SWARTHMORE - Key Persons


Abigail Weil

Job Titles:
  • Research & Instruction Outreach Librarian

Aixa Pomales

Job Titles:
  • Director of Support Services at ITS

Alice Holland

Job Titles:
  • Director of Health and Wellness Services

Alisa Giardinelli

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Vice President of Communications

Amy Cheng Vollmer

Job Titles:
  • Isaac H. Clothier Jr. Professor of Biology
Finally, I am grateful to the faculty, students, staff, and alumni who met with the finalists and shared their impressions with me. As we look forward to returning to a more normal experience in the fall, I hope you'll find time to meet Liz and say hello in person. In the meantime, please join me in welcoming her to the Swarthmore community.

Amy McColl

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director, Collection Management & Discovery & TriCollege Licensing Librarian

Andrea Baruzzi

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director, Research, Instruction & User Services

Andy Hirsch - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President
  • Bucknell in 2011 As Director of Media Communications
  • Vice President for Communications
Andy joined Bucknell in 2011 as director of media communications and, since 2014, has served as chief communications officer. In that role, he leads Bucknell's editorial, photography, videography, graphic design, media relations, and print production efforts, website and social media channels, crisis communications, and mail services. Prior to his arrival at Bucknell, he worked as an Associated Press and Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist for several network affiliates, including in Columbus, Ohio, and Scranton, Pa. Andy earned a B.S. in both broadcast journalism and speech communication from Syracuse University.

Anne Houston

Job Titles:
  • Director, Libraries & College Librarian

Annette Newman

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Program Administrator, Library, Libraries

Barbara Aronstein Black

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer, Columbia University Law School, October 2004

Bindu Jayne

Job Titles:
  • Title IX Coordinator
As you may recall, Bindu Jayne joined Swarthmore earlier this month as Title IX Coordinator and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this critical role. We write today with updates on our continued efforts to make Swarthmore a safe place for all students and a supportive place for victims and survivors of sexual assault.

Bitsy Snively

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Dining Services Staff

Bob Rehak

Job Titles:
  • Chairman of Film & Media Studies

Bruce Dorsey

Job Titles:
  • Professor of History, Co - Chair

Caitlin Goodman

Job Titles:
  • Archivist

Catherine Geddis

Job Titles:
  • Interim Vice President of Human Resources

Celia Caust-Ellenbogen

Job Titles:
  • Associate Curator, Friends Historical Library

Chloe Lucchesi-Malone

Job Titles:
  • Archives Technician

Christina Bush

Job Titles:
  • Research & Instruction Librarian

Dan Alamia

Job Titles:
  • Director of Prospect Discovery and Development

David Obermayer

Job Titles:
  • College Archivist & Records Manager

Donna Fournier

Job Titles:
  • Performing Arts Librarian

Emily Higgs Kopin

Job Titles:
  • Head, Digital Collections Strategy

Gil Kemp

Job Titles:
  • Longtime Board Member

Greg Brown

Job Titles:
  • Vice President for Finance and Administration
As Vice President for Finance and Administration Greg Brown approaches his retirement, I write with some details on our interim plans and an update on the search for his successor.

H. Vincent Poor

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Managers

Helen C. Turner

Job Titles:
  • Professor Emeritus of Economics

Imaani El-Burki

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Dean and Director of the Hormel - Nguyen Intercultural Center

James Truitt

Job Titles:
  • Digital Archivist / Libraries - Friends Historical Library / Contact

Jane Lang

Job Titles:
  • Manager

Jessica Brangiel

Job Titles:
  • Head, Electronic Resources & Media

Jim Terhune

Job Titles:
  • Dean of Students Tomoko Sakomura
  • Interim Dean of Students

Jordan Landes

Job Titles:
  • Curator, Friends Historical Library

Kaitlyn A. Carter

Job Titles:
  • Head of Digital Initiatives

Kate Carter

Job Titles:
  • Head of Digital Initiatives Strategies

Kenneth Watts

Job Titles:
  • Circulation Logistics Specialist

Kim Benston

Job Titles:
  • Haverford President

Kim Fremont

Job Titles:
  • Associate Provost for Administration

Landry Kosmalski

Job Titles:
  • Head Coach, Men 's Basketball
  • Head Men 's Basketball Coach

Larry Neal

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer, Lincoln University, 2003

Lisa Meeden

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Computer Science

Liz Braun

Job Titles:
  • Dean of Students, Co - Chair

Marian Ware

Job Titles:
  • Director of Athletics, Physical Education
Marian Ware Director of Athletics, Physical Education, and Recreation Brad Koch shared with the Board his reflections and observations after nearly a year in the position. That included an overview of his vision for strengthening the department, not just for student-athletes, but for all students, with a particular focus on health and well-being.

Mary Beth Sigado

Job Titles:
  • Special Projects Cataloging & Metadata Librarian / Libraries - Collection Management & Discovery / Contact

Melinda Kleppinger

Job Titles:
  • Acquisitions & Collections Specialist

Michelle Ray

Job Titles:
  • Interim Title IX Coordinator

Nathan Miller

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean of Students

Nsoki Mavinga

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor

Old Tarble

Façade repair and window replacement work on Old Tarble will be substantially complete by September, with minimal work continuing through the fall.

