William Durden

William G. Durden is a former president of Dickinson College. He was a Fulbright scholar and a recipient of the Klingenstein Fellowship from Teacher's College, Columbia University.

William G. Durden
27th President of
Dickinson College
In office
1999–2013
Preceded byA. Lee Fritschler
Succeeded byNancy A. Roseman
Personal details
SpouseElke Durden
Alma materDickinson College, Johns Hopkins University

Education

Durden completed high school at The Albany Academy in Albany, New York. He was one of the first generation in his family to attend college,[1] receiving a B.A. degree from Dickinson in 1971 and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in German languages and literature from Johns Hopkins University. While a student at Dickinson, he was a member of the Theta Chi fraternity.

Career

Durden was the executive director of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth for 16 years and a member of the university's German Department. For 11 of his years at Hopkins, he was a senior education consultant for the U.S. Department of State and chair of its Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth. Durden has also served as president of the Sylvan Academy of Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. and as vice-president for academic affairs of the Caliber Learning Network, a joint distance-learning venture of Sylvan and MCI.

Dickinson College president

He assumed the presidency of Dickinson College on July 1, 1999 and was inaugurated on 30 October 1999.[2][1]

During his presidency Durden led several sweeping changes at Dickinson to re-establish a leading role in Liberal Arts education.[3][4] Durden oversaw the combination of former Library and Information Technology departments into Library and Information Services while also updating the college's antiquated student record systems.[5] Academics were improved and the focus on international education strengthened. Durden was also a strong propont of the role of Liberal Arts education in business training.[6] Dickinson grew to renown for sustainable and green education initiatives during Durden's presidency.

In 2008, President Durden was a signatory to the Amethyst Initiative, an organization urging a public debate about reconsidering the legal drinking age of 21.[7]

Durden left office with the inauguration of Nancy Roseman on 28 September 2013.[8]

Appointments

Durden was a mentor for the American Council on Education Fellows Program, the premier higher education leadership development program in the US. He was the mentor for 2004-2005 ACE Fellow Michael B. Brown (now associate dean of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences at East Carolina University). In 2007-08, Durden served as chairman of the Annapolis Group subcommittee working on proposing an alternative to the U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges. Recently, he was appointed chair of the advisory board of the Center for the International Exchange of Scholars, Fulbright Scholar Program. He is also a board member of Walden University, a for-profit higher education institute.

Legacy

Durden was well known for wearing colorful bow ties on campus and provided graduating students with a video of how to wear a bow tie.[9]

The Durden Athletics Training Centre was announced in 2012 after a gift of $6 million from Samuel G. Rose '58 and Julie Walters. The center features a new two-story, 22,000-square-foot (2,000 m2) athletics-training center replacing the 1960s-era locker rooms at Dickinson’s Biddle Field. The new facility was named the Durden Athletic Training Center to honor the tenure of President William G. Durden ’71 and his wife, Dr. Elke Durden.[10]

References
  1. Getty, Matt (April 11, 2013). "The Durden Years: A-Z". dickinson.edu. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  2. "A New President at Dickinson College". The Chronicle of Higher Education. 12 March 1999. Retrieved 14 January 2023.(subscription required)
  3. Kirp, David L. (1 September 2003). "Mindshare and The Life of The Mind: A Liberal Arts College Finds Its Market Niche". Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning. 35 (5): 34–39. doi:10.1080/00091380309604117. ISSN 0009-1383. S2CID 143073844. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  4. Rowe, W. Glenn; Guerrero, Laura (4 April 2012). "Dickinson College: Inspiration for a Leadership Story" (PDF). Cases in Leadership: Leadership: What Is It?. SAGE. pp. 39–41. ISBN 978-1-4522-3497-7. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  5. Lively, Kit (31 March 2000). "Dickinson College Buys Franchise for a Sylvan Learning Center". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved 14 January 2023.(subscription required)
  6. William Durden (July 18, 2003). "The Liberal Arts as a Bulwark of Business Education". Chronicle of Higher Education.
  7. "Amethyst Initiative Signatories". Retrieved 2014-12-08.
  8. Baksi, Christine (January 26, 2012). "Future Farewell". dickinson.edu. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  9. "How To Tie A Bow Tie" – via www.youtube.com.
  10. "Campus Facilities Enhancements". www.dickinson.edu.
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