were such an attraction for us. We’ re huge animal people, so we spend a lot of time with our animals. Between being outside, spending time with family, and being around animals— that’ s really where I recharge. I also paint. Not well... but I do paint. Those are the things I try to carve out just a little time for, because they make me better at being the wife I want to be, the mother I want to be, the friend I want to be, and ultimately, the president I want to be.
Rogers-Adkinson: Well, the Border Collie and the Australian Shepherd make sure I walk every morning. Usually we’ re out the door by six o’ clock. So, they make sure I move, which is important, because I only really feel good if I’ m getting enough exercise. The most protected time for me is lunch. I have to eat. If I don’ t eat, I get“ hangry,” and nobody wants to work with me. So my most protected hour of the day is lunch. I usually get into the office early— right after walking the dogs— but if somebody wants to take my lunch hour, they’ re in big trouble. Being outside is also really important. Ironically, the first two spaces we set up in the president’ s house weren’ t even inside the house. They were the deck and the big wraparound porch. There are still boxes everywhere else, but we can go sit outside, look at the mountains, and we’ re okay.
You’ ve all mentioned the beauty of the Berkshires. What are some of your favorite places?
Charlier: The Dream Away Lodge. Absolutely amazing. It takes a little while to get there, but it’ s just magical. It’ s one of those places where I honestly thought,“ I’ ve never really experienced anything quite like this before.” It has great energy. Wonderful culture. The night we were there, they had an open mic. No— I did not sing, but my daughter did. Our colleagues were there, and they made my family feel incredibly welcome, which in turn made us feel incredibly welcome in the Berkshires. Mandel: You already found The
Dream Away?!
Charlier: It absolutely blew my mind.
Rogers-Adkinson: My son’ s a sculptor, so MASS MoCA is always one of our destinations. It’ s become one of those places where we go to think creatively and see what other artists are doing. The arts here are just such an incredible draw. The exposure and opportunities our students have are amazing. Just being able to be in those spaces and watch people create is incredibly inspiring.
Mandel: For me, it’ s Mount Greylock, Pine Cobble, Hopkins Memorial Forest— really any place outdoors that’ s hikeable. Those are probably my favorite places. There are others, too, but if I have free time, that’ s usually where I go.
The fall term is almost here. Let’ s talk about what’ s new and exciting at each of your schools. What’ s happening at MCLA?
Rogers-Adkinson: One of the things we’ re really excited about is that our very first nursing cohort graduates this year. That’ s going to open up a lot of new partnerships for us once that first cohort graduates and we have that data. We also have the Campagna Kleefeld Center for Creativity in the Arts being built right now. That’ s going to continue to strengthen the relationship we already have with MASS MoCA through programming and collaboration. Another exciting thing is seeing our partnership with Berkshire Community College working exactly the way we’ d hoped. We’ re seeing tremendous transfer growth between our two institutions. Overall, first-time students and transfer students combined are up about 23 percent this year. When you’ re a small institution, that’ s a really big deal.
Charlier: I’ m glad you mentioned the BCC and MCLA partnership, because free community college continues and really opens doors for people, particularly those who live here in Berkshire County. We’ re very excited about that. Many of our students are part-time students or adult learners, and they bring incredible energy and life experience with them. We’ re also working on a new HVAC program on the workforce side, which
Diana L. Rogers-Adkinson took office on July 1, 2026, as the 13th president of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts( MCLA). She was previously Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs and Chief Academic Officer for the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
Hara D. Charlier officially started on July 1, 2026, and is the 8th president of Berkshire Community College. She previously served as the president of Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota.
Maud Mandel has been the president of Williams College for eight years, starting her role on July 1, 2018. She is the 18th president. Previously, she served as the Dean of the College and a professor of history and Judaic studies at Brown University.
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