Elizabeth Coleman

For other people named Elizabeth Coleman, see Elizabeth Coleman (disambiguation).

Elizabeth Coleman (born 1937) was the ninth president of Bennington College from 1987 to 2013. Following her graduation with honors from the University of Chicago, where she was a Ford Foundation Scholar, she completed her master’s degree in English and American Literature at Cornell University, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. She received her PhD with distinction at Columbia University, where she was a Woodbridge and President’s Fellow.

In 2000, the New York Times wrote: "the college is once again in turmoil with dissident and dismissed faculty members casting Dr. Coleman as a dictatorial figure who crushes any criticism. Two trustees have resigned. Edward Hoagland, the distinguished nature essayist who is perhaps the best-known faculty member, has publicly called for Dr. Coleman's resignation, as has the writer Jamaica Kincaid...." The article continued: "What is striking is that nearly all of the critics, in their next few breaths, give Dr. Coleman credit for having saved the college six years ago. ".