New London ― As Connecticut College closes out the school year, a new Presidential Search Committee has formed to choose the 12th leader of the school, replacing embattled outgoing President Katherine Bergeron.

Board of Trustees Chairman Debo P. Adegbile in a May 8 letter announced the 15 members of the committee: professors Anne Bernhard, Suzuko Knott, Andrea Lanoux and Ariella Rotramel; staff members Sarah Cardwell and Persephone Hall; students Taylor Austin and Maged Hassan; and trustees Adegbile, Maria Boyce, Seth Alvord, Jessica Archibald, Chip Clothier, Marisa Fariña and Dwayne Stallings.

Bergeron announced in March that she planned to resign at the end of the semester, after weeks of student protests and a vote of no confidence from faculty. The protests began after the resignation of Rodmon King, dean of institutional equity and inclusion, who objected to a planned fundraiser at the Everglades Club, which King said has a reputation as being anti-Black and antisemitic.

Adegbile wrote in his letter that Bergeron “has been a tireless champion of the College, considerably strengthening Conn’s academic, residential, community, and financial resources. We are grateful for her vision and commitment and now look forward to finding our next leader.”

He and Boyce will co-chair the search committee, which Adegbile said will convene this month.

John Cramer, vice president of marketing and communications at the college, said the Faculty Steering and Conference Committee, Staff Council, and Student Government Association selected their respective representatives on the committee “based on who can well represent the interests of their constituencies and of the institution as a whole.”

Adegbile said the Board of Trustees has engaged a search firm to find an interim president, who will be announced “before the end of June.”

He and eight other committee members didn’t respond to emails seeking interviews about the process and what they’d like to see in a president. Cramer instead reached out to say they ― along with Bergeron, senior administrators, and trustees ― “will not be making any public statements, other than through me, to protect the integrity of the selection process.”

Cramer added in another email, “The Presidential Search Committee will move expeditiously to comprehensively evaluate all highly qualified candidates and select the individual who is best suited to lead the College. Relevant updates on the process, including timing, will be made when appropriate.”

Bergeron has served as president of Connecticut College since 2014, replacing retiring president Leo I. Higdon Jr. When Bergeron was named president, Board of Trustees Chairwoman Pamela D. Zilly said she “is the right leader for this moment in our history” and “has a tremendous ability to connect ideas and convert them into action.”

Zilly chaired the search committee, which also then included two students.

The college is not new to controversy around its president: Former President Claire Gaudiani faced a faculty vote of no confidence and then student protests before resigning in 2001, though Gaudiani said she was not leaving because of protests.

Provost David K. Lewis served as interim president in 2001, and after a six-month search, the college announced the appointment of Norman Fainstein as president. He served from 2001 to 2006, prior to Higdon’s tenure.

Then-student Stanley J. Tartaglia Jr., a member of the search committee, told The Hartford Courant in 2001, “We’ve had some rocky bumps here this past year. We definitely wanted a president who would understand the role of faculty.”

e.moser@theday.com