President of the College of Saint Benedict Announces Her Retirement

MaryAnn Baenninger, the 14th president of the College of Saint Benedict in Saint Joseph, Minnesota, has announced that she will step down on June 30, 2014 at the end of the academic year. The women’s college, enrolls about 2,100 students, all undergraduates. When Dr. Baenninger leaves office, she will have served as president for 10 years.

In a statement Dr. Baenninger said, “I’ve made the decision that this is the right time for a transition for me and for Saint Ben’s. We will have concluded our centennial celebration year and a very successful decade for the college. My husband Ron and I are also ready to be closer geographically to our children and grandchildren at this point in our lives.”

Prior to leading the College of Saint Benedict, Dr. Baenninger served as a senior staff member of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in Philadelphia. Earlier she was professor in the department of psychology at The College of New Jersey in Ewing and also taught at Philadelphia University and Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.

Dr. Baenninger is a summa cum laude graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, where she also earned a Ph.D.