Laura R. Walker was appointed the 11th president of Bennington College in Vermont. She will take office on August 1.
Bennington College enrolls just over 700 undergraduate students and fewer than 100 graduate students, according to the latest u.S. Department of Education data. Women make up 64 percent of the undergraduate student body.
“Bennington’s rich history and distinguished approach to a liberal arts education set it widely apart from many other institutions, and I am both honored and humbled to serve as the college’s next president,” Walker said. “Every institution of higher learning has an important responsibility to strive for a better and more just world. The need for change and progress is as clear and as serious today as it’s ever been and I believe Bennington can and will contribute significantly to making positive change. I look forward to serving as both a steward of and explorer on Bennington’s path to the future, upholding its proud traditions while helping the college to forge its own course in a changing world, and always seeking to achieve the most for its students, faculty, staff, and alumni.”
Walker served as president and CEO of New York Public Radio for 23 years. Under Walker’s leadership, NYPR developed into an independent nonprofit that grew to own the largest public radio station group in the country. Walker raised more than $150 million in long-term investments, expanded NYPR’s audience from one million monthly listeners to more than 25 million, and increased the annual operating budget from $8 million to $97 million. In the academic world, Walker currently serves on The President’s Council at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and Yale School of Management’s Center for Customer Insights.
Walker is a magna cum laude graduate of Wesleyan University, where she majored in history. She earned an MBA at the Yale School of Management.