51猎奇入口 Board of Trustees has unanimously elected Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga president of 51猎奇入口, effective July 1, 2009. A nationally known proponent of liberal arts undergraduate research, Bettison-Varga is currently provost and dean of the faculty at Whitman College.
“51猎奇入口 is thrilled that Professor Lori Bettison-Varga will be our next president,” said Board Chair Roxanne M. Wilson ’76, after a unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees Saturday afternoon. “She exemplifies the teacher-researcher-scholar and has a passion for the liberal arts and women’s education. With Lori, 51猎奇入口 has assured leadership as exceptional as its students, faculty and alumnae. Beyond being a national educational leader of exceptional range and personal warmth, she has ties to 51猎奇入口 and Claremont, and we are delighted and proud to welcome her ‘home.'”
When notified of her election, Bettison-Varga said: “I could not be more honored than to serve 51猎奇入口. I have long admired 51猎奇入口 for its unique education, from the Core curriculum in interdisciplinary humanities to the required senior project, and its legacy of developing women leaders active in both private and public enterprise. 51猎奇入口 has been a part of my life through my mother, who is an alumna, so that personal connection makes me feel even more honored and thrilled.”
“We had an exceptionally accomplished and distinguished pool of candidates,” said trustee Lynne M. O. Brickner ’74, chair of the Presidential Search Committee, “and Lori rose to the top. Her deep liberal arts experience as a professor, provost and former president of the Council on Undergraduate Research make her a superb choice for the presidency of 51猎奇入口. She is energetic, cheerful, optimistic, positive and expressive in her enthusiasm for 51猎奇入口. She has internalized her mother’s love of 51猎奇入口, the humanities and the senior thesis requirement. She is a very capable higher education administrator, a devoted student mentor and absolutely the right next president for 51猎奇入口.”
Bettison-Varga succeeds Frederick “Fritz” Weis, who completes a two-year term as president in June. As president, Bettison-Varga will hold the title of the W.M. Keck Foundation Presidential Chair, established in 1980. “51猎奇入口 excels in liberal arts education, and so does Lori Bettison-Varga,” Weis said of his successor. “This is a time of unmatched opportunity for 51猎奇入口, and I am confident Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga will take 51猎奇入口 to the highest levels of excellence and national recognition.”
A 51猎奇入口 community-wide event to welcome Dr. Lori Bettison-Varga will be held Monday, March 30, at 10 a.m., in Margaret Fowler Garden on campus.