Peace College president to step down next year

“Twelve years is a long time in college presidencies these days,” Bingham said in a statement. “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.”

Bingham is Peace's ninth president and its first alumna president.

“President Bingham is a dynamic leader for Peace College who immersed herself in its life and mission,” Todd Robinson, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said in a statement. “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 completed its transition to a four-year baccalaureate institution, expanded its campus and facilities, strengthened its academic programs and set record enrollments.

With the exception of this year’s economic downturn, the college’s endowment also 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 so far.

Peace's Board of Trustees will announce a search committee in the coming weeks and expect it to include representatives from a number of the college’s constituencies, officials said.

“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," Bingham said. "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.”