NEW LONDON, Conn. — The current president of Connecticut College in New London, Katherine Bergeron, will be stepping down at the end of the semester, the school announced Friday.
"The Board thanks President Bergeron for her visionary leadership and steadfast commitment to Connecticut College. During her tenure, she has championed the College in advancing our mission and goals, led us through the challenges of the pandemic, and recommitted our community to put the liberal arts into action. We are very grateful for her years of dedication and service," Debo P. Adegbile, the Chair of the Board of Trustees at Connecticut College, said in a letter to the school community."
An interim president will be named at a later date as the college searches for a new president.
"Over the last several weeks our focus has been drawn to areas in which the College can better execute its mission, including the area of equity, inclusion, and full participation," Adegbile continued. "Constructive dialogue among students, staff, faculty administrators, and trustees has already begun to clarify an approach to the next phase of work we need to do to improve the Conn College experience for everyone. The Board remains committed to providing additional resources to advance campus DIEI work, and to assess ways to support the community more broadly as plans come into sharper focus. Our College is at its finest, after all, when students, staff, faculty, administrators, and trustees work together to deliver an exceptional educational experience for all."
Earlier this year, the college scheduled a fundraising event at a Florida country club that had previously faced allegations of discrimination and antisemitism. The Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion at Conn. College had stepped down around the same time.
The event was ultimately canceled, but students said that wasn't enough.
"Dean King's resignation was the straw that broke the camel's back. And we decided that that was the last straw," Lyndon Inglis, Co-founder of Student Voices for Equity (SVE) at Connecticut College, told FOX61 earlier this month. "We need holistic and institutional change, across the board."
SVE released a statement following Bergeron's resignation that reads in part,
"The resignation of Katherine Bergeron is a result of collective efforts to invoke positive change at this institution. We are hopeful that this step will allow us to move forward as a community. As the search for a new President begins, we remain insistent on our second demand to: “Conduct a transparent Presidential search immediately, along with the restructuring of the review and appointment process.” We expect and are looking forward to an inclusive and holistic process that will result in a President who embodies the values of our school and is dedicated to advancing our college with a focus on institutional equity."
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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