Hampshire College President Jonathan Lash, who sparked national controversy and local protest last year over his decision to suspend flying the American flag, will retire in 2018.
The college in a news release said Lash, who will turn 72 next year, began discussing retirement last summer after he recovered from a serious illness.
Lash headed an environmental organization in Washington before becoming Hampshire College president six years ago. He set a goal to make the small liberal arts school campus self-sustaining and carbon-neutral.
"It is something that matters to our faculty, our students and our alumni," Lash said in an interview last summer.
The program includes the construction of the largest solar array on any college campus in New England, and local sourcing of campus food and supplies
Lash took down the American flag following the election, but put it back two weeks later after the college was overwhelmed with angry phone calls and email.
