December 12, 2025

Dear Bennington Community,

As the fall term draws to a close and my tenure as the eleventh President of Bennington College comes to an end, I want to write to you one last time in this capacity. Stepping back, especially from a place and people I love so much, is bound to be bittersweet. I'm proud of the work we've done together: welcoming twenty-one extraordinary new faculty members and hundreds of outstanding students, strengthening student support and mental health services, achieving the largest philanthropic support in the college's history, creating new programs and partnerships, and fostering the overall growth of the institution. As any graduating senior will tell you, it's hard to walk away from Bennington with dry eyes.

Outside campus, the world looks like a messy place right now. The institutions that have upheld liberal democracy are under serious attack—notabe among them, small liberal arts colleges. The challenges are real: confidence in colleges and universities has fallen and support from the federal government is uncertain at best. Meanwhile, AI promises to disrupt traditional education, and career paths are more complex and twistier than ever. 

But when I think about Bennington's future, I feel hope. Founded in the dark dawn of fascism and the Great Depression, Bennington was born for just such a messy moment. Its mission has always been to cultivate free inquiry, creative thinking, and the capacity to live purposefully in a changing world. One of our foundational texts, the Commencement Statement, reads, “The exercise of student freedom is the very condition of a meaningful education, and an essential aspect of the nurture of free citizens, dedicated to civilized values and capable of creative and constructive membership in modern society.”

At Bennington, students learn by doing, value process and experimentation, and live our mission “to work towards a world more beautiful, sustainable, democratic and just.” Thank you for the honor of working along side you. Our faculty members teach what they love and what animates them. They push the boundaries of disciplines, lead difficult conversations about the future of democracy at CAPA, guide new visions for choreography, grapple with how AI can empower liberal arts, and so much more. What’s unique about this college, what sets us apart, is that we do not fear complexity. Every day, Bennington students and faculty embrace the messiness of the real world, and find meaning and beauty in it.

As the pace of economic, societal, and technological change continues to increase, the ability to make meaning, determine the real from the fake, and create with integrity will only grow more essential. As long as Bennington remains true to its foundational mission and values, this College will thrive.

After I leave the presidency on January 31, I will continue as a strategic advisor to the Board of Trustees. I will also turn my attention to journalism and public media—institutions as vital to democracy as higher education itself–and will serve on several media and foundation boards. I hope to see many of you in New York, where my husband and family live.

My love for Bennington—for its remarkable history, its audacious promise, and above all for its community of passionate, creative, dedicated souls—doesn't conclude with my time as president. I'm deeply honored that so many of you in the Class of 2026 have asked whether I'll return for your graduation. The answer is yes, absolutely. I will be there to celebrate with you and cheer you on! 

With deep admiration and gratitude,

Laura Walker