Institutional News

2025: The Year in Review

New MFA programs in Screenwriting and in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. A celebration of the legendary Black Music Division. Commencement honoring Bennington's largest-ever graduating class. 

2025 also brought Bennington alumni and families to campus for a combined All-Class Reunion and Fall Weekend, nurturing Bennington connections across generations.

Image of MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling meet and greet

New Graduate Programs

In 2025, Bennington College launched two new graduate programs: the low-residency MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and the MFA in Screenwriting.

Image of students posing with certificates

Putting Resources Toward a Nearby Problem

In March 2025, a Bennington College team received certificates of appreciation from the State of Vermont for their work analyzing well-testing data in a PFAS contamination zone around former ChemFab Corp. factories in the town of Bennington.

Image of musicians performing

Celebrating the Legacy of the Black Music Division

From March 21–22, 2025, Bennington College celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the College’s influential, improvisational Black Music Division with a symposium of events, history, and music surrounding the 1974 beginnings of the groundbreaking program.

Image of giant Bread + Puppet puppet

Bread + Puppet Returns to Bennington

Greenwall Auditorium was full to busting when eight performers from Bread + Puppet Theater took the stage on the evening of Thursday, April 3, 2025.

Image of person in bird costume

Making Your Own Runway

On the beautiful warm afternoon of May 27, 2025, at Bennington College, the Commons Lawn came alive in an explosion of fabric, movement, and meaning. A student-led fashion event, The Bennington Strut—part runway show, part celebration, part artistic activism—made its debut.

Image of students in graduation regalia

Bennington's 90th Commencement and Largest Graduating Class

On Saturday, May 31, 2025, 244 members of Bennington College’s Class of 2025 gathered, along with their family members and friends, faculty, staff, and leadership, in Greenwall Auditorium on campus to receive their degrees.

Image of smiling alumni

Reunited and it Feels So Good

From October 3–5, 2025, Bennington alumni from across the decades gathered for All-Class Reunion. At the same time, the College welcomed families of Bennington students to campus for Fall Weekend, creating connections across generations of Bennington students and alumni.

Image of a couple cuddling at the End of the World

Bennington Love Stories

From meeting spouses or best friends to beginning collaborations, meeting mentors, or discovering favorite hobbies, students and alumni shared the ways Bennington brought more love into their lives.

Image of GANAS members

Ten Years of Grassroots Activism

The Bennington College-based group GANAS, or "motivation to act” in Spanish, turned ten this year, building on a long legacy of empowering migrant workers and fostering cultural exchange in the local community.

Share Your 2025 Accomplishments and 2026 Goals

What were your professional and personal accomplishments in 2025? What are your goals and hopes for 2026? Bennington College students, alumni, faculty, and staff are invited to share their experiences in this short survey.