- Frances D. Fergusson
Frances Daly Fergusson served as president of
Vassar College from 1986 to 2006. A graduate ofWellesley College , Fergusson earned her A.M. andPh.D. inArt History atHarvard University before starting her teaching career atNewton College .In 1975, she began teaching at University of Massachusetts at Boston, where she later became an assistant chancellor. Fergusson continued her career in academic administration from 1982 until 1986 at
Bucknell University , where she served as Provost andVice President of the university. She left Bucknell to become Vassar's president. Fergusson has published extensively in the field of architectural history, including an award-winning article on the iconography of St. Charles' Church inVienna .An avid and effective fundraiser, she has raised more than $750 million for
Vassar College . Her administration has overseen extensive renovation of the campus, including refurbishment of the library, creation of a new art center, and construction of a modern drama and film center. Both theFrances Lehman Loeb Art Center and the Center for Drama and Film were designed by renowned architect,Cesar Pelli .While serving as Vassar's president, Fergusson has also contributed her administrative talents as a member of the Boards of Trustees of the
Ford Foundation from (1989–2001) and theMayo Foundation (1988–2002). She has also served on the boards of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU), the Foreign Policy Association, and theSociety of Architectural Historians of the United States. She is the president of the Board of Overseers of Harvard University (2007-2008), and a member of the boards of the Getty Trust, The School of American Ballet, Second Stage Theatre, the Noguchi Museum, and WNET/Thirteen. In the corporate worlds, she serves on the boards of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Mattel, and HSBC Bank USA, NA.Among her awards and commendations, Fergusson has been named a fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences . She holds honorary doctoral degrees from the University of London, Bard College, and the University of Hartford. She is also the recipient of the Centennial Medal of the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.On
February 16 2005 , Fergusson announced her intention to step down as president of Vassar College at the end of the 2005 – 2006 academic year, after twenty years as head of the institution.
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