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Connecticut College names new president, after a tumultuous year

Connecticut College sophomore Leila Merhi.
Eddy Martinez
/
Connecticut Public
FILE: Months of students protests at Connecticut College last year (above) led to the resignation of then president Katherine Bergeron. Andrea Chapdelaine has been named as her replacement.

Connecticut College has named Andrea Chapdelaine as its next president, effective June 1.

The search began after Katherine Bergeron, Connecticut College’s former president, resigned amid months of protest from students.

Currently, Chapdelaine serves as the president of Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, a role held since 2015. Earning a master's degree and a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Connecticut, Chapdelaine was previously vice president of academic affairs at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania.

During her leadership at Hood, Chapdelaine oversaw a successful increase in the college’s enrollment, retention and endowment. In October, Hood received a $50 million donation, the largest in the college’s history.

With a strong fundraising record, Chapdelaine’s role will be to steward Connecticut College in a new direction.

Bergeron was ousted in 2023 after Rodmon King, the former dean of institutional equity and inclusion, resigned in protest to then-President Bergeron’s planning of an event at a Florida social club with accusations of racism and antisemitism.

For 10 days, students locked themselves in the college’s administrative building, which housed the president’s office, demanding additional funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programming and the resignation of Bergeron.

Chapdelaine was selected after a search committee comprised of students, faculty and college board members met throughout the academic year. The college tapped executive search firm WittKieffer to lead the search for prospective candidates.

Chapdelaine will replace Les Wong, the college’s interim president since June 2023.

“The college could not find, nor seek a better person for the job,” Wong said in a statement to the college community.

Andrea Chapdelaine has been the next president of Connecticut College, effective June 1.
Courtesy
/
Connecticut College
Andrea Chapdelaine has been the next president of Connecticut College, effective June 1.

Terell Wright is a Larry Lunden News Intern based in New London. He attends Connecticut College, where he is studying political economy and history. Wright has reported for various outlets including The Day, American City Business Journals and WABE.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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