At Bennington, students learn to challenge the traditional divides between intellect and emotion, vocational and cultural interests. They learn to express themselves in the rich and varied language of physics, choreography, history, sculpture, biochemistry, musical composition, poetry, philosophy, and drama. They learn to work hard, and to do well-at first because the faculty expects no less of them, but very soon because they expect no less of themselves.

"From the beginning [Bennington]...has shocked a lot of good sound people-especially educators....The primary theory is to abandon the old idea that there is just so much regimented knowledge, all blocked out in squares, to be pushed into a student's head in four years. Up here, they let the student explore around, find out what she wants to do, and then proceed on the theory that since you can't teach her everything anyhow, you should teach her how to learn under her own steam, and keep on learning the rest of her life."

— Ernie Pyle, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter,
in The Herald Tribune, 1939

Well before the groundbreaking ceremonies in 1931, Bennington had a clear sense of itself. The founders of the College aimed to create a school that would emphasize "the individual student and her developing interests," learning "by activity and living," a community life designed to "break down artificial barriers between teacher and student and between curriculum and extracurriculum," and "a conscious elasticity in educational plans."

From its earliest beginnings, the College tended to draw a different kind of faculty to its gates-innovators and experimenters. On these lawns Martha Graham and her colleagues made modern dance history. The pioneering psychologist Erich Fromm taught here, as did the man known as the father of modern management, Peter Drucker. W.H. Auden, Theodore Roethke, Howard Nemerov, Bernard Malamud, John Gardner, Wallace Fowlie, Kenneth Burke-the list of literary lights is long; as is the roster of artists who made their mark here. In the 1950s and '60s, for example, Clement Greenberg helped make Bennington a hotbed of Abstract Expressionism. Today's faculty continues that tradition of esteemed practitioners, including renowned evolutionary scientist Bruce Weber, choreographer Dana Reitz, director Lloyd Richards, essayist Edward Hoagland, and others.

As you might expect, the students who pass through Bennington tend to be doers as well. Throughout its history, the College has seen its graduates make a difference in the worlds they inhabit. Often, they excel in multiple fields: Architects are teachers, biologists sculpt; sociologists may work on Wall Street or do graphic design. People who go to Bennington tend to lead interesting and varied lives, to remain curious about the world they live in and adventurous about exploring it.