Committees

Academic Programs Committee

The Academic Programs Committee (APC) facilitates planning for and approval of academic programs in agreement with the Office of the Provost, reviews requests for new faculty hires and requests for sabbatical and leave replacement hires. 

• Michael Giannitti, Dance (7/1/24-6/30/25); chair
• Benjamin Anastas, Literature (7/1/23-6/30/26) sabbatical F24
• Joe Alpar, Music (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• David Bond, CAPA (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Michael Dumanis, Literature (7/1/24-12/31/24)
• An Duplan, Black Studies (9/13/24-6/30/27)
• Camille Guthrie, Writing (8/26/24-6/30/27)
• Anina Major, Visual Arts (7/1/23-6/30/26) leave F24
• Amie McClellan, Science & Mathematics (7/1/22-6/30/25) 
• Ann Pibal, Visual Arts (9/10/24-12/31/24)
• Jonathan Pitcher, Cultural Studies & Languages (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Jenny Rohn, Drama (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Tim Schroeder, Environmental Studies (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Emily Waterman, Society, Culture, & Thought (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Thomas Leddy-Cecere, Associate Dean of Pedagogy and Advising

Updated: September 2024

Executive Committee of the Faculty

The Executive Committee of the Faculty (EC), composed of four elected faculty members, one elected faculty chair, two elected faculty alternates, and, ex officio, the President and the Provost, facilitates communication between the other faculty committees and with the President and Provost. This committee leads and sets the agenda for faculty meetings and facilitates the work of other committees. The EC, acting as the center of faculty governance, leads the process of continuously improving the other committees. 

Updated: July 2024

Faculty Committee on Grievances

The Faculty Committee on Grievances (FCG), composed of three elected faculty members, one elected faculty alternate, and the Dean of Faculty, hears (1) alleged violations of the College’s Academic Freedom Policy (outside of the review process), (2) grievances regarding alleged discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, disability, age, affectional preference, marital status, and (3) complaints against faculty by faculty or by those referred by the Provost. 

• Ginger Lin, chair (1/1/23-12/31/25)
• Andrew McIntyre (1/1/24-12/31/26)
• Jennifer Rohn (7/1/22-6/30/25) 
• Anne Thompson, alternate (1/1/23-12/31/25) 
• John Bullock, Dean of Faculty

Updated: July 2024

Faculty Educational Policy Committee

The Faculty Educational Policy Committee (FEPC) reviews and develops academic policy in consultation with the Office of the Provost, as it relates to the Plan Process, Capacities, FWT, and expectations and requirements of a Bennington education. 

• Noelle Murphy, Dean of Studies, co-chair
• Camille Guthrie, co-chair (7/1/22-6/30/25) sabbatical S25
• Jenny Boully (8/30/23-6/30/26)
• Levi Gonzalez (7/1/22-6/30/25) sabbatical F24
• Yoko Inoue, alternate replacement (9/19/24-12/31/24) serving F24
• Blake Jones (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Katie Montovan (1/1/24-12/31/26) leave 24-25
• Thorsten Dennerline, alternate (7/1/22-6/30/25) sabbatical F24, serving S25

Updated: September 2024

Faculty Finance Committee

The Faculty Finance Committee (FFC) works closely with the Vice President for Finance and Administration to provide a faculty perspective on the entire college budget, and to gather information on financial priorities, challenges, and aspirations to report to the Executive Committee and the full faculty. 

• Jonathan Pitcher, chair (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Katie Montovan (7/1/23-6/30/26) leave 24-25
• Sue Rees (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Amie McClellan, alternate (7/1/24-6/30/27) serving 24-25

Updated: August 2024

Faculty Performance Review Committee

The Faculty Performance Review Committee (FPRC), composed of five elected faculty members, two elected faculty alternates, and the Dean of Faculty, reviews and makes recommendations regarding faculty reappointments.

