BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - Vermont’s Champlain College has a new president, the school has announced.
Benjamin Ola Akande will become the ninth president of the Burlington school on July 1.
Akande is currently the assistant vice chancellor for International Affairs–Africa, and the associate director of the Global Health Center at Washington University in St. Louis.
“Dr. Akande is an agent of change and a visionary leader with a global perspective,” Champlain Board of Trustees Chairman Charles Kittredge said in a Tuesday posting on the school’s website. “His enterprising mindset and commitment to student success will be essential as he leads Champlain College in an evolving higher education landscape.
Akande says he is “humbled and honored” to lead Champlain during what he calls a “period of great transformation and even greater opportunity.”
Born in Nigeria, Akande came to the United States age 17 to pursue a college degree. He and his wife have three adult daughters.
Champlain describes itself as a small, not-for-profit private college overlooking Lake Champlain with additional campuses in Canada and Ireland. It says it prepares students for their professional lives with a career-driven approach to higher education.
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