Honors College Honorary Graduate

Trisha Folds-Bennett

For her strategic vision and tireless dedication as Dean of the Honors College, Trisha Folds-Bennett has been named the 2026 Honors College Honorary Graduate.

Trisha H. Folds-Bennett is a higher-education leader and developmental psychologist. She served 14 years as psychology faculty at the College of Charleston, where she earned the Distinguished Advising Award (1996) and became the first woman elected Speaker of the Faculty (1998). Subsequently, she served as Director of Programs at the nonprofit,  Darkness to Light, and returned to CofC as Associate Dean (2006) and then Dean (2013) of the Honors College.

As dean, she was a determined advocate for increased resources and expanded opportunities that would allow Honors students to excel. She helped secure nearly $7 million in scholarship and programmatic support for the Honors College. She launched support services, such as the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards, and strengthened the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities to connect students with life-changing learning experiences. She established what is now known as the Charleston Fellows Program, growing it into a nationally recognized program for top scholars. And in 2017, she launched an entirely new curriculum for the Honors College, leading to greater academic diversity and student retention.

In 2019, she became Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Virginia's College at Wise, where she guided strategic planning, faculty development, experiential learning, and new program development, including the institution's first graduate offerings (through summer 2023). She now teaches full-time in UVA Wise’s Department of Social Sciences. Folds-Bennett holds a BA and MS in psychology from Wake Forest University, and a PhD in Developmental Psychology from UNC Chapel Hill; her scholarship on cognitive development and student learning includes a chapter in a book published by Cambridge University Press (2021) and the co-authored NCHC monograph, Honoring the First Year Seminar (2025).