Forward Together

A few months into her tenure, President Andrea E. Chapdelaine is invested, excited and determined to do the hard work.

By Melissa Babcock Johnson

t feels strange to imagine the new president of Connecticut College, Andrea E. Chapdelaine, ever being alone. Sure, she goes for solo sunrise runs and likes to have a few minutes to herself in her office each morning, but people are central to her life and work—and that’s been the case for a long time.

On campus, Chapdelaine often eats meals with students at Harris Refectory and attends their evening events. She makes a concerted effort to have face time with faculty and staff, sometimes walking into academic and administrative buildings just to say hello, and she immerses herself in events in the greater New London community. Meanwhile, in her house near the Williams Street entrance to the Arboretum, her husband of 29 years, David Tetreault, and their bernedoodle, Koda—short for Kodachrome—keep her company. The couple’s grown sons, Daniel and Benjamin, live short car rides away. And now, her extended family will see more of her, too.

Chapdelaine grew up in western Massachusetts as the youngest of five children whose grandparents all emigrated from Canada. The family spent weekends at Misquamicut Beach in Rhode Island and winters ice fishing and snowmobiling at Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. “It was a good childhood, it really was,” Chapdelaine says. “My dad and mom were very committed to their faith and family. We were everything to them.”

Chapdelaine’s father, William, left school in eighth grade to help support his mother and siblings and earned his high school diploma later, while working full-time. Her mother, Jacqueline, spent two years studying at Boston College before leaving to start a family. “They both dreamed of a college education for their children,” Chapdelaine says, “and we were really blessed that they were going to do what they could to make that happen.”

William opened the family business, Chap de Laine’s Interiors, Inc., in 1957. Every Saturday, the parents and each child who was able would clean, organize and “do whatever needed doing,” Chapdelaine remembers. “It was important that we all help and learn the value of hard work.” The commercial and residential furnishings company in South Hadley, Massachusetts, is still going strong today under the longtime leadership of Chapdelaine’s sister Lisanne.

President Chapdelaine speaks at the College’s 110th Convocation.

‘A Multigenerational Impact’

A focus on family, community and caring for others compelled Chapdelaine to study people. She earned a B.A. in psychology with a minor in justice studies from the University of New Hampshire and an M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Connecticut. Her thesis explored justice and satisfaction in interpersonal relationships.

It was her own relationships with the people around her that set the course of Chapdelaine’s career. “Throughout my life—all the way back to Sister Jean in first grade—I’ve been fortunate to have amazing teachers,” Chapdelaine says. “I’ve stayed close to my undergraduate adviser. She’s supported all the big professional milestones in my career, and that really made the difference for me. She got me excited about psychology and research and helped me understand graduate school and why that could be an opportunity.”

In graduate school, Chapdelaine worked as a teaching assistant and “fell in love with teaching,” she says. Another mentor advised her to consider teaching at a small liberal arts college. “He told me, ‘That probably is the place where you will be happiest.’”

So she did. After earning her Ph.D., Chapdelaine taught psychology first at Wabash College in Indiana, then at Trinity College in Connecticut and later at Albright College in Pennsylvania (where she also held several senior leadership roles).

As she took on more administrative responsibilities during her career, including moving curriculum and student services forward and fundraising for academic programs, Chapdelaine realized she could amplify her impact by making the jump to administration. While she admits it was hard to leave the classroom, she says she came to understand that “if I can help and support all the faculty and staff who are educating and supporting our students, then I can actually better serve students that way. And my success just kept growing until the point where mentors said, ‘You really need to start looking at a presidency.’”

In 2015, her work ethic, interpersonal skills and ability to rally people toward a common goal caught the attention of Hood College in Maryland, and she was appointed president. She served in that role—still teaching when possible—until she began her tenure as Conn’s 12th president in July.

Chapdelaine says she initially never imagined herself where she is now. “Earlier in my life, there was no thought of being a college president. I didn’t even know I’d be a college professor,” she says. “A lot of things happened through good mentors saying, ‘You need to look at this,’ and I was always brave enough to try it and it would work out—or not, on occasion. But it is amazing how much my psychology training prepared me for what I do every day, which is focus on building trust, relationships, listening, hearing many voices and coming to a place that hopefully most of us are comfortable with in terms of how we move forward.”

The support of her family—especially her husband and sons—has been essential, too. “Dave and I met while I was in graduate school, and he has now moved five times for my career,” Chapdelaine says. “He stepped down from his career when our eldest was born to become a full-time caregiver, raising our sons into the amazing young men they are today. I could not have worked as hard, taken advantage of all the opportunities and had a wonderful marriage and family without him.”

