Fall Weekend Bennington college

Fall Weekend 2023

Friday, September 29–Sunday, October 1, 2023

Come spend some time in your student's new home and share the Bennington experience together. Please see below for a schedule of events and to register.

Questions?

Contact fallweekend@bennington.edu or call 802-440-4330.

Schedule of Events

(All sessions are subject to change)

Friday, September 29

1:00–6:00 pm - Registration and information

Location: Flagpole 

1:00–5:00 pm - Exhibition at Usdan Gallery

Location: Usdan Gallery | View the current exhibition, Connected Diaspora: U.S. Central American Visuality in the Age of Social Media

1:00–6:00 pm - Exhibition at Crossett Library

Location: Crossett Library | See the current exhibition, Kitakata & Khichdi: Artists’ Books from the Crossett Library Collection.

2:00–5:00 pm - Open Office Hours

Academic Services, Career Development and Field Work Term Office, Financial Aid, Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and Student Life.

5:00–5:10 pm - Welcome 

Location: Tishman Auditorium | President Laura Walker offers welcome remarks with an introduction by Vice President and Dean of Student Life Dr. Li-Chen Chin.

5:15–6:00 pm - Field Work Term Experience

Location: Tishman Auditorium | Wonder what your student goes through as they organize their Field Work Term (FWT)? How would they find, prepare and budget for and reflect on their experience? Join the Career Development and Field Work Term team led by Associate Dean Dr. John Link, and Assistant Director of Field Work Term, Sarah Krinsky, for a deep dive where you can navigate the FWT process first hand! 

5:15–6:00 pm - Supporting Your Students’ Academic Success

Location: Dickinson 232 | Join Director of First-Year Forum Dr. Barbara Alfano, Associate Dean of Academic Services Kate Child, and Associate Dean of the College Noelle Murphy to learn more about the ways the college supports your student’s academic success.  The conversation will include an overview of First-Year Forum and faculty advising, as well as the many ways that Academic Services supports students as they strive to achieve the goals of their Plans; the session will conclude with time to answer your questions.   

5:15–6:00 pm - Supporting Your Students’ Mental Health and Wellbeing

Location: Dickinson 209 | Come hear about the integrative resources, services, and supports that are available to students on campus and in the community. Assistant Dean of Student Life and Director of Wellness Dr. Ali Tartaglia, a representative from Counseling and Psychological Services, and Assistant Director of Student Outreach and Support Steven Young provide guidance and ideas for identifying and responding to your student’s needs even from afar.   

6:00–7:00 pm - Dinner

Location: Commons Dining Hall | Dine with your student and enjoy flavorful dishes featuring sustainably sourced products from local farmers and producers provided by Chef Steve Bohrer and the Dining Services team. $20 per person; 4-12 years old $10; may pre-register or pay at the door. 

Saturday, September 30

9:00 am–4:00 pm - Registration and Information

Location: Flagpole 

8:00 am–6:00 pm Exhibition at Crossett Library

Location: Crossett Library | See the current exhibition, Kitakata & Khichdi: Artists’ Books from the Crossett Library Collection.

9:00–10:00 am - Bennington Bird Walk Meet

Location: Flagpole | Enjoy a leisurely stroll around campus to meet some of our favorite feathered friends and learn more about studying biology at Bennington. Hosted by Biology faculty member Blake Jones. Binoculars will be provided.

10:00 am–noon - Purple Carrot Farm Workday

Location: Purple Carrot Farm | Explore Bennington College’s Purple Carrot Farm, a small-scale organic vegetable farm practicing regenerative agriculture and providing produce to the Dining Hall. Tour the farm and lend a hand. Comfortable attire suggested. 

11:00 am–1:00 pm - Brunch

Location: Commons Dining Hall | Dine with your student and enjoy flavorful dishes featuring sustainably sourced products from local farmers and producers provided by Executive Chef Steve Bohrer and the Dining Services team. $14 per guest; 4-12 years old $7; may pre-register or pay at the door. 

1:00–2:00 pm - Campus Tour with Admissions Interns

Location: Meet at Andrew Schwartz Parlor, Barn

1:00–5:00 pm - Exhibition at Usdan Gallery

Location: Usdan Gallery | View the current exhibition, Connected Diaspora: U.S. Central American Visuality in the Age of Social Media.

2:00–3:30 pm - Visionary Leadership Award Presentation

Location: CAPA Symposium | Presentation by Souleymane Badolo MFA ’13, master dancer, choreographer and current professor at Bard College who has embarked on a massive project to bring water and develop a sustainable farming system to supply food for the village of KYA in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

2:00–5:00 pm - Lawn Games for Students

Location: Commons Lawn (Rain site: Lower Student Center) | Enjoy outdoor games amid the stunning autumn backdrop of the Green Mountains.

2:00–5:00 pm - Craft Fair

Location: Commons Lawn (Rain site: Student Center) | The fair features handmade craft by students.

2:00–5:00 pm - Card Making and Photo Booth for Students 

Location: Flagpole | Students are invited to make cards for themselves and their loved ones, and have their photo taken.

2:00–4:00 pm: Faculty Works @Dickinson 148, 232, 239

2:00–2:30 pm - Student-Scientists in the Lab

Location: Dickinson 209 | At Bennington, students are actively working as scientists from the time they arrive. In this session, chemistry students will be performing a reaction (called a Fischer esterification) that transforms a compound that has a very unpleasant smell (some describe it as vomit-like) to one that smells like pineapple. They will also share a bit about the work they’re doing, what they’re learning, and how this is exemplary of how sciences are taught at Bennington. Hosted by Chemistry faculty John Bullock.

2:00–2:30 pm - Change and Continuity Across the Lifespan: A Bennington Story

Location: Dickinson 239 | Social Psychology faculty member Özge Savaş will discuss how political events shape identity. She bases her remarks on the famous Bennington study (conducted by professor Theodore Newcomb in 1930s, with a followup by professor Ronald Cohen in the 1960s) about the persistence of political attitudes gained during college years over a lifetime. Savaş will also share some findings about how to support queer students going through a transformation in college, basing these on a recent research project on queerness she led with Bennington students.

2:30–3:00 pm - Student Literature Readings

Location: Dickinson 239 | In a panel curated and facilitated by literature faculty member Jenny Boully, current seniors will read from their advanced work. Readings may include examples of projects in fiction, creative nonfiction, screenwriting, and/or poetry. The students’ readings will be followed by a Q and A about teaching and studying literature at Bennington. 

3:00–3:30 pm - 3D in the Making 

Location: Woodworking Shop, VAPA | Visitors and their students are welcome to join faculty member John Umphlett (Sculpture) in the woodshop for an interactive presentation about his work in three dimensions with students. You can learn about how this program balances the honored traditions of handicraft with new technologies. Umphlett will demonstrate this balance while making something for you to bring home if time permits.

5:00–7:00 pm - Harvest Dinner

Location: Commons Dining Hall | Dine with your student and enjoy flavorful dishes featuring sustainably sourced products from Purple Carrot Farm as well as other local farmers and producers provided by Chef Steve Bohrer and the Dining Services team. $20 per person; 4-12 years old $10; may pre-register or pay at the door. 

Sunday, October 1

11:00 am–1:00 pm - Brunch 

Location: Commons Dining Hall | Dine with your student and enjoy flavorful dishes featuring sustainably sourced products from local farmers and producers provided by Chef Steve Bohrer and the Dining Services team.  $14 per guest; 4-12 years old $7; may pre-register or pay at the door. 

1:00 pm–3:00 pm - Honey Making

Location: Robert Frost Stone House Museum | Explore the art and science of honey making over live music.