About the President

Andrea E. Chapdelaine, Ph.D., became Connecticut College’s 12th president on July 1, 2024, following a unanimous appointment by the Board of Trustees. With more than 30 years of experience in higher education, she is a strategic and inclusive leader committed to academic excellence, student-centeredness, and community-building in service to the College’s mission. She is a passionate advocate for providing a personalized, purposeful and integrative education that shapes confident global citizens of character, intellect and action. Since arriving on campus, Chapdelaine has focused on meaningful engagement with the entire Connecticut College community, transparent communication, and strengthening shared governance in order to develop a unified vision that will ensure continued excellence and long-term institutional strength and sustainability. 

Chapdelaine's deep belief in the critical role of independent colleges and the liberal arts is reflected in her national leadership. She serves on the boards of the American Association of Colleges and Universities and the Council of Independent Colleges, and previously served on the board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. She currently serves as a member of a national task force focused on developing strategies to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of private higher education.

Chapdelaine previously served as president of Hood College, where she led two strategic planning initiatives, expanded academic programs, increased enrollment and retention, and oversaw exponential growth in the College’s endowment. In recognition of her contributions to Hood, a scholarship for first-generation students was established in her honor. In 2019, President Chapdelaine was named one of The Daily Record’s 2019 Top 100 Women in Maryland and was appointed to the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, in recognition of her work building partnerships to provide experiential learning opportunities for students and to benefit the public good. 

A proud first-generation college graduate, Chapdelaine holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and justice studies from the University of New Hampshire and master’s and doctoral degrees in social psychology from the University of Connecticut. She has served five private liberal arts colleges, beginning as a faculty member at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind.; Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.; and Albright College, in Reading, Penn. She also served as dean of undergraduate studies and provost at Albright. Her scholarly work has focused on faculty support, the role of undergraduate research in student learning, ethical issues in community-based learning, and procedural justice.