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Alison R. Byerly has been named the 17th president of Lafayette College. A nationally recognized scholar, she is one of the nation’s most prominent thought leaders on the role of technology in higher education today. She has extensive administrative experience at one of America’s most prominent and highly regarded liberal arts colleges with a long and deep involvement in and commitment to an interdisciplinary and global approach to higher education.

Alison R. Byerly has been named the 17th president of Lafayette College.

Alison R. Byerly

“I am delighted that Alison Byerly will be our president at this important point in the College’s history,” said Edward W. Ahart ’69, chair of Lafayette’s Board of Trustees. “A visionary leader, she has broad experience and a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities for undergraduate colleges now and in the future. She has a collaborative, open, and communicative style and brings great passion and humor in addition to enormous energy and enthusiasm.”

Byerly has served in leadership positions at Middlebury College for 13 years, most recently as provost and executive vice president. A member of the Middlebury faculty since 1989, she holds an interdisciplinary appointment as College Professor and has been a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and Oxford University.

Watch Byerly in a video interview
View a photo gallery of Byerly’s visit to campus
Read Byerly’s biography and curriculum vitae
Lafayette welcomes president-elect Alison Byerly

“A thoughtful, energetic explorer of the many new possibilities technology offers to teachers, researchers, and students in our colleges and universities, Alison is widely recognized in American higher education as an important voice for forward-looking change and effective consensus-building,” said Philip E. Lewis, vice president of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. “With its proven capacity to meld fine programs in the liberal arts and in engineering, Lafayette will provide her with an ideal platform for developing more broadly the remarkable course of educational innovation that she promoted as provost of Middlebury.”

Firmly established among the nation’s most academically competitive and selective liberal arts institutions, Lafayette offers the rare combination of the liberal arts and engineering to an exclusively undergraduate student body of 2,400, the majority of whom live on campus. Byerly will take office on July 1, 2013 as the first woman president of Lafayette, which was founded in 1826. She succeeds Daniel H. Weiss, who will complete his service as president at the conclusion of the current academic year after having served eight years in the position. Weiss will assume the presidency of Haverford College in July.

“Lafayette is well positioned to continue to achieve its ambitious goals and aspirations, and I am confident that with Alison Byerly as president, the College will sustain and accelerate the outstanding momentum achieved during the presidency of Daniel Weiss,” Ahart said.

Byerly’s selection by the trustees capped a six-month international search. A committee of trustees, faculty, alumni, staff, and students solicited input from the Lafayette community and identified, reviewed, and interviewed a deep, diverse, and talented pool of candidates. Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates assisted in the search.

Alison R. Byerly

Alison R. Byerly

“All of us at Lafayette can be proud that our search attracted so many exceptional candidates. I would like to commend the search committee, led by Committee Chair Alan Griffith ’64 and Vice Chair Elisabeth Hughes MacDonald ’81, for its thorough, excellent work. I would also like to thank all faculty, staff, students, alumni, trustees, parents, and others who have contributed support and guidance in this important process,” Ahart said.

Byerly said, “I am greatly honored to be chosen as Lafayette’s 17th president and excited by the opportunity to lead such a dynamic and ambitious institution. As an undergraduate college that encompasses both the traditional liberal arts and a strong engineering program, Lafayette provides an extraordinary range and depth of opportunities to students, yet it remains deeply committed to the highly individualized, one-on-one mentoring that is the hallmark of the residential liberal arts college.”

“At a time when many liberal arts colleges are looking for ways to extend their reach further into the world of technology and to connect the traditional liberal arts disciplines with opportunities to pursue more project-based, hands-on modes of inquiry, Lafayette is well positioned to lead in these initiatives,” she continued.

Middlebury is unique among the nation’s most highly regarded liberal arts colleges in being a classic liberal arts college that also offers graduate and specialized programs operating around the world. Founded in 1800 and located in Middlebury, Vt., it has about 2,450 undergraduate students.

Byerly served as Middlebury’s provost and executive vice president from 2007 to 2012, following appointments as vice president for academic affairs, dean of faculty, and associate dean. She was responsible for all undergraduate faculty and academic programs, research centers, arts facilities, admissions, environmental affairs, and international programs.

Among other accomplishments, she oversaw an expansion of the faculty by 28 new positions since 2005, enhancing staffing of interdisciplinary programs as well as core departments. Byerly worked to build connections between Middlebury’s residential-life system and academic program by encouraging residentially-based programming of academic events and lectures. She also appointed a series of task forces on curricular innovation that generated proposals and policy changes to encourage curricular experimentation. This included a change in course-evaluation processes that was featured in a recent article in Inside Higher Ed.

Byerly played a key role in developing Middlebury’s partnership with the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California, a graduate school offering professional degrees and certificate programs with an international focus that was acquired by Middlebury in 2010. In addition to MBA, MPA, and MA degrees in international management, international policy, nonproliferation and terrorism studies, and translation and interpretation, the Monterey Institute offers certificates in such areas as conservation leadership, international negotiations and conflict resolution, business foundations, and project management. Middlebury and Monterey now offer five joint degree programs in fields that include International Environmental Policy, International Policy Studies, Teaching of Foreign Languages, and International Education Management.

