Bennington College Announces 2020 Recent Graduate Trustee
Following a vote at the May Board of Trustees meeting, Bennington College is pleased to announce that Mareme Dieng ’20 will be serving a two-year term on the College’s Board.
Mareme Dieng ’20, originally from Dakar, Senegal, studied Biology, Social Psychology, and Public Action. She came to Bennington from the African Leadership Academy and during her four years at Bennington, Mareme served in many leadership positions while on campus, including as a First-Year Forum Co-Leader, an Admissions Intern, and an Orientation Leader.
Mareme spent her Field Work Terms exploring her studies and passions as a Program Coordinator at Draper University and an Intern with Labodanse. She also served as a research assistant on Bennington’s Lumina Foundation grant funded project on work integrated learning. Mareme studied abroad at Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Arts de Paris-Cergy (ENSAPC) in France in her junior year.
While pursuing her education, Mareme also worked as a Junior Associate in an investment firm and is now the Head of Partnerships and International Relations at Draper University Venture, a position at an investment firm that she will begin full time immediately after graduating.
Read more about Mareme’s work at Bennington College and beyond.
“Bennington has long prided itself on a system of governance that represents the broad range of experiences and perspectives of the student body,” said Nicholas Stephens ’77, Chair of the Board. “The contributions that Recent Graduate Trustees make to the Board’s work have been invaluable, and we are happy to welcome Mareme to this collective effort.”
As the Recent Graduate Trustee, Mareme will hold the same responsibilities as all other members of Bennington College’s Board, collaborating with the College’s president, senior leadership, and faculty to approve long-term plans for the College, oversee the budget, and preserve the institution's reputation by helping to define and protect its educational mission.
Mareme will succeed Nejla Katica '18 and will serve alongside Asad J. Malik '19, who is completing his second year on the Board.
The Recent Graduate Trustee position was created as a leadership opportunity for a member of each year’s graduating class, offering the experience to learn about higher education governance and non-profit management. The Recent Graduate Trustee position also furthers Bennington College commitment to the principles of shared governance as graduates who have benefited from Bennington's pedagogy, structures, and values in turn offer their input and guidance for the future of the College.
Two current trustees, Suzanne Brundage ’08 and Jim Simon '97, served as Recent Graduate Trustees before being asked to continue serving on the Board beyond their terms as recent graduates.