Edward C. Wingenbach, Ph.D., named eighth president of The American College of Greece
The Board of Trustees of The American College of Greece (ACG) announced today that Edward C. Wingenbach, Ph.D., currently president of Hampshire College, MA, will become the College’s eighth president, effective July 1, 2025, succeeding David G. Horner, Ph.D., who will retire after completing his 17th year as ACG president.
In announcing the selection, ACG Board and Search Committee Chair, Ambassador Daniel B. Smith, commented, “Assisted by our search consultants, Russell Reynolds Associates (RRA), we were fortunate to attract a strong pool of candidates interested in the position. We are confident we have found the right leader to build on the College’s considerable momentum towards an even more impactful future in Greece and the wider region. We look forward to welcoming Dr. Wingenbach and his family to ACG this coming summer.”
Since 2019, Wingenbach has led a turnaround of Hampshire College, a pioneering liberal arts institution founded in 1965 in cooperation with Amherst College, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts. Among the most innovative colleges in the U.S., all Hampshire students design their own programs of study culminating in the design and completion of a year-long independent project. Many of Hampshire’s experimental ideas have been mainstreamed in American higher education; its alumni include Oscar and Emmy winners, best-selling authors, noted scientists, Peabody awardees, MacArthur “Genius Grant” recipients, and more Ph.D. candidates than any other school of its size.
Under Dr. Wingenbach’s leadership, Hampshire College experienced unprecedented growth and renewal. He spearheaded a multi-year strategic plan that drove significant enrollment increases, modernized operations, and launched a groundbreaking academic program focused on addressing the urgent challenges of the 21st century. Notably, applications to Hampshire have doubled since 2020, while total enrollment increased by over 50%. Dr. Wingenbach’s innovative approach also revitalized Hampshire College’s financial health. He restructured fundraising operations, launching the Change in the Making campaign that has already raised over $46 million in direct operational support, including the three largest gifts in the college’s history. His efforts strengthened alumni engagement, increased the alumni giving rate to 35%, and secured over $13 million in state and federal support. In 2023 Hampshire became one of only 15 U.S. higher education institutions to achieve full carbon neutrality. Immediately prior to his appointment as president of Hampshire, Wingenbach was acting president of Ripon College, WI, where he had been vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty and a professor of politics and government since 2015. Previously, he served the University of Redlands, CA for 15 years in administrative and faculty leadership roles, including: associate provost, chair of the Department of Government, Faculty Assembly chair, and International Relations Program director.
Wingenbach has presented and consulted widely on such topics as improving success for low-income students, curricular innovation, inquiry-based learning, and engaging students in conversations about oppression and inequality. His research interests include continental philosophy, democratic theory, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. His articles have appeared in some of the top journals of political science and his book, Institutionalizing Agonistic Democracy (Routledge) is well-cited in the literature on alternative democratic frameworks. His previous teaching experience includes posts at San Diego State University and the University of South Carolina, where he received the Mortar Board Excellence in Teaching Award.
Wingenbach earned his undergraduate degree in 1991 from Lake Forest College, Il, where he designed a course of study in Politics, Political Philosophy, and Religion. That experience gained him admission to the University of Notre Dame, IN, where he earned his doctorate from the Department of Government and International Studies. He is married to Susan Rice, whom he met while at the University of Redlands, when Susan was the Executive Director of the San Bernardino County Arts Council and later a member of the University Advancement staff. They have three children, Thelan Ulysses (15), Aletheia (18), and Maximilian (29).
In accepting the nomination as ACG President-Elect, Wingenbach remarked, “ACG has a distinguished history of contribution to Greece and American education; its development in recent years under the leadership of President Horner has been extraordinary. Now, with Greece taking bold steps to reform its higher education framework, an even more exciting future is possible. We look forward to working with the campus and the external community to advance ACG’s leadership in international education, advance new responses to global problems, and contribute to the vitality of Greece in the years ahead.”
Founded in 1875 in Smyrna, Asia Minor (today Izmir, Turkey), relocated to Athens, Greece following the 1922 Smyrna Catastrophe, ACG is the oldest and largest, comprehensive (PK – graduate school), U.S.-based and U.S.-accredited, educational institution in Europe. ACG enrollment has grown from 3,687 (fall 2012) to 7,965 (fall 2024) with students from more than 70 countries. In addition to Pre-K-12, undergraduate and graduate degree-seeking students, ACG annually enrolls over 1,200 study abroad students from 255 U.S. and international universities and over 1,000 students from Greek public universities through “Parallel Study”. A leader in sustainability, ACG has achieved global recognition as the top performer outside North America in the 2024 AASHE Sustainable Campus Index.