“Alison was so effective at Middlebury because she had strong principles that guided her decision-making and was skilled at seeing the larger picture and long-term benefits of taking what was not always the popular, conventional, or easy path. Probably few provosts of liberal arts colleges have engaged as many proposals for innovation and change as she has,” said Ronald D. Liebowitz, Middlebury’s president. “Her broad range of experiences will serve her very well as president of Lafayette.”

Marna C. Whittington, chair of Middlebury’s board of trustees, said, “Alison takes a thoughtful approach to the broad challenges facing higher education today while also paying extraordinary attention to detail. She always works in a collegial and personable way that encourages dialogue and collaboration. She understands well the shared governance process and has worked very effectively with the board in these challenging times to identify the right priorities for Middlebury’s future.”

A leading voice nationally on emerging forms of digital scholarship, the changing role of the humanities in the digital age, the importance of curricular innovation, and MOOCs (massively open online courses), Byerly has lectured widely on these topics at the annual convention of the Modern Language Association (MLA), the biennial Media in Transition conference, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Communications Forum, and other venues. Her essays have appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed.

Byerly has an appointment as a visiting scholar in literature at MIT during the current academic year. In October 2012, she led an online seminar on evaluating digital scholarship hosted by NITLE, the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education. Earlier this month, at MLA’s annual convention in Boston, she led a workshop on the same topic and presented research on locative media and the environment. Later in January, she will speak on ways colleges and universities can respond to the opportunities and challenges presented by online education at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges and Universities  in Atlanta.

Byerly is the author of two books, Are We There Yet? Virtual Travel and Victorian Realism, published in 2012 by the University of Michigan Press, and Realism, Representation, and the Arts in Nineteenth-Century Literature, published by Cambridge University Press in 1997 and reissued in paperback in 2006. Are We There Yet? connects the Victorian fascination with “virtual travel” with the rise of realism in 19th-century fiction and 21st-century experiments in virtual reality. Byerly began research for the project as a visiting fellow at Harris Manchester College, Oxford University, in 2002-03 and completed the manuscript while a visiting scholar at Stanford University in 2008-09. Byerly also is the author of many scholarly articles and book chapters, including “Technologies of Travel in the Victorian Novel” in The Oxford Handbook of the Victorian Novel, forthcoming from Oxford University Press.

Byerly has continued to teach regularly while serving as provost at Middlebury. Her courses over the last several years include Time and Narrative, a team-taught International Studies seminar on Politics and the Novel, and a multimedia course on Fictional Worlds.

“Alison’s rapport with students was excellent, and by maintaining her teaching responsibilities, she never lost touch with students, their latest thinking, and what was important to them,” Liebowitz said. “She was able to incorporate into her administrative agenda very effectively what students projected in the classroom or discussed with her during office hours or over dinner, which she often hosted.”

Among other leadership roles in national organizations, she served as a member of the Coordinating Committee of the Alliance to Advance Liberal Arts Colleges from 2010 to 2012 and as a member of the New Faculty Fellows Selection Committee of the American Council of Learned Societies from 2009 to 2011.

“Alison’s background in technology, including the history of technology, positions her as a leader in the liberal arts conversation about the future of technology in education,” said Rebecca S. Chopp, president of Swarthmore College. “Her abiding interest in supporting academic excellence, her sensitivity to the richness of tradition and the importance of innovation, and her amazing skills of listening and building consensus will make her a great president for Lafayette.”

A native of Glenside, Pa., Byerly earned a bachelor of arts degree with honors in English at Wellesley College in 1983, a master of arts in English at the University of Pennsylvania in 1984, and a doctorate in English at Penn in 1989. At Penn, she was the recipient of a University Fellowship, Dean’s Fellowship, Dean’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, and Mellon Dissertation Fellowship. As an undergraduate, she received Wellesley’s Jacqueline Award in English Composition and Mary C. Lyons Prize in Writing.

Byerly is married to Stephen Jensen, a medical editor. Their daughter, Laramie, is a sophomore at Carleton College, and their son, Ryan, is in his first year of high school.

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17 Comments

  1. Pingback: Weiss: “restless” to start | The Clerk
  2. Gary R. Layton '65 says:

    I have no idea if the Trustees ascertained Dr. Byerly’s views on sports and Greek life – significant though not paramount components of Lafayette’s college life for over 140 years, although they would have been remiss had they not done so. I do know that the above reference to turning the “dark, unjust, uncivil all-male page in its history” is utter nonsense. The recent graduate who wrote those comments had no experience during Lafayette’s all-male years nor any basis for making such an idiotic statement. If being an all-male college warrants such condemnation, then we had plenty of company; and then, I suppose institutions such as Smith, Wellesley and Vassar were similarly defective.
    Lafayette has evolved – as many colleges have – as an ever-improving institution, but falsely coloring the past is manifestly wrong and unhelpful.
    Hopefully, Dr. Byerly was chosen on her merits, as opposed to an affirmative-action homage to the tedious mantra of “deepening diversity.”

