Judd named Sarah Lawrence's new president

Sarah Lawrence College has tapped a new president, the school announced Thursday.

Karen Lawrence, whose total compensation last year was $461,814, announced she was stepping down in November after leading the four-year, private school of more than 1,600 undergraduate students for the last 10 years. Lawrence will retire in July 2017 and give over the reins to Cristle Collins Judd.

Judd will take over as the college's 11th president, leaving her most recent role as the senior program officer at the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a nonprofit that supports institutions of higher education in order to strengthen the arts, humanities and diversity.

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“(Judd) is a proven leader, a dedicated teacher, a distinguished scholar, and an astute observer of the American higher education landscape," said Mark Goodman, chair of Sarah Lawrence's presidential search committee and its board of trustees, in a statement. "Cristle’s career has given her a broad network within and beyond the academy and a valuable, wide-aperture understanding of liberal arts colleges across the country and the opportunities and challenges they face today."

The incoming president's annual salary is not yet publicly known, according to a spokeswoman for the college.

Judd, whose academic background is largely in music education and theory, also served nine years as dean for academic affairs and professor of music at Bowdoin College in Maine and was a faculty member and professor of music at the University of Pennsylvania for 13 years.

In addition to earning bachelor's and master's degrees in music performance and musicology from Rice University in Texas, Judd has also earned master's and doctorate degrees in music theory from King's College and the University of London.

“Higher education today faces daunting challenges including cost, value, outcomes, and diversity and inclusion, and Sarah Lawrence is not immune to these,” Judd said in a statement. "I am excited to join the Sarah Lawrence community as together we look to — and shape — the College’s future prominence and success.”