• Sue Rees, chair (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Elena Demyanenko (7/1/23-6/30/26) 
• John Hultgren (9/1/22-6/30/25)
• Kirk Jackson (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Noëlle Rouxel-Cubberly (7/1/23-6/30/26) 
• Dina Janis, 1st alternate (9/1/22-6/30/25) 
• Michael Dumanis, 2nd alternate (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• John Bullock, Dean of Faculty

Updated: July 2024

Faculty Review Appeals Committee

The Faculty Review Appeals Committee (FRAC), composed of three elected faculty members and one elected faculty alternate, hears alleged violations of faculty performance review procedures, including violations of the College’s Academic Freedom Policy during the review process. 

• Mariam Ghani (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Aysha Peltz (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Michael Wimberly (1/1/23-12/31/25)
• Ikuko Yoshida, alternate (7/1/22-6/30/25)

Updated: July 2024

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees will approve one faculty, staff, and student representative to the Board. The Board of Trustees has final, legal responsibility for oversight, decision-making, and governance of the College and for its financial probity, sustainability, and well-being.

• Angel Kwasniak (7/1/22-6/30/23), Staff
• Andrew McIntyre (7/1/24-6/30/25), Faculty
• Cadence Rose ‘24 (12/9/22-6/30/23), Student

Updated: July 2024

Education and Community Life Committee

The Board of Trustees will approve one faculty, staff, and student representative to the Board of Trustees’s Education and Community Life Committee. The Committee ensures the alignment of the College’s mission and vision with its educational structures and policies. It provides strategic guidance on all areas of the academic and intellectual life of the College, including faculty and student affairs, the curriculum, Field Work Term, the library, institutional research, graduate and certificate programs, and the admission of new students and financial aid for returning students.

• Nathan Cornwell (7/1/22-6/30/23), Staff
• Joseph Alpar (7/1/24-6/30/25), Faculty
• Mohammad Tanvir Anjum ‘25, Student

Updated: July 2024

Campaign Design Committee

The Board of Trustees will approve one faculty, staff, and student representative to the Board of Trustees’s Campaign Design Committee. The Committee oversees and ensures ongoing philanthropic support for both operational and capital purposes, and alumni engagement in all arenas. Members will work with the president, vice president for Institutional Advancement, and other Board committees to establish priorities for philanthropic support of the College, and monitor results.

• Ahmed Amar ‘24, Student
• Laura Crosslin, Staff
• Anne Thompson (7/1/24-6/30/25), Faculty

Updated: July 2024

Campus Planning Committee

The Board of Trustees will approve one faculty representative to the Board of Trustees’s Campus Planning Committee, which oversees the management of the College’s physical plant and grounds in the architectural and historic context of the Bennington campus. The Committee operates with a long-term institutional view to ensure facilities development, maintenance, planning, and project funding to serve the College’s mission.

• Christine Congelosi-Lulla (7/1/22-6/30/23), Staff
• Stephen Shapiro (7/1/24-6/30/25), Faculty
• Ahmed Shuwehdi ‘25, Student

Updated: July 2024

Academic Technology Committee

The Academic Technology Committee (ATC), composed of between three to six faculty members, and, ex officio, the Associate Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, facilitates conversations between faculty and Information Technology (IT), prioritize computing requests, seek out new technology and opportunities, and participate in the discussion and evaluation of technologies that impact teaching, learning, research, and scholarship.

• Jude Higdon, Associate Vice President for IT and Chief Information Officer, co-chair
• Nick Brooke (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Mariam Ghani (9/15/2022-6/30/25)
• Michael Giannitti (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Sue Rees (9/15/2022-6/30/25)

Updated: July 2024

Administrative Review Committee

The Administrative Review Committee is a disciplinary board constituted as needed to hear appeals from the rulings of the Judicial Committee, and any offense referred directly to it by the Dean of Students for which the possible sanction could include suspension or separation from the College. The Committee normally consists of three senior members of the administration, including the Dean of Students who serves as chair. In cases in which a member of the Committee is unable to participate (for example, if a conflict or potential conflict of interest exists), the Dean of Students will appoint a substitute member of the committee. See full policy in the Student Handbook.

Updated: August 2022

Committee on Research with Human Participants

The Committee on Research with Human Participants, composed of three members, is to ensure that research conducted by Bennington College faculty members, staff, and students fosters the ethical treatment of human research participants. Committee approval is required for all research on human participants conducted by College faculty members, staff, and by students doing research with human participants for senior theses, senior projects, and individual and group tutorials. Research using human participants undertaken by students as a requirement of their enrollment in a regularly scheduled Bennington College course must be approved by the instructor of the course, who may, but is not obligated to, consult the Committee for advice. Guidelines and other information.

