common good
A Look into the College’s Queer Archives
Swarthmore’s queer history artifacts consist mainly of news and posters from the Sager Fund events. The oldest article in the archives is from a Jan. 9, 1986 Philadelphia Inquirer article titled “Sexual-Preference Provision Added to Swarthmore Policy.” The Chronicle of Higher Education covered this policy change the following week. “The materials related to the history of the LGBTQA+ community at Swarthmore tie the experiences of the present with the past,” says Obermayer. “It helps shine a light on the intersectional issues and activism that have been a fundamental part of life at Swarthmore.” Other news items included the AIDS Memorial Quilt coming to campus (1991), the College’s extension of employee benefits to gay, lesbian, and bisexual partners (1991), and a gay Swarthmore student’s fight to be able to donate blood (1995). In the late 2010s, Lauren Stokes ’09 wrote two pieces for the Daily Gazette: one on the history of queer chalkings at Swarthmore, the second on queer history at the College more generally. The Sager Series has featured several prominent leaders in the LGBT community since its founding in 1988. Co-founder of the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay History Project Amber Hollibaugh spoke in 1994 as part of the series. José Esteban Muñoz, author of Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics, spoke at the College in 1995. In 1996, Cheryl Dunye held a special advance screening of her first film, “Watermelon Woman” on campus. With this movie, she became the first out Black lesbian to direct a feature film in the U.S. — NIA KING
swarthmore’s new provost
“Tomoko brings experience, enthusiasm, compassion, and outstanding judgment to this critical position,” says Smith.“Thanks to her varied leadership positions on campus and her strong relationships with students, as well as staff and faculty colleagues, she understands both the academic and community values that define Swarthmore.”
Sakomura joined the Student Affairs Division in 2017 as associate dean of academic affairs. Previously, she served as chair of the Art and Art History Department as well as on several College committees. She also served as dean of students from 2020 until taking on her interim role last year.
Congratulations Class of 2023
n a beautiful spring morning, members of the Class of 2023 received their degrees at the College’s 151st Commencement ceremony, held on Sunday, May 21.
Of the 392 graduates, 376 received the Bachelor of Arts degree and 33 the Bachelor of Science in engineering degree. A total of 55 students received Honors. Callie Cho ’23 offered remarks as the senior class speaker. After receiving their degrees on stage, the graduating engineers carried puzzle pieces that formed the message “Swarthmore Engineering Class of 2023.”
At the ceremony, President Valerie Smith awarded four honorary degrees: a Doctor of Arts to architect Marianne McKenna ’72, a Doctor of Laws to U.S. Department of Agriculture administrator Karama Neal ’93, and Doctors of Science to wildlife conservationists Amy Vedder ’72 and Bill Weber ’73. Koof Kalkstein ’78, chair of the Board of Managers, and the four honorary degree recipients touched on the virtues of exploration and community.
Special awards included the Oak and Ivy (Erin Chen ’23 and Ann Sinclair ’23), Lang (Jay Leeds ’23), and McCabe Engineering (Amra Rey Mendoza ’23) awards.
Eugene Lang Research Professor of Anthropology Farha Ghannam and Sannan Dhillon ’23 addressed the senior class at Last Collection on May 19. Speakers at this assembly-style gathering are chosen by the senior class. James Hammons Professor of Physical Chemistry Tom Stephenson addressed the graduating class at Baccalaureate services on May 20. The Baccalaureate is the spiritual component of Commencement weekend, featuring inspirational remarks from a friend of the College.
The spirit of community carried the day. In the lead-up to the ceremony, a series of the seniors’ memorable moments flashed on the video screen, as the Twenty One Pilots’ lyric, “Wish we could turn back time to the good old days” played over the loudspeaker. The ceremony commenced with a land acknowledgement from the faculty marshal, Mark Wallace, to recognize and honor the history of the land on which the College sits and the Indigenous people who stewarded it throughout the generations. —RYAN DOUGHERTY and MARK ANSKIS
Campus Quickly
Focus on Juvenile Justice Reform
The event was presented by the Board of Managers’ Committee on Social Responsibility; chaired by attorney James Snipes ’75, P’21; and organized by fellow committee member Ben Berger, associate professor of political science and executive director of the Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility, and Keith Reeves ’88, professor of political science. Manager and New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang ’03, whose professional role has jurisdiction over the New York state prison system, moderated. The conversation centered on episode six of the podcast “The Arc Towards Justice,” written and narrated by Jack Pokorny ’19 with production from Maggie O’Neil ’17 and Reeves.
The podcast tells the story of Alexander McClay Williams, a 16-year-old African American who became the youngest person to be executed by the state of Pennsylvania. At age 12, Williams was accused of arson and placed at the Glen Mills Reformatory School for Boys, where he remained for six years before being falsely accused of the murder of Vida Robare, one of his primary caretakers. In 1931, following legal proceedings of less than five months, Williams was executed.
Newly Named Office of Global Engagement
Typically, the faculty member in this position will serve for five years, overseeing and representing OGE among Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and Finance & Administration. Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies Carina Yervasi stepped into the role of Interim Executive Director of OGE, serving an abbreviated three-year term that began April 24.
Welcome to Karima Bouchenafa
As BCC director, Bouchenafa will lead the center in advising assistance, advocacy, and support for students and groups in the BCC. She will also partner with faculty to ensure strong ties between the BCC and the academic life of the College, as well as work with Black alumni to further build relationships with the campus community. Bouchenafa comes to Swarthmore from Thomas Jefferson University, where she served as the assistant director of the Honors Institute.
engineering honor
Election to the NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.”
