Following three months of interim service, Jennifer Chrisler has been officially named the ninth president of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. The college enrolls about 700 students, 62 percent of whom are women.
President Chrisler joined the Hampshire administration in 2019 as chief advancement officer. She assumed the role of vice president of institutional support in 2024. Over the past six years, she has overseen much of the college’s revenue generation, including fundraising, enrollment, and auxiliary enterprises. Previously, Chrisler was vice chancellor for advancement at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth and vice president of alumnae relations at her alma mater, Smith College, a women’s liberal arts educational institution in Northampton, Massachusetts.
Outside of academia, President Chrisler is an advocate and frequent speaker on issues of LGBTQIA+ equality. From 2005 to 2013, she led the Family Equality Council, a national advocacy organization dedicated to full equality for modern American families. She currently serves as chair of the board for Fenway Health, which provides healthcare support for LGBTQIA+ individuals, people of color, and other underserved communities.