RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 21, 2009) -

Peace College President Laura Carpenter Bingham announced Monday that she will conclude her tenure as the college's ninth and first alumna president next summer, after 12 years in office.

        More about President Bingham. 

 

"President Bingham is a dynamic leader for Peace College who immersed herself in its life and mission," said Peace Board of Trustees Chair Todd Robinson. "She has firmly established the college as a baccalaureate institution of choice for young women and has attracted an outstanding team of faculty and administrators who will keep the college moving forward in the years to come."

 

Under Bingham's leadership, Peace College has completed its transition to, and established its identity as a four-year baccalaureate institution, grown its campus and expanded its facilities, deepened and strengthened its academic program and set a succession of record enrollments.

 

"Twelve years is a long time in college presidencies these days," Bingham said, "and, the way I've done it, I've given my all. There comes a time when family and personal renewal beckon - and when leadership change can be healthy for an institution. Plus, I'm young enough to have yet another fulfilling career in my future."

 

Peace College began offering four-year baccalaureate degrees in 1995 after a long history as a two-year college. Established in 1857, Peace was one of the earliest schools in the South for the "thorough education of girls." The college had eight years of record enrollments during Bingham's tenure, reaching more than 750 this year from a low of 419 when the college moved to baccalaureate status.

 

During Bingham's tenure, Peace added a Leadership Studies curriculum, the only such program in North Carolina; an innovative Teacher Education program in partnership with Wake County Public Schools that leads to dual certification in elementary and special education; and this year launched evening degree-completion programs. Early on, Bingham asserted the place of athletics in the development of women and leadership opportunities, joined the NCAA, added three sports and led Peace to become the first women's college to join the USA South Athletic Conference.

 

Bingham led efforts to expand the college's historic downtown Raleigh campus. The college acquired four acres of land, expanding the campus to 21 acres. A new academic building was completed in 2000, a new residence hall opened in 2005, and the college just completed a $3.8 million dollar expansion of its Lucy Cooper Finch Library. With the exception of this year's economic downturn, the college's endowment has had steady growth since Bingham became president, with annual student scholarships growing from $1.2 million to more than $5.5 million and dozens of academic and student endowments established. A $30 million fundraising campaign is under way, with nearly $22 million raised to date. The college has an $18.5 million operating budget, and endowment assets total $40 million.

 

"Every day has been a privilege to serve, my alma mater," Bingham notes.

 

"President Bingham has been a remarkable role model, not only for our current students, but for all alumnae," said Trustee Vice Chair and former Alumnae Association President Beth Cherry of Wilmington. "There is a tremendous feeling of gratitude to Laura for the accomplishments and strides she has brought to Peace through her excellent leadership."

 

Peace College Student Government President Mary Kathryn Willis said Bingham immediately comes to mind when she thinks about Peace.

 

"From move-in day to the final weeks leading up to graduating, she has always been such an important part of our campus," Willis said. "I recently went to see her receive the Triangle Business Journal Lifetime Achievement Award and I remember her saying that her mother had always been her personal cheerleader. Well, President Bingham has always been our personal cheerleader - strengthening and empowering us for our next steps.  It has been a true honor to know and work with her and she will be greatly missed."

 

In a national survey of college students, Peace seniors regularly rank the college in the top ten percent in several categories, including student-faculty interaction, supportive campus environment, and enriching educational experiences.

 

"Interacting with students is my great joy - and husband Warren's too. Peace is graduating some remarkable young women these days who are contributing mightily in professional and civic life - and those personal interactions and influences will always be a personal highlight for me."

 

Bingham and the college's trustees announce her departure at this time so a thorough search can be conducted for her replacement. The trustees will announce a search committee in the coming weeks and expect it to include representatives from a number of the college's constituencies.

 

When named president at age 41, Bingham was one of the youngest college presidents in the country, and now she is the third longest-serving private college president in North Carolina. She has served longer than all but one of the 16 UNC campus chancellors.

 

"President Bingham has been an outstanding leader for Peace College and for the sector of private higher education in North Carolina and nationally," said Hope Williams, president of the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities. "She is highly respected by her peers for the success she has achieved at Peace and for her ideas about ways to address the challenges facing higher education."

 

Bingham concluded, "I've always felt my most significant contribution as President was to bridge the Peace mission from the 20th to 21st century by interweaving continuity and change at Peace. Looking back more than a decade, I see abundant evidence of that, and looking forward, I'm confident much more is ahead for my alma mater."

 

Peace College is a four-year baccalaureate arts and sciences college that offers a challenging program of study that provides women strong intellectual and personal foundations upon which to build successful and meaningful professional and academic careers.

 

For more information about Peace, visit www.peace.edu.

 

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