Lifelong philanthropist Judith Rosenberg Hoffberger, a native of Baltimore and an Aspen, Colorado resident, recently pledged $1 million to her alma mater, Bennington College. Mrs. Hoffberger is a 1954 graduate of Bennington.

Mrs. Hoffberger made this gift in honor of Bennington College president Elizabeth Coleman, matching a presidential leadership grant awarded to Coleman by a New York-based foundation last fall. Hoffberger's gift will, among other things, provide funding to further the College's science programs and, in particular, its ongoing collaboration with the Neurosciences Institute, a national leader in neuroscience research.

"There is so much that we have not yet discovered about the brain," Mrs. Hoffberger offered. "Of course there are many colleges that study this, but Bennington, as usual, is at the forefront."

"This is a remarkable gift, given by a remarkable woman whose dedication to Bennington has been unflagging," said Deborah Wadsworth, chairman of Bennington College's Board of Trustees. "It is most revealing that Judith's gift not only honors our visionary president but also enables Bennington to make a real contribution at the leading edge of science."

Hoffberger's $1 million pledge to the sciences is the most recent in a long history of giving, the impact of which has been felt throughout the Bennington campus. Hoffberger made her first gift to Bennington in 1955—her first year out of college—and went on to establish the Rosenberg-Hoffberger Scholarship Fund, which has assisted nearly 40 visual and performing arts students since its inception in 1987. She also established the Judith Rosenberg Hoffberger '54 Music Library and the Judith Rosenberg Hoffberger '54 Sound Studio both of which are located in the College's Jennings Music Building and provides students with spaces to study, perform, and record their own work. Mrs. Hoffberger served as trustee of Bennington from 1984 to 1990.

This gift comes at the heels of several significant donations to the College over the past year, including a $6.25 million pledge from a fellow dedicated alumna, a $3.4 million gift from Penelope Perkins Wilson '45, a $1 million pledge from Maurice and Barbara Ushkow Deane '51, and a $3.3 million bequest from the estate of Thomas H. Foster.