Dickinson College names new president

Dickinson College has named a higher education administrator who has worked in Africa for the last 15 years as its next president.

Margee Ensign, who most recently served as president of American University of Nigeria, will take her new post July 1. She replaces Nancy A. Roseman, who was the college's first female president and who left last June after three years in the role. Neil Weissman has served as interim president since July.

"During my career, I have studied, taught, and served as an administrator in a wide variety of academic settings, but my heart has always remained with the sort of institution that I chose for my own undergraduate work — an innovative and student-centered liberal-arts college," Ensign said in a statement. "Dickinson has been a liberal-arts leader throughout much of America's history."

Dickinson, a private college in Carlisle, Pa., did not release Ensign's salary.

Ensign, a native of Woodland Hills, Calif., worked at American University of Nigeria for seven years, helping to draft a strategic plan, raising $160 million, and creating programs in law and engineering.

Perhaps one of her most distinctive roles was helping to establish a school for women who had escaped the Boko Haram uprising. She also founded and chaired the Adamawa Peace Initiative, which fed hundreds of thousands of refugees. A story in Smithsonian Magazine, "Escape From Boko Haram," chronicles her efforts.

Ensign also previously served as an adviser to the governments of Uganda and Rwanda, and has held leadership roles at Tulane University and the University of the Pacific. She started her career at Columbia University as an assistant professor of politics and economics.

"The search committee and the board were particularly impressed with her love of students, passion for the liberal arts, and dedication to an interdisciplinary education that encompasses global perspectives and sustainable values," said Jennifer Reynolds, board chair.

Ensign earned her bachelor's degree from New College in Florida and her doctorate in international political economy from the University of Maryland.

Her daughter, Katherine Aronson-Ensign, is a graduate student in Boston.