Sonya Stephens steps up to lead Mount Holyoke
By Keely Savoie
Sonya Stephens, whose commitment to women’s colleges dates back to her undergraduate days at the University of Cambridge, assumed the presidency of Mount Holyoke College on July 1.
The former vice president of academic affairs and dean of faculty, Stephens will be the acting president of the College for the next three years.
In her new role, Stephens will lead the implementation of a new strategic plan, The Plan for Mount Holyoke 2021, and guide the College through the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) reaccreditation process. She will also oversee the building of the Community Center, a campus hub that she has called a “third space” where students, faculty, and staff will have new opportunities to collaborate and engage in intellectual and social exchange outside of classrooms and residence halls.
Stephens sees these and other initiatives as paramount to enhancing the student experience, which is one of her top priorities.
“The hallmark of the Mount Holyoke experience is the kind of high-contact learning and intellectual exchange fostered by our excellent faculty and the curious, bright, engaged students who are drawn here,” she said. “Our commitment is to continue to deliver and to enhance that experience for all.”
The strategic plan, to be finalized this fall, calls for the College to assert its distinctiveness and the value of a liberal arts education, to embrace new programs in support of the liberal arts, and to develop a comprehensive approach to engaging with the global world.
“Through the unique opportunities that a diverse women’s college affords them, Mount Holyoke students develop the habits of mind, intellectual rigor, and agency to transform the world,” Stephens said. “They learn to think, speak, and act with confidence and courage, and do so with a global perspective.”
Stephens holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and a master’s degree from the Université de Montréal, in addition to her BA from New Hall (now Murray Edwards College), a women’s college at Cambridge.
