In a message to all Sciences Po communities on Tuesday, 11 February, Bénédicte Durand emphasized the "values of responsibility, respect and openness" which inspire all students, teachers, researchers and employees. "We can hear the criticism and will learn from the crisis we have gone through, but we can be proud to carry these values that unite us. The values which make our institution a unique university in the international landscape, as strong in academic excellence as in the quality of the women and men who serve it," she said.

Associate professor of history with a doctorate in geography, Bénédicte Durand began her career as senior lecturer at Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris IV). From 2005 to 2007, she was tasked by the Education Minister with a nationwide push to integrate France’s network of teachers colleges into the university system. Durand followed Pécresse to the Ministry of Budget in 2011 as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Office of the Press Secretary.

Appointed as Inspector General of National Education and Research Administration in 2009, Durand worked across the fields of higher education and primary and secondary schooling.

Read her message to students, teachers and researchers of Sciences Po on January 11.