Gershenfeld is among 106 new members and 18 international members, according to NAE President John L. Anderson.
Ann Cudd ’82 Named Portland State’s New President
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor at the University of Pittsburgh Ann Cudd ’82 has been named president of Portland State University and will begin her new role in the 2023-2024 academic year.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead Portland State University as its 11th president,” says Cudd, who earned degrees in both mathematics and philosophy from Swarthmore and then continued to the University of Pittsburgh where she received a master’s in philosophy, a master’s in economics, and a doctorate in philosophy.
Digging In: 20X35
“One of the most significant efforts will be installing new hot water distribution pipes around Parrish Hall, also the location of some of the College’s oldest underground infrastructure, which will be replaced at the same time,” says Andrew Feick, associate vice president of sustainable facilities operations & capital planning. “The comprehensive energy and infrastructure effort will position the Swarthmore campus to be combustion-free for the next century.”
Ongoing energy efficiency improvements across campus buildings, on-site solar and off-site renewable energy procurement, and a standby electricity generation plant allow the College to fulfill a commitment to carbon neutrality by 2035.
Music, flow, and nature
“I was lucky to have really supportive art teachers in my public schooling on Cape Cod,” says Estrella, who lives in West Barnstable, Mass., and is raising two sons, as well as chickens and koi fish.
“I had a good friend whose father, painter, Arnold Desmarais, held an oil painting class in my early teens, which I attended,” he says. A board certified art therapist and licensed mental health counselor with over a decade of experience in the field, Estrella describes his work as expressive, spread across multiple media, and influenced by music, flow, and nature.
“I found my work in Randall Exon’s courses to be most influential to the development of my painting style,” says Estrella.
“In my graduate work, my work with Denise Malis was influential, in particular a symposium on inter-subjectivity in art-making where among other examples, we explored a co-created photograph which bore uncanny likeness to a self-portrait I painted many years earlier at Swarthmore.”
Upholding Equity in Science
“It feels great to have my work in the laboratory and in the classroom recognized through this award,” says Liu. “I am excited to join the Cottrell Scholars community and to learn from such a vibrant group of scientists.”
Liu, associate professor at Pomona College, is a dedicated teacher-scholar and role model whose pedagogical efforts to make learning spaces on campus more equitable are having an impact beyond her own students and institution. Her ongoing research areas include investigating regulatory RNAs and proteins in Vibrio cholerae, engineering novel RNA-based biosensors, as well as experimenting and assessing different ways of engaging undergraduate students in science that are centered around inclusion and equity.
In late 2020, Liu developed an approach to integrate discussions of antiracism, social justice, and equity throughout the entire semester of an undergraduate biochemistry course.
The award honors the late Robert Holland Jr., an engineer and corporate executive who served on RCSA’s Board of Directors.
Go Garnet!
The women’s swimming team received five All-American honors, which are given to the top 16 finishers in an event. The accolades were earned in the 200 and 400 medley relays, the 100 breaststroke, the 400 individual medley, and the 500 freestyle. On the men’s side, the team secured All-American status in the 400 medley relay and the 100 and 200 breaststroke.
The men’s basketball team fell to eventual national champion Christopher Newport University in the Final Four by a score of 69-66. The Garnet ended their incredible season with a 28-4 record, including a perfect 18-0 mark at Tarble Pavilion.
In indoor track & field, Aidan Cantine ’23 earned All-American status after finishing fourth overall in the men’s mile, as did Rose Teszler ’23, who placed seventh in the women’s 800-meter run. In outdoor action, Adria Retter ’23 captured a national championship in discus with a top mark of 51.46m.
The softball team claimed the first Centennial Conference title in program history and reached the regional final of the Division III Tournament.
The men’s lacrosse team earned an at-large bid to the Division III Tournament, its first as a program since 1984.
The men’s tennis team made history by defeating Johns Hopkins, 5-2, to win its first ever Centennial Conference title. Additionally, the doubles team of Michael Melnikov ’26 and Utham Koduri ’26 finished second in the Division III Individual Championship in May.
Nathalie Williams ’25 of the women’s tennis team earned All-American status, the program’s first since 2012, with an opening round victory at the Individual Championships. — ROY GREIM ’14
Lives Well Lived
In addition to running The Nation from 1978 to 2005, Navasky wrote three nonfiction books: Naming Names, on the 1950s Hollywood blacklist; Kennedy Justice, on the Justice Department under Robert Kennedy; and A Matter of Opinion, a memoir that won the George Polk Book Award. He also taught at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he directed the Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism and chaired the Columbia Journalism Review.
In 1968, Cahn started the Citizen’s Advocate Center, a research group dedicated to examining social inequities. He and Jean later founded the Antioch School of Law, the country’s first public interest law school, where they served as co-deans. The couple is credited with such innovative ideas as federally funded legal services and time dollars, a system in which people can earn credits through hours of volunteer work, then spend those credits to receive services from other volunteers.
As dean, Blackburn convened a committee to study and improve Black student enrollment. He reorganized the Dean’s Office and revamped the counseling services then offered by the Health Center.
A lifelong athlete, Blackburn was long considered Athletics’ biggest booster among the faculty. His stalwart support of student-athletes included helping coach and advise lacrosse, football, wrestling, and track. He regularly showed up to a variety of varsity, intramural, and recreational events.
