Wendy Bashant

Harpist and magna cum laude alumna of Middlebury College, Wendy Bashant currently holds the position of Dean of Students at New College of Florida. At New College of Florida, an innovative, public liberal arts college located in Sarasota, Bashant serves on various committees that improve the life of students. She is also responsible for maintaining a substantial budget that includes both state and auxiliary funds. Since Bashant came to the school in 2005, the retention rate has climbed approximately 10 percent. Before coming to New College of Florida, Wendy Bashant served as the Chair of the English Department at Coe College, a private liberal arts college in Iowa, where she managed the English Department’s $0.5 million annual budget. She also coordinated and evaluated nine members of the faculty and provided advisory services for 30 students annually. During her 15 years at Coe College, Bashant held several positions. Before becoming the Chair of the English Department, she served as a professor and as the Vice President for Student Affairs. She was also the founding Chair of the Gender Studies Department. Additionally, she served as a member of the faculty, even working overseas as a professor for a study abroad program based in Thailand. Wendy Bashant’s career includes teaching at the University of Rochester, where she received her Master’s and Ph.D., and directing the Residential Life program at Middlebury College, where she received her B.A. Bashant has received awards and honors throughout her more than 20-year career, including the Distinguished Faculty Award from the American Association of University Women of Iowa (AAUW-Iowa) in 2005. In 2001 and 2000, respectively, she was awarded the J. Preston Cole Grant for Curricular Innovation and a Japan Friends Research Grant from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1995, Coe College honored her with a Faculty Research Grant. She also acquired the 1989-1990 Susan B. Anthony Dissertation Grant from the University of Rochester.