Brooke Barnett Named the Sixteenth President of Rollins College

Brooke Barnett has been appointed the sixteenth president of Rollins College, a liberal arts college in Winter Park, Florida. She will assume her presidency on July 1, 2025.

According to the Department of Education’s most recent information available, Rollins College enrolls about 2,600 undergraduate and 400 graduate students. Women represent about 60 percent of the undergraduate population.

Currently, Dr. Barnett serves as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. She first joined the university in 2019 as a professor of communication and dean of the College of Communication. Earlier in her career, she spent nine years at Elon University in North Carolina, where she served as associate provost for academic and inclusive excellence and chair of the faculty governing body. Prior to her career in academia, she served as a journalist and producer for various local news outlets.

“I was immediately drawn to the Rollins College mission to educate students for global citizenship and responsible leadership and to prepare them for meaningful lives and careers,” said Dr. Barnett. “I’m eager to join the Rollins community and have the opportunity to get to know the students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as the broader Winter Park and Central Florida area. Student learning, well-being, and graduate readiness are central to why I have spent my career in higher education. Engaging with students and working alongside faculty and staff to help students flourish brings me joy.”

Dr. Barnett is a graduate of Georgetown College in Kentucky, where she double-majored in English and communication studies. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and a Ph.D. in mass communication with a concentration in law and visual communication from Indiana University.