GROWTH AND CHANGE

You’ve been at Swarthmore for 25 years and served as provost for five. What changes have been most notable?

Watching the student body, administrative staff, and faculty become much more diverse has been pretty extraordinary. There are a lot more people of color on campus now then when I got here.

When President Al Bloom appointed me to the Living Wage Task Force, there was a group of students that had been organizing to make sure our lowest-paid workers were earning a living wage.

President Bloom put together a task force that included faculty, students, and staff, including hourly workers. He modeled what it meant to have all of the voices at the table, took our findings seriously, and worked with the chief financial officer to increase wages.

You were the Black Studies Program coordinator several times. How has it changed?

The program has continued to have more majors every year, and we have more faculty who contribute to it. It feels really good to have watched that change over time.

What has the experience of working with President Valerie Smith been like?

It’s been a pleasure and an honor to know and work with President Smith. She is highly ethical and incredibly thoughtful. Before assuming this position, I had little idea of what it meant to face incredibly serious challenges on a daily basis and the labor demanded to navigate so many constituencies. I have learned from her the importance of careful discernment, of maintaining a sense of humor, and of naming joy in work.

What are you most proud of having accomplished in your time here?

I was honored when President Rebecca Chopp asked me to chair the Sexual Misconduct Task Force, after students had protested and expressed their concern about sexual misconduct on campus.

To be able to bring a group of faculty, students, staff, and board members to consensus on a number of issues and recommendations, many of which proved prescient, is probably the work that I am the most proud of here.