Oscar Micheaux

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer, University of Chicago, February 2005

Pat Gress

Job Titles:
  • Head Coach / Instructor, Physical Education and Athletics

Patrick Sinko

Job Titles:
  • McCabe Library Access & User Services Supervisor / Libraries - Access & User Services / Contact

Paula MacDonald

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Vice President of Human Resources

Raymond "Ray" Scott

Job Titles:
  • Equipment Manager

Rebecca Michelson-Ziegler

Job Titles:
  • Electronic Resources Specialist

Rex Hughes

Job Titles:
  • Head, Cataloging & Metadata

Rhonda Alford

Job Titles:
  • Cornell Access & User Services Night Supervisor

Rhoni Ryan

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director of Administrative Information Systems

Robert Francis Pasternack

Job Titles:
  • Edmund Allen Professor Emeritus

Roberto Vargas

Job Titles:
  • Head, Research & Instructional Services

Sahr Conway-Lanz

Job Titles:
  • Curator, Peace Collection

Salem Shuchman - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman

Stephanie Ives - VP

Job Titles:
  • Vice President

Steve Sisolak

Job Titles:
  • Clark County Commission Chair

Susan Dreher

Job Titles:
  • Visual Initiatives & Exhibitions Librarian

Susanna Morikawa

Job Titles:
  • Processing Archivist

Thomas Harold Blackburn

Job Titles:
  • Professor Emeritus of English Literature

Tomoko Sakomura

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Art History

Ursula Young

Job Titles:
  • Supervisor, Environmental Services
And on behalf of the committee, I would like to thank the community members who met with the finalists and offered their participation and feedback. I also want to thank Interim Vice President of Human Resources Catherine Geddis, who joined the College last fall and has been instrumental in guiding us through multiple challenges during the past 10 months. I am grateful that Catherine has agreed to remain in her interim position until Beth begins in September in order to ensure a smooth transition.

Valerie Smith - Chairman, President

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • President
  • Chairman of the Board of Managers Tom Spock '78 Sent the Following Message to the
  • Member of the American Academy of Arts
  • President / Ad Hoc Committee
President Valerie Smith Receives Honorary Degree President Valerie Smith received an honorary doctor of letters from Hong Kong Baptist University, in recognition of a dynamic first year at Swarthmore. More from President Valerie Smith Receives Honorary Degree With deep sadness, I write to share the news that Richter Professor Emeritus of Political Science David Gilbert Smith died on Thursday, Sept. 28. He was 96. Read the full message. A few moments ago, Smith College announced to its community that it has found its next president. I am overjoyed (and a bit sad) to share with you that that individual is Provost and Dean of the Faculty Sarah Willie-LeBreton. Sarah will remain in her current role at Swarthmore through the academic year before joining Smith as its 12th president on July 1, 2023. Read the full message. In a series of recent conversations and in the student press, survivors and allies have proposed changes to the College's Title IX policies and procedures. Most recently, Organizing for Survivors (O4S) held a rally in Parrish during which they bravely shared their experiences and issued a list of proposed changes with the expectation that President Smith would respond thoroughly and quickly to their letter. Read the full message. President Valerie Smith and Chair of the Board of Managers Tom Spock '78 sent the following message to the Swarthmore community on Feb. President Valerie Smith sent the following message to the community on Jan. 24, 2017. President Valerie Smith sent the following message to the Swarthmore community at 11:30 a. Valerie Smith, a distinguished scholar of African American literature, is the 15th president of Swarthmore College, where her priorities have included strengthening and expanding initiatives focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion; supporting curricular innovation; improving the campus's facilities and infrastructure; ensuring the College fulfills its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2035; and strengthening relationships between the College and the region. In service of those priorities and under President Smith's leadership, Swarthmore recently concluded Changing Lives, Changing the World, the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in the College's history. The campaign raised more than $440 million, including more than $110 million for financial aid. This unprecedented support for students will help the College continue to diversify its student body, including by supporting more low-income and first-generation students. Swarthmore remains one of the few colleges in the country to practice need-blind admissions - admitting students regardless of their ability to pay tuition. President Smith's commitment to sustainability is also reflected in the College's carbon charge program and the President's Sustainability Research Fellowship program. The fellowships match motivated students with small teams of staff and faculty mentors to research, develop, and implement high-impact sustainability projects in a yearlong course and associated internship. President Smith is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the boards of the American Council on Education, the Bogliasco Foundation, the National Museum of the American Indian, the Public Service Enterprise Group, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Bates College, she earned her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Virginia. Previously, she was a professor of English and African American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature, founding director of the Center for African American Studies, and dean of the college at Princeton University. She is the author of three books on African American literature and culture and the editor or co-editor of five others. "You are always an agent. When you don't act, you act. When you don't vote, you vote." -- Tony Kushner

Vicki Russo

Job Titles:
  • Digital Archivist

W. E. B. Du Bois

Job Titles:
  • Research Fellow

Zora Neale Hurston

Job Titles:
  • Lecturer, Columbia University, 2001