By Sofia Montoya-Deck<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Andrea Chapdelaine\u2019s move to Connecticut College (Conn) takes place following protests from Conn\u2019s community regarding DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) controversies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Located in the city of New London, Conn is a 4-year, private institution. Similar to Hood, it is a small liberal arts college, recording an undergraduate population of 1,995 in fall 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The college\u2019s previous president, Katherine Bergerson, resigned March 24, 2023, after serving as Conn\u2019s 11th<\/sup> president for nine years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bergerson\u2019s departure followed calls for her resignation due to controversy over the venue choice for a fundraiser in Florida. According to CT Insider, the fundraiser was scheduled at the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, which has a decades-long history of racism and antisemitism. Despite the eventual cancellation of the event, the Conn community was still upset. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCertainly the road has not always been easy,\u201d Bergerson said in her resignation announcement. \u201cThe past several weeks have proven particularly challenging and as president, I fully accept my share of responsibility for the circumstances that have led us to this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n During Bergerson\u2019s tenure, Conn continuously struggled with DEI issues; the most recent dean of institutional equity and inclusion, Rodmon King, resigned Feb. 27, 2023. In a letter to Conn\u2019s board of trustees, King accused Bergerson of bullying behavior that resulted in a \u201ctoxic administrative culture of fear and intimidation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a February 2023 University Business article, one student noted that in their time at Conn, King was the third dean to have assumed and resigned from the position. Since King\u2019s resignation over a year ago, Conn has failed to hire a permanent replacement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Soon after King\u2019s departure, students began a campus-wide movement to protest for Bergerson\u2019s resignation. Conn\u2019s student newspaper, The College Voice, reported that on Feb. 26, students occupied Conn\u2019s Fanning Hall, where Bergerson\u2019s office is located, to protest the administration\u2019s handling of King\u2019s resignation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On March 1, the Conn community once again took to Fanning Hall in protest, this time with the presence of faculty and staff. \u201cThe general sentiment of the faculty was steeped in career-long frustration and exhaustion, culminating in a desperate plea for change,\u201d The College Voice wrote. \u201cProfessor Suzuko Knott stated that \u2018I can\u2019t be at this institution any longer if we don\u2019t have substantive change.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another professor, Afshan Jafar, commented: \u201cFor nine years, we have put up with an administration that has dismissed our concerns. For nine years, we have witnessed our colleagues leave while the president stays. And so now we say enough. Nine years is long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Hood, Chapdelaine has been largely successful in prioritizing DEI initiatives. During her tenure, Hood hired its first vice president for community and inclusivity, Tammi Simpson, in 2021 and recently hired a director of inclusive excellence, Akeem Todman, in January 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In October 2019, Hood faced multiple incidents of racially motivated attacks on campus in the form of graffiti, the distribution of white supremacist stickers and obscene language being written on dorm white boards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen these acts were reported, the first priority was to make sure the students who were involved were okay,\u201d Chapdelaine said at the time of the incidents. She also urged students to take a stand against the offensive acts. \u201cUse your voice and place in the community to make a change,\u201d she said. \u201cYou are a part of the solution. We shouldn\u2019t let people who hate win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to DEI issues, Conn has struggled with administrative vacancies. The positions of vice president for college advancement, dean of equity and inclusion, vice president for finance and vice president for administration are all currently held by interim administrators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Conn\u2019s search for a new president began soon after the notice of Bergerson\u2019s departure. According to Adrien Landon, a student at Conn and co-editor of <\/em>The College Voice, the college received 97 applications for the position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur Presidential Search Committee was made up of 15 people,\u201d Landon explained. \u201cDuring the process, it was decided that additional community input was desired and 23 additional people applied and were accepted to be \u2018invited interviewers\u2019 to assist in the interview process for the four final candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The college also hired WittKiefer, a professional executive search firm, to assist in the presidential search. According to Conn\u2019s vice president for marketing and communications, John Cramer, the selection of Chapdelaine as the 12th<\/sup> president was the culmination of a nine-month national search.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPresident-elect Chapdelaine was selected because she is a proven higher education leader and administrator with a passion for and commitment to the mission of liberal arts colleges,\u201d Cramer said. \u201cIn this pivotal moment for Conn and for higher education broadly, she inspires enthusiasm for what our college can do. She is a strategic leader and compassionate community builder, and a national leader in higher education who is ready to serve our college on day one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Bergerson\u2019s absence, Leslie E. Wong was appointed as the college\u2019s interim president. A member of Conn\u2019s board of trustees since 2019, Wong assumed his interim role July 1, 2023 and will maintain it until Chapdelaine\u2019s first day July 1, 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI feel as though I have developed a positive relationship with our interim president,\u201d Landon said. \u201cI hope that the sort of relationship he has been able to make with the community can be sustained with the presidential position even after he leaves and we transition to Chapdelaine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Landon added that Conn students have mixed emotions about welcoming a new president. \u201c[Conn] had a rough history with our previous president and I would venture to say that, as a community, we are wary of our new president, though that is in no way related to Chapdelaine in particular,\u201d she said. \u201cI am excited and apprehensive to see what comes out of her transition and long-term presidency.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an announcement on March 28, Wong commented on the news of Chapdelaine\u2019s hiring. \u201cShe will bring an attitude and approach that will excite the campus and continue to build our confidence for the future,\u201d he said. \u201cThe college could not find nor seek a better person for the job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Conn, Chapdelaine\u2019s first official visit to the campus will take place April 24.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"