Incoming Interim President Elissa Tenny on Returning to Bennington College
Elissa Tenny, former provost and dean of Bennington College, will serve as the College’s interim-president beginning in January 2026. She spoke to the Bennington Banner about returning to Bennington College, for which she previously worked from 2002 to 2010.
Elissa Tenny is President Emerita of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where she served as that institution’s 15th president. She was the first woman to hold the post. During her tenure, SAIC completed its first-ever major fundraising campaign at 110% of the goal and advanced initiatives that expanded student scholarships, strengthened wellness programs, and expanded the Institute’s paid career-building experiences.
Reports the Bennington Banner:
“I love being retired,” said Tenny. “There is probably no other institution for which I would have agreed to come out of retirement.”
Tenny said she is eager to return to the institution where she had “one of the most formative experiences” of her life. “I grew enormously—personally, professionally, and intellectually—and understood, by the end of my time there, the core DNA of Bennington, and the concept of interdisciplinarity and integrative learning,” said Tenny.