President Lori Bettison-Varga asserts genius can be cultivated, especially at a liberal arts institution like Scripps College.
Today, before an audience of hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and alumnae and witnessed by delegates from more than 60 institutions of higher learning, Scripps College inaugurated Lori Bettison-Varga as its eighth president. In her inaugural address during the final weekend of Women’s History Month, President Bettison-Varga emphasized the importance of women’s leadership in the 21st century, the role of women in science, and the power of women’s interdisciplinary education.
Early in her speech, President Bettison-Varga asked the audience, “Is genius something one is born with? Or can it be cultivated?” This question alluded to the inauguration’s theme, The Genius of Women. Throughout the 2009-10 academic year, guest speakers, writers, scientists, artists, and other thought leaders have engaged Scripps College students and faculty in discussions about the transformative power of genius, and how creative and intellectual genius are essential in today’s changing world, especially for women.
“Talent is not a thing, but a process; not something we have, but something we do. Genius, in other words, is something we must cultivate and work at relentlessly.”
President Bettison-Varga also encouraged Scripps College to challenge gender inequality and reinforced that the school’s curriculum is designed to help its more than 850 women students “create, take risks, and define who they are and what they value.”
“It isn’t that women do not have exceptional talent, it is that the emergence of that talent was suppressed,” said President Bettison-Varga. “[Scripps College] must do everything it can to challenge and amend societal structures that … prevented women’s genius from flourishing. Women still need to be written into the history book, and … women still need opportunities to make history.”
President Bettison-Varga asserted the need to examine different strategies of leadership, calling Scripps College students the “new wave of women’s leadership” who embrace civic engagement and community outreach as part of their college experience. Several times, Bettison-Varga highlighted the importance of civility and respect in both academic and social engagements.
At the end of her speech, Bettison-Varga outlined a strategic framework on which she plans to build as president of the top-25 liberal arts college.
- Founding a Center for Women’s Research and Leadership: The faculty and broader Scripps College community will plan a center focused on driving academic discussion, undergraduate research, civic engagement, and internship opportunities focused on women’s leadership. This would be the only academic center of its kind on the West Coast dedicated to women.
- Increasing Focus on Producing Women Scientists: President Bettison-Varga mentioned the College’s distinct approach to women’s science education and the need to prepare women for interdisciplinary degrees in science and the humanities. Scripps College has seen a four-fold increase in science majors in the last 10 years.
- Engaging and Collaborating with The Claremont Colleges Consortium: The only consortium based on the Oxford University model, The Claremont Colleges are seven institutions, including two graduate schools, all within one square mile. This intimate academic community offers cross enrollment and joint programming, providing university opportunities with distinct individual college experiences.
“The Claremont Colleges are a ‘New World Oxford,’ at the edge of the Pacific — and at the edge of a continent –at the crossroads of geography, culture, and commerce, and in a cosmopolitan location unlike any other. Our students benefit from the intellectual life and community of our seven college consortium, expanding our individual boundaries and their horizons.”
A geologist, educator, and advocate for undergraduate research, President Bettison-Varga has already had a rich career in higher education. Most recently, she was Provost and Dean of the Faculty at Whitman College, and Associate Dean for Research and Grants at The College of Wooster. She has published widely on academic pedagogy and geology, and has also received grants from the National Science Foundation. President Bettison-Varga has held leadership positions on the Council on Undergraduate Research and the American Chemical Society. Her complete bio is available here.