• Zeke Bernstein, Dean of Research, Planning, and Assessment, chair (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Blake Jones, faculty (7/1/22-6/30/25)
• Emily Waterman, faculty (7/1/24-6/30/27) 

Updated: July 2024

Faculty Housing Committee

The Faculty Housing Committee (FHC) works closely with the Associate Vice President for Facilities and the Provost’s Office to provide recommendations to inform decisions about faculty housing needs and development.

• Angel Kwasniak, Associate Vice President for Facilities, co-chair 
• Michael Dumanis, faculty (11/1/23-6/30/26)
• Michael Giannitti, faculty (11/1/23-6/30/26)
• Blake Jones, faculty (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• John Bullock, Dean of Faculty
• Meredith Meurs, Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs

Updated: July 2024

Judicial Committee

The Judicial Committee hears cases concerning infractions of community standards. The committee consists of selected and trained members of the student body, faculty and staff from which three-to five members, including one chair, are designated by the Associate Dean of Student Life to determine individual cases. Members will be excused from a hearing if a conflict or potential conflict of interest exists, and the committee may proceed with the remaining members to which the Dean of Students may or may not designate substitutions.

Faculty and staff members are appointed each academic year in consultation with the Dean of Faculty and Dean of the College. Student members (in good standing, academically and disciplinary) are selected via an application process by the Office of Student Life. Selected students are re-appointed annually until graduation or resignation.

Updated: September 2021

Production Committee

Committee members from music, dance, and drama meet regularly with the Production Manager to review matters pertaining to the production calendar, performance spaces, publicity, and special events.

• Michael Giannitti, chair
• Nicholas Brooke
• Kirk Jackson
• Sue Rees
• Dana Reitz

Updated: January 2023

Curriculum Implementation Committee

The Curriculum Implementation Committee (CIC), composed of three faculty members and, ex officio, the Dean of Research, Planning and Assessment and the Registrar or Associate Registrar, oversees, reviews, and approves the curriculum.

• Zeke Bernstein, Dean of Research, Planning, and Assessment, co-chair
• Liz White (fall) (9/1/23-6/30/26), co-chair
• Terry Boddie (7/1/24-6/30/27)
• Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie (7/1/24-6/30/26)
• Jean Randich (spring) (9/1/23-6/30/26)
• Jaime Babic, Registrar and Director of Enrollment Services
• Carly Rudzinski, Associate Registrar

Updated: September 2024

Safety Committee

The Safety Committee, made up of faculty, students, and staff, and chaired by the Director of Campus Safety, is responsible for reviewing matters pertaining to safety on campus. The Committee reviews practices and procedures associated with ongoing College operations, ensures that adequate and appropriate safety training occurs, and seeks to identify hazards on campus in need of correction. Campus community members may bring safety concerns to the attention of the Chair of the Safety Committee.

• Paul Baker-Porazinski, Director of Campus Safety, chair
• Elliott Norman, Assistant Director of Campus Safety, notetaker
• John Crowe, staff
• Angel Kwasniak, staff
• Michelle Lambe, student
• Umang Malik, student
• Fortune Ononiwu, faculty
• John Umphlett, faculty

Updated: May 2024

Land and Building Use Committee

This Committee is charged by the President to set policies governing the ongoing management of the physical environment of the campus. Utilizing the campus master plan as a touchstone, the Committee is responsible for evaluating proposals for projects that interface with Bennington’s buildings and landscape. While preserving and enhancing the aesthetic quality and character of the campus as a whole is a central objective, the Committee also reviews projects with a view to considerations such as accessibility, safety, maintenance, and environmental impact. Proposals for alterations to any exterior or interior spaces or the installation of sculpture or art (outside of VAPA) belonging to the College must be made on forms available from the Office of the Associate Vice President for Facilities Management and Planning. Temporary art exhibitions must be approved by the appropriate offices. The Committee is chaired by the Associate Vice President for Facilities Management and Planning.

