FEATURE
B
A Liz Coleman Story by Briee Della Rocca
dreaming joseph
LIZ
Coleman once wrote, “Whenever I mention Bennington, something is bound to happen.” It’s true, and the same can be said about Liz. Take, for instance, the fact that most people have an opinion of her, and usually a strong one. Or that everyone seems to think they know her, or know someone who knows her. Reaction to Liz is usually almost always extreme—responses, in other words, that are typically reserved for politicians and celebrities. Seven years into her tenure at Bennington, when most college presidents would be looking to move on, Liz Coleman became a household name as the leading figure in a major restructuring undertaken by the College, a year-long process known as the Symposium. The attention was astounding, maybe even historic. “No one could have imagined anything like it,” she says. “When it was clear that Bennington was contemplating changes that might be quite radical, I had no illusions. I knew it would be a rough course. But at the same time it was impossible to anticipate the firestorm, or that it would be focused laser-like on me.”
W I N T E R 2012–13 • 27