  3. William Rappolt says:

    I wish the best for the school and our new president. However, in order to get anyone’s doubts off the table, a clear statement of support for Lafayette’s association in the Patriot League and Division I sports along with a statement recognizing the contributions that can be make by a vital and supported Greek system would avoid future disruptions to her future academic agenda, as well as clear the way for engaging alumni in a needed new fundraising campaign which has already been delayed too long. Any obfuscation on those two issues will endanger progress.

    This is unfortunate due to her background, which is solely dominated by a 23-year stay at Middlebury. But I see it easily rectified with a short one-paragraph statement.

    Best of luck to our new president!!

  4. Glenn E Grube says:

    I was a strong supporter of quality co-education at Lafayette College in the late 1960’s, a decision that led to outstanding growth in the overall caliber of the student body over the past forty years in both academics and athletics. We are now rated as Most Highly Competitive in college admissions and the Class of 2016 had the largest number of applicants in the history of the College. Smart students make smart athletes who become strong future leaders. We compete very well in every endeavor the College undertakes. I am certain that Chairman Ed Ahart and the rest of the search team who selected Dr. Byerly to be our 17th President were satisfied that she fully recognizes that the alumni and alumnae are ready, willing and able to support the strongest academic and athletic programs that will continue to represent and further the magnificent history of Lafayette College.

    Welcome to Lafayette, Dr. Byerly!!

    Dr. Glenn E. Grube, Class of 1957, Columnist/Reunion Chairman since 1972

  5. Ed Vanyo '86 says:

    There is no reason why Lafayette cannot have a stellar academic program, a thriving Greek community and competitive sports teams all at the same time.

  6. Joanne A. Schneider says:

    I currently serve as the University Librarian at Colgate University. For 22 years I served in a succession of positions in the library at Middlebury College, culminating in Assistant College Librarian in 2002. Once Alison entered the administration at Middlebury, it was obvious that her clear and innovative vision would assist the institution to attain its present prominence in academic excellence. Since leaving Middlebury in 2002, I have followed Alison’s thoughtful and visionary writings on the role of technology, the digital humanities and digital scholarship in the liberal arts. I have many friends at Middlebury who will sorely miss Alison’s insight and leadership. However, Lafayette will benefit from it and I am always thrilled when an admired female leader attains a college presidency. Congratulations to Alison and to Lafayette!

  7. Josh O'Harra '97 says:

    Head held high today, Lafayette. Congratulations to Dr. Byerly, but also to the faculty and the board for their wisdom and stewardship. Well done.

  8. Oleksiy Onishchenko, Class of 2012 says:

    It’s great news that Dr. Byerly will lead Lafayette College as the next President after President Weiss’s excellent tenure and contributions to the college! She’s coming from Middlebury, which was ranked fourth in the nation by the US News and World Report in 2011, and which is especially renowned for its foreign language and international programs, and that is wonderful. Her past work there, as well as her experience at MIT, Stanford, and Oxford, means that she will have a lot to contribute to Lafayette and will hopefully be able to initiate changes in the right direction. Dr. Byerly’s involvement with technology in education is clearly an advantage.

    Fundamentally, Greek life and sports are not the issues that we should be discussing or that have any importance. Lafayette is an educational institution, not a professional sports team, therefore it’s the academic offerings and results that really matter, not how many games the football team wins. I also view the Greek system as a detriment to the college.

    It is also wonderful that 43 years after the time when Lafayette finally turned over a dark, unjust, uncivilized all-male page in its history by becoming a co-ed institution, the college will finally be led by a woman. That is definitely to be admired.

    It’s an excellent decision by the Board of Trustees, and I wish Dr. Byerly all the best in her tenure as Lafayette College President.

  9. Joseph Angelo Alfieri '49 says:

    I wish the best for Alison as President of Lafayette College. I was hoping that the committee would select a woman as President. They did!! I see a very bright future for Lafayette College.

  10. William M. Aukamp "58 says:

    I am an enthusiastic supporter of Lafayette sports and was a fraternity member, but if we want to ascend to the top ranks of private colleges,the primary emphasis must be on academics. In my view Ms. Byerly, a true scholar, is eminently qualified to lead our alma mater in these challenging times and I congratulate the Board of Trustees for selecting her.

  11. Bill HOULDIN says:

    I would be interested in her approach to sports and the greek system. This seems to be absent in her resume. Can we elaborate in those two areas as they are a large part of college life. We are a Div 1 college– unlike Middlebury.

  12. Robert Youngman says:

    Congratulations and best wishes to Alison and to Lafayette. Alison, we will sorely miss you. Lafayette, you have chosen an outstanding individual as President.

    Bob Youngman, Trustee Emeritus, Middlebury College.

  13. Hugh H.Jones,Jr says:

    There is no mention that I could find about any interest in sports. I would hope our new president is a believer in a sports/education school. We have missed that for the past 8 years and I would love to see that change—and what also about a fraternity/sorority system that has all but disappeared at Lafayette. HHJ ’52

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