTON Bennington College's board of trustees has appointed veteran media executive Laura R. Walker to be the school's next president. Under Murphys leadership, the College established among other initiatives a distinguished visiting lecture program that would bring to Bennington several Nobel laureates among many other notable writers and public intellectuals. ", "Laura seems to have learned a lot for her experiences at New York Public Radio," Murphy added, noting that he sees value in the continuation of an honest dialogue on the subject within the college community. With a diverse andinternational student body, the College has a broad world view because we bring the world to Bennington. Director of Advancement Services and Prospect Management. "We perceived that to be one of our greater needs. privacy and protection, After a month and a half that has been very mild and . They sent plenty of emails to students, employees and parents. That revenue was lost, and theres no making that up.. After retiring from Bennington, he became the president of the University of Arkansas, Rutgers University, and, finally, the National Conference of Christians and Jews. Working in close collaboration with other team members of the Office of the President, the executive assistant works across functions and serves as a liaison with colleagues both internal and external to advance a broad range of projects and initiatives. Resources for faculty and staff from our partners at Times Higher Education. The other two hosts, Leonard Lopate and Jonathan Schwartz, "denied behaving inappropriately," according to WNYC. I am truly excited to join such an extraordinary institution and become part of the creative community that will imagine together a continued, radical future.. You have permission to edit this article. Some mixed winter precipitation possible. Subscribe today. He was secretary and then associate director of the College Entrance Examination Board, editing theCollege Board ReviewandThe College Handbookand essentially creating the College Scholarship Service. He is a founding member and serves on the Leadership Group for the Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, and is a former director of the Board of Higher Education and Workforce, both of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. As people are getting vaccinated and were starting to have in-person meetings again, and masks are coming off, I dont readily recognize people by their face.. Source:Bennington, VT:Bennington College 12.16.2021, Vermont Business Magazine My experience went from the uncertainty about what I was supposed to be doing to the uncertainty of what we were all going to do.. Their two children are also educators: Andres, an ethnic studies professor at San Jose City College; and Angelica, an educator with Teach for America in the San Francisco Bay Area. And their success may be judged using the same yardstick: How well did they handle the COVID-19 pandemic? Walker initiated and nurtured innovative programming in the news, music, culture and talk categories, including audio collaborations with The New Yorker, ProPublica and the BBC. Cloudy with rain ending for the afternoon. Neither Coleman nor Kornberg were available for comment Wednesday after the announcement was made. Admissions applications have doubled since Coleman took over, topping 1,200 for the current freshman class. In the course of her tenure, Dr. Silver significantly raised Bennington College's national and international profile, more than doubled the college's endowment, increased the applicant pool by over 25% with significant growth in international student enrollment and, in fall 2017, welcomed the largest, most academically qualified, and most diverse class in Bennington's history (21% international students, 26.5% U.S. students of color), while bringing a Bennington education within reach for a broader range of students (23% Pell Eligible). 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