Throughout an interview with CC Magazine in Fanning Hall on a sunny September afternoon, her bronze camel statue-adorned office illuminated by large windows overlooking Tempel Green, the president’s expression alternated between serious reflection and a warm smile. When the committee of faculty, staff, students and trustees tasked with finding Conn’s 12th leader announced in March that they had unanimously chosen Chapdelaine, they noted her enthusiasm throughout the interview process. Enthusiasm, she says, is in her DNA.

“I have a generally positive disposition, and I think that I inherited that from my family, who are social people,” she explains. “I also find myself getting energized by solving problems and serving students and seeing where I can make a difference. Who could not stay motivated and excited about doing the job that all of us here are doing? We are transforming students’ lives and making a multigenerational impact. Our students are going out and doing amazing things.”

Chapdelaine says the people she met during her interviewing and onboarding at Conn were transparent and forthright, so nothing about the College has surprised her. Rather, she makes pleasant, but not unexpected, discoveries all the time. Among those, she says, are the strength and range of opportunities for students in and outside of the classroom and the agency Conn gives to students to carve their paths and to be leaders. “I’m absolutely loving the voice of the students here, the strength of their role in governance, and how much I can lean on student leaders who are thoughtful, smart and engaged.”

When you’re talking about moving an entire institution forward, you can’t do that alone. The number one factor is the strength of the people around you.

— President Andrea Chapdelaine

Commitment and Community

At 113 years old, Connecticut College is not immune to the challenges many institutions of higher education face—aging infrastructure, a demographic cliff, rising costs and shrinking revenues. But these hurdles only fuel Chapdelaine’s passion. “Those are scary challenges, hard challenges,” she acknowledges, “but in some ways, they just make me more determined to do the hard work. I know how important this work is now more than ever.”

The confidence instilled by her track record bolsters that enthusiasm—Chapdelaine has successfully addressed similar challenges before. During her nine years leading Hood, she helped launch new academic programs, greatly expanded strategic partnerships, invested in employee compensation, grew enrollment, increased student retention, invested nearly $100 million in major campus renovations, grew the endowment by 103% and secured the largest gift in Hood’s history. And she learned a lot along the way. “I think the difference between my first and second presidency is I’m more decisive,” she says. “There are some urgent issues right now for Conn, and I’m glad I have more of a sense of the right path forward than perhaps I would have had the first time around.”

With her confidence also comes humility. “That doesn’t mean I’m not going to make mistakes,” she says. “Every college has different needs and different ways of approaching problems. I’m not assuming I know everything.” Instead, she looks to the people. “When you’re talking about moving an entire institution forward, you can’t do that alone. The number one factor is the strength of the people around you. The sense of commitment and community here was something that I absolutely had to feel was true before I would step in because I know we’re only going to get there together.”

But if she could wave a magic wand to solve one problem in higher education—and she actually does have a Dumbledore wand in her office, although its magic powers have yet to be proven—Chapdelaine says it would be accessibility. “There are bright people around this world who would benefit so much from a Conn education, and there are still barriers preventing that from happening. That is why philanthropy is so important, as it opens doors that might be shut otherwise. So, if I could, I would give access to every single student who could thrive and be happy and do well here at Conn.”

From her first day on campus, President Chapdelaine has made interacting with students a priority. She holds regular open office hours for students, staff and faculty.

If I could, I would give access to every single student who could thrive and be happy and do well here at Conn.

— President Andrea Chapdelaine

Problem solving, though, is more often a slow climb. On one of her first days in office, Chapdelaine said one of her priorities was to “earn the trust of Connecticut College.” She expanded upon that more recently, pointing out that she’s building her trust in the community as well. “It’s mutual. It’s a relationship and a shared belief in the power of what we can do together to serve our students. I need that for my own sense of agency, but I also recognize there’s no president who can make that happen alone. It has to be a communal trust, a belief in Conn that we all work and strive toward.”

That includes Conn’s vast network of alumni. Chapdelaine says she enjoyed meeting many graduates during Reunion Weekend in June, and the enthusiasm was mutual. “What was very edifying for me was how excited they were to be back and how much their deep engagement with the College has continued, whether they were a five-year or 50-year alum. They were very warm and welcoming and excited to see what will happen next for their beloved alma mater. Hearing those stories deepens my understanding of the institution and makes me a better president.”

Although Chapdelaine’s tenure has just begun, the fit on both sides appears more obvious every day.

“When we were weighing the move, I said to my husband, ‘Aside from all the professional reasons to accept this position, it is also personal, as it will enable us to be closer to family. If love is pulling us somewhere, how could that ever be a bad decision?’” Chapdelaine recalls. “I told him, ‘Conn is a place I know I will come to love, too.’”

After a quick pause, she adds, “I think I’m already there.”

President Chapdelaine with her husband, David Tetreault, and Koda in the Arboretum