President William G. Durden

Biography

William G. Durden is president of Dickinson College since 1999. Prior to that, he was for 16 years a member of the German Department at the Johns Hopkins University and Executive Director of the Center for Talented Youth (CTY). Dr. Durden also, during his Hopkins' engagement, served for 11 years as a senior education consultant to the U.S. Department of State and chaired the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth.

Directly prior to coming to Dickinson College, he was simultaneously president of a division of the Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. (today Laureate Education, Inc.) and vice president of academic affairs for the Caliber Learning Network—a joint venture originally of MCI and Sylvan.

Dr. Durden received his undergraduate degree from Dickinson College in German and philosophy and M.A. and Ph.D. in German Language and Literature from the Johns Hopkins University. Directly following his degree from Dickinson, he was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Basle, Switzerland and has also studied at the University of Freiburg and the University of Muenster, Germany.

Among current activities, he is chair of the advisory board of the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (the Senior Fulbright program) and a member of the board of trustees of the Institute of International Education (IIE). He chairs the selection committee for the German Chancellor's Scholarship Program of the Humboldt Foundation, is a board member of the International Schools Services and is a board member of Walden University, a for-profit higher education institution.

Dr. Durden has published widely on topics such as literary criticism, gifted and talented education, foreign language study, technology and instruction, U.S. and international education policy and theory, and leadership. His most recent publication appeared in Liberal Education (American Council of Colleges and Universities) and is entitled "Reclaiming the Distinctiveness of American Higher Education."