Barbara K. Altmann

Barbara K. Altmann, Ph.D. became the 16th president of Franklin & Marshall College in August 2018 following a unanimous vote of its Board of Trustees.

A scholar of French medieval language and literature, Dr. Altmann had served as the provost at Bucknell University since 2015. There, she played an instrumental role in securing major gifts for programs, capital facilities and endowed faculty positions to support all divisions at Bucknell.

President Altmann, a native of Canada, received her bachelor’s degree with honors in romance languages at the University of Alberta. She earned her master’s degree in French language and literature from the University of Toronto, and her doctorate in medieval French language and literature from the same university.

Prior to her arrival at Bucknell, Dr. Altmann served for more than 25 years at the University of Oregon. She was a professor of French, chair of the Department of Romance Languages and director of the Oregon Humanities Center, before spending her last three years at the university as senior vice provost for academic affairs. She also served as an assistant visiting professor at Dartmouth College.

President Altmann has written or edited four books and written numerous articles, reviews and conference papers in her field of expertise. She has served as an elected delegate to the executive councils of the American Council of Learned Society and the Modern Language Association.