Sustainability Committee

The Sustainability Committee is made up of staff, faculty, and students from all areas of the College. The Committee's mission is to advance a shared sense of responsibility towards the social, economic, and environmental well being of the College and beyond in order to educate Bennington students and lead by example. The Committee's goals are to advance the ethic of sustainability in College operations, academics, and campus life and to build bridges between the College, the local community, and the world at large. The Committee is chaired by the Associate Vice President for Facilities Management and Planning.

Retirement Plan Committee

The Retirement Plan Committee is made up of faculty and staff from across the College. The purpose of the Committee shall be to provide oversight of the College’s employee retirement plan; as such term is defined in the College's 403(b) plan.

Faculty Committee on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion

The Faculty Committee on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion (AEI) examines emergent and established ideas in the fields of DEI and anti-racism as they relate to higher education; draws on empirical evidence to identify areas of inequity at Bennington; and serves as a resource for and works collaboratively with other College committees and academic offices to support and facilitate faculty practices and processes related to teaching, learning, and advising. 

• Mariam Ghani (fall)/ Aysha Peltz (spring) (7/1/23-6/30/26)
• Levi Gonzalez (7/1/22-6/30/25) sabbatical F24
• Mirka Prazak (7/1/24-6/30/25)
• Alfredo Medina, Jr., Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Updated: July 2024

Staff Council

The Bennington College staff council is a forum to provide the intersectional staff community with support and a representative voice in discussion of issues, particularly those that have a direct impact on staff working conditions, morale, and overall health and well-being. This council is one part of the College-wide Shared Governance Task Force, which will integrate staff voices in decision making at Bennington, as well as promote respect and partnership among the entire campus community. In addition, the council will advance and support new and ongoing initiatives in partnership with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the staff council will engage in and support the College’s commitment to anti-racism in all aspects of institutional life, including but not limited to curricular planning, student experience, hiring, and communications, and will be inclusive of all staff voices and identities.

• Aimee V. Annichiarico, Institutional Advancement
• Nicole Arrington, Institutional Advancement
• Cristina Perez Ayala, Admissions
• Nick Brown, Admissions
• Joyce Church, Buildings & Grounds
• Donna Clifford, Dining Services
• Christine Congelosi-Lulla, Student Life
• Nathan Cornwell, Buildings & Grounds
• Laura Crosslin, Admissions
• Bailey Fox, Student Life
• Sarah Krinsky, Field Work Term
• Elizabeth Hackett, Admissions
• Lynn Harrington, Buildings & Grounds
• Angel Kwasniak, Buildings & Grounds
• Jack de Loos, Student Life
• Erin McKenney, Buildings & Grounds
• Francisco Peña, Campus Safety
• Josh Primmer, Dean's Office
• Michelle Rollins, Business Office
• Cass Skarka, Buildings & Grounds
• Asha Taylor, Dining

Updated: January 2023

Budget and Events Committee

Every year, the College allocates funds to support the Student Activities Fund, which is overseen by the Budget and Events Committee in collaboration with Office of Student Life. Students can request monies for supplies, speaker honoraria, or general event support, either through a registered student organization, or as an independent event. Students apply for money through the Office of Student Life and the Budget and Events Committee reviews proposals and makes allocation decisions bi-weekly.

Updated: March 2016

Program Activity Council (PAC)

Students on the Program Activity Council (PAC) plan and coordinate student events, such as dance parties, guest performers, and bands. Any student on campus may submit a proposal to the board for an event and suggest ways in which PAC's annual budget should be spent.

Updated: March 2016

Student Educational Policies Committee (SEPC)

Updated: August 2019

Student Endowment for the Arts (SEA)

The mission of the Student Endowment for the Arts (SEA) is to financially support and educate the artists of Bennington College while strengthening the role of the arts within the entire community. It aims to stimulate grant writing, proposing and allocating funds in a realistic scenario. SEA offers exposure and experience in the process for both applicants and members of the board. As an all-student board, it strives to maintain an accessible relationship with the student body, undergraduate and graduate students alike. Proposals are reviewed anonymously and are judged on the strength and clarity by which they are presented, their supporting materials, and their artistic excellence.

Updated: March 2016