Dr. Rita Bornstein
 Rita Bornstein served as 13th president of Rollins
College from 1990 to 2004, the first woman to hold that
office. In 2001, she was named to the George D. and
Harriet W. Cornell Chair of Distinguished Presidential
Leadership when Rollins received a $10-million gift for
the first endowment of a college presidency in the
nation. At the conclusion of her 14-year presidency, she
was named president emerita and appointed to the
George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Chair of Philanthropy
and Leadership Development.
Under President Bornstein's
leadership, Rollins focused on strengthening its
commitment to excellence, innovation, and community.
Standards were raised for faculty evaluation, student
selectivity, and all aspects of administration. Average
SAT scores for entering Arts & Sciences students rose
more than 65 points and Rollins' place in U.S. News &
World Report's annual rankings of "America's Best
Colleges" climbed from #6 regional university in the
South to No. 2, and No. 1 in Florida. That trajectory
continued—Rollins is currently No. 1 in the South. Innovation was
encouraged and rewarded, and programs were added in film
studies, international business, and sustainable
development, as well as the signature Rollins College
Conference for first-year students. The College's
commitment to building strong communities was enhanced
through programs of intellectual discourse, civic
engagement, international study, and service learning.
In 1997, Rollins reaffirmed its
role as a leader in the national conversation on liberal
education, hosting key educators for a conference
entitled The
Rollins Colloquy
Toward a Pragmatic Liberal Education: The Curriculum of
the Twenty-First Century. The resulting book,
Education and Democracy: Re-imagining Liberal Learning,
published by The College Board, remains an important
document in the conversation about the liberal arts
curriculum.
President Bornstein also oversaw
Rollins' most ambitious fundraising effort. Widely
considered to have transformed the College, The
Campaign For Rollins secured $160.2 million,
providing support for academic programs, scholarships,
faculty chairs, and facilities, and significantly
strengthening the College's financial health. Thanks to
the generosity of donors, including the largest gift in
Rollins' history—alumnus George Cornell's $93.3-million
bequest—and astute financial management, the College's
endowment more than quintupled during Bornstein's
presidency.
A recognized leader in higher
education, Bornstein regularly consults on issues of
leadership, governance, and fundraising in the nonprofit
sector. She is also the author of numerous journal
articles and book chapters and two books, including
Legitimacy in the Academic Presidency: From Entrance to
Exit, published in 2003. Bornstein may be
contacted at
rbornstein@rollins.edu.
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last reviewed on May 23, 2005 |
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