Audrey Bilger

2021 Distinguished Alumni

B.A. Philosophy '82

 

Dr. Audrey Bilger became the first woman president of Reed College in Portland, Ore., in 2019 after serving at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., as vice president for academic affairs, dean of the college and professor of English.

She has an M.A. and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia and a B.A. in Philosophy from Oklahoma State University. She was a faculty member at Oberlin College and a professor at Claremont McKenna College. At Claremont McKenna, she was the founding faculty director for the Center for Writing and Public Discourse, chair of the literature department, coordinator of gender studies, and member of the board of trustees’ academic affairs committee, and she participated in the American Council on Education Fellows program, which prepares academic leaders for presidencies.

She writes scholarly books, articles, and chapters, as well as reviews, creative nonfiction, and journalism for the popular press. Her work focuses on comedy, Jane Austen, the English novel, feminist theory, pop culture, and gender and sexuality. Her book Here Come the Brides! Reflections on Lesbian Love and Marriage, co-edited with Michele Kort, was a 2013 Lambda Literary Award finalist. She wrote Laughing Feminism: Subversive Comedy in Frances Burney, Maria Edgeworth, and Jane Austen. She serves on the Ms. magazine Committee of Scholars and was the Gender and Sexuality editor of The Los Angeles Review of Books. Her work appeared in Ms., The Paris Review, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Los Angeles Times and often covers same-sex marriage and LGBTQ rights issues.