MCLA to Host Inauguration of 13th President, Diana Rogers-Adkinson, Ph.D. October 3

September 25, 2026

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will formally install Diana L. Rogers-Adkinson, Ph.D. as its 13th president on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1 p.m., in the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium.

The ceremony is a culmination of the presidential search that concluded in April, when the MCLA Board of Trustees selected Rogers-Adkinson to lead the state's designated public liberal arts college. She began her tenure July 1.

"We are excited and honored to officially install Dr. Rogers-Adkinson as MCLA’s 13th president," said Buffy Lord, chair of the MCLA Board of Trustees. "The search for MCLA’s next leader was rigorous and far-reaching, and Dr. Rogers-Adkinson’s deep commitment to public liberal arts education shone through. We are grateful and confident she will serve our students and this institution well."

A processional of faculty, trustees, and delegates from colleges and universities around the region will open the event at 12:45 p.m., followed by the ceremony. During it, Rogers-Adkinson will receive MCLA's Presidential Chain of Office, one of the College's highest ceremonial honors, symbolizing the trust placed in the office by the board and the campus community.

Rogers-Adkinson comes to MCLA from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, where she served as senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs and chief academic officer across the system's 10 universities and roughly 80,000 students. She previously held senior academic affairs posts at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania and Bloomsburg University, and was a dean at Southeast Missouri State University.

“A liberal arts education unlocks in people their ability to think, to create, and to use that knowledge in ways that aren't always obvious when they start their journey,” said President Rogers-Adkinson. “Graduates go on to forge unique paths, broaden horizons for themselves and others, and work to better the world, all results that go beyond simply earning a degree. The power of higher education has the ability to change lives; I know it changed mine. My vision for this institution is to continue offering these opportunities to students while honoring our roots in the liberal arts.”

The College has launched the MCLA First Generation Scholarship in connection with the inauguration, inviting gifts to support students who, like Rogers-Adkinson, are the first in their families to attend college.

A public reception follows the ceremony from 3 to 5 p.m. on the Amsler Campus Center patio.

RSVP and find event details at advancement.mcla.edu/e/inauguration, or watch the ceremony live at youtube.com/live/IxDs_W2tN7I.

About MCLA

The Commonwealth’s designated public liberal arts college, MCLA offers the personal attention of a private college at a public tuition, with more than 90 academic programs and faculty who know their students and invest in their success. Nearly half of MCLA students are the first in their families to attend college—a commitment to access and opportunity reflected in its ranking of #4 among public liberal arts institutions nationally for social mobility and #13 among public liberal arts colleges (U.S. News & World Report, 2027).

Founded in 1894, MCLA is located in North Adams, in the heart of the Berkshires—just a 10-minute walk from MASS MoCA and surrounded by world-class performing arts, thousands of acres of protected land, and Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts.