Lafayette College President Alison Byerly announced her decision to step down from her post on June 30, 2021.
Byerly, Lafayette’s 17th president, made the announcement in an email to the campus community earlier today. She will be spending the 2021-22 year as a visiting scholar at the University of Pennsylvania.
Byerly wrote that “this moment represents a clear inflection point” for the Easton college. Lafayette will begin planning for its next comprehensive fundraising campaign as well as the college’s bicentennial in 2026.
“A transition now will allow the Lafayette community to work alongside new leadership to define a shared vision for the road ahead,” Byerly wrote.
Byerly became Lafayette’s president in 2013. Since that time, the college has grown by 100 additional students and raised $426 million through the “Live Connected, Lead Change” campaign. Lafayette has added 17 new tenure-track faculty positions across a variety of disciplines. The college is also on a path to carbon neutrality by 2035.
Earlier this semester, Lehigh President John Simon also announced his intent to step down as president on June 30, 2021.
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