Edward Wingenbach’s career has spanned three decades and centered on transformative academic leadership at liberal arts institutions committed to innovation and social impact. He became the eighth president of The American College of Greece in 2025.
Wingenbach served from 2019–2025 as president of Hampshire College (Amherst, MA), a pioneering liberal arts institution founded in 1965 in cooperation with Amherst College, Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts. 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 $52 million in direct operational support, including the three largest gifts since the college’s founding. 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.
At Ripon College (Ripon, WI), where he served as vice president and dean of faculty, acting president, and professor of politics and government from 2015–2019, Wingenbach guided the development of the Catalyst Core Curriculum, a unique approach to liberal arts general education in which every student earns a Concentration in Applied Innovation. He established new academic and career development programs, directed strategic financial planning, strengthened sponsored research, and secured major philanthropic support from national foundations. As acting president in 2019, he managed both presidential and CFO responsibilities, advancing institutional strategy while overseeing Ripon’s $26 million operating budget.
Earlier in his career, Wingenbach spent fifteen years at the University of Redlands (CA) in administrative and faculty leadership roles, including associate provost, president of the Faculty Assembly, chair of the Department of Government, and director of the International Relations program. He expanded internationalization, enhanced community-based learning, improved sponsored research, oversaw significant graduate program development, and lead university efforts in accreditation and assessment. Students recognized his teaching and mentorship by selecting him as commencement speaker, and the University honored him with its award for distinguished service.
A scholar of democratic theory and political philosophy, Wingenbach has published widely, including the book Institutionalizing Agonistic Democracy (Routledge) and articles in leading journals such as The American Journal of Political Science, International Philosophical Quarterly, and The Journal of Politics (where his work was named the best article published in 2001). His teaching and scholarship are deeply informed by Greek thought, and he has held a fellowship at the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies.
Wingenbach received his bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College, designing his own program of study in an experiential liberal arts model. He earned both his master’s and PhD in government and international studies from the University of Notre Dame.
Together with his spouse, Susan Rice, and their son, he resides in Athens, embracing ACG’s mission of advancing education that fosters individual potential and contributes to Greece’s cultural and economic vitality.
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