Lafayette College President Alison Byerly to step down
She became first female chief when she took over in 2013
Lafayette College President Alison Byerly will step down at the end of this school year, the second Lehigh Valley college leader to make such an announcement recently.
Byerly told the college board of trustees that she intends to step down when her contract expires at the end of June, Lafayette announced Tuesday morning. She became the first female president of the Easton college when she took over in 2013.
Byerly, the college’s 17th president, will leave as Lafayette and other higher education institutions have been rocked by the coronavirus pandemic. Lafayette started this school year with all online classes and offered a 10% tuition reduction for students who study from home. Like many other colleges, Lafayette furloughed employees this summer because of the financial strains caused by the pandemic.
In a news release from Lafayette, Byerly noted that a long “journey of recovery and renewal ... awaits Lafayette and other institutions of higher education” following the pandemic.
Board of trustees chairperson Robert E. Sell said Byerly’s leadership during the pandemic has been “nothing short of exceptional.”
“She has led and continues to lead us through a moment in history with the best interests of the entire Lafayette community at its core,” he said.
Lafayette will immediately begin searching for its next president, the college said in an email. A committee will be made up of trustees, faculty, alumni and a student.
Byerly said she will spend the 2021-22 school year as a visiting
scholar in English, affiliated with the Price Lab for Digital Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania.
“It has been a privilege to work with Lafayette’s inspiring faculty, dedicated staff, talented students, and loyal alumni, parents, and friends,” she said in a statement.
Last month, Lehigh University President John Simon announced he will leave his position at the end of this academic year.
During Byerly’s tenure, Lafayette launched an aggressive plan to more than double its financial aid budget, and the college’s Live Connected, Lead Change campaign raised $426 million, exceeding its $400 million goal.
Under Byerly, Lafayette also opened the $75 million Rockwell Integrated Sciences Center, the largest capital project in the college’s history, and adopted a climate plan to reach institutional carbon neutrality by 2035.
Sell praised Byerly’s dedication and commitment to the college.
“Alison’s reverence for the institution, her unwavering professionalism, and commit
ment to excellence are exemplars for any individual serving in an executive capacity regardless of industry,” Sell said in a statement. “The college was strong when she arrived and is stronger following her presidential term.”
Before coming to Lafayette,
Byerly was provost and executive vice president at Middlebury College in Vermont. She is the author of two books — “Are WeThere Yet? Virtual Travel and Victorian Realism” and “Realism, Representation, and the Arts in Nineteenth-Century Literature.”
She has a bachelor’s degree in English from Wellesley College and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Pennsylvania.