<p>Is Rebecca S. Chopp, who will move over from Colgate.</p>
<p>Thanks for posting, Harriet! Those two schools seem to have cultures which are quite a bit different. She will have to be indoctrinated. ;)
DH asked, "Where's her 'life of the mind' quote?"</p>
<p>Here's the letter from the chair of the board of managers:</p>
<p>Dear Swarthmoreans,</p>
<p>As Chair of the Board of Managers, I am delighted to announce that at today’s meeting, the Board accepted the Presidential Search Committee’s recommendation to name Rebecca S. Chopp, distinguished scholar and author and current president of Colgate University, as Swarthmore’s 14th president. She is a first-rate scholar and a seasoned and effective leader who has successfully and imaginatively managed Colgate during a time of great accomplishment. Her collaborative style will be a good fit for Swarthmore and I am very pleased that we were able to persuade her to come.</p>
<p>I also extend my thanks and appreciation to the members of the search committee for their dedication and commitment to this process.</p>
<p>Please visit <a href="http://www.swarthmore.edu/newpresident/%5B/url%5D">www.swarthmore.edu/newpresident/</a> for more information. </p>
<p>Barbara W. Mather ’65
Chair, Board of Managers</p>
<p>Asked and answered! Swarthmore</a> College's 14th President</p>
<p>". . . the rigorous life of intellectual inquiry . . ." = close enough. :D</p>
<p>Rebecca Chopp won't need to be indoctrinated - I see her as an excellent match for Swarthmore (having watched her for the last 4-5 years as a Colgate parent). She oversaw interesting changes at Colgate - the school purchased the fraternity buildings and asserted a good deal of control over Greek life (to the better, I think), and she did a good job of navigating through that contentious process. She's giving a little short notice to Colgate, and Colgate is still in the midst of a big capital campaign, but I guess she viewed the Swarthmore opportunity as too good to pass up.</p>
<p>This looks like a terrific hire on paper:</p>
<p>Emory University: Provost/VP Academic Affairs
Yale University: Dean of Divinity School
Colgate University: President since 2002</p>
<p>She is leaving Colgate on short notice. They've already announced an interim President. I guess that's pretty much unavoidable when poaching a current President.</p>
<p>jpar:</p>
<p>Anyone who can do a good job navigating any process related to fraternities must be pretty capable!</p>
<p>
[quote]
"Lucretia Mott, who is a personal heroine of mine"
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Anyone who can work a Lucretia Mott reference into her first Q & A session at Swarthmore is OK in my book.</p>
<p>Oh ID, you beat me to it! I was just about to link to the DG interview. I like her answer to the last question, too!</p>
<p>Speaking of Lucretia Mott, she's probably high fiving in her grave at the first woman president of Swarthmore, but perhaps rolling over a few times that she is not only not Quaker, but an ordained Methodist minister.</p>
<p>HarrietMW, my DH saw that "rigorous life of intellectual inquiry" quote and said, "Not good enough!" ;)</p>
<p>She used "habit of the mind" on the Colgate website. Ask DH if that would pass muster?</p>
<p>Stop the presses. All is well in the universe again. The planets are back in alignment. She did toss in a "life of the mind" quote this afternoon:</p>
<p>
[quote]
<a href="College%20Confidential's%20own">B</a> Skorpen: **We just heard that the Board of Managers picked you. But half the story is that you picked Swarthmore. Could you tell me what brought you to that decision?</p>
<p>Chopp: **Swarthmore has always, for me, represented the essence of what a liberal arts education is about. I told the Board of Managers that I keep a small file that I call the “Heart of the Liberal Arts” file. And I keep five essays there, and each essay represents the mission of the liberal arts. And for the last three or four years, one of the essays in that file has been an essay entitled “The Meaning of Swarthmore,” an essay which has in bold various values—intellectual rigor, passionate justice, **the life of the mind, the community of learners, making the world a better place. What’s drawn me to Swarthmore is this combination of values.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>"OK," says DH. "That's the key to the kingdom." ;)</p>
<p>Wow. And Chopp thought Eugene Lang was tough. It's a good think she didn't have a grilling from momof3sons' DH!</p>
<p>A more detailed article in the Phoenix:
<a href=“http://www.swarthmorephoenix.com/2009/02/26/news/swarthmore-names-next-president[/url]”>http://www.swarthmorephoenix.com/2009/02/26/news/swarthmore-names-next-president</a>
Interestingly, it talks about how confidential the search was in order to be able to consider sitting presidents, provosts, etc. of other colleges & universities.</p>
<p>A more detailed article in the Phoenix:
<a href=“http://www.swarthmorephoenix.com/2009/02/26/news/swarthmore-names-next-president[/url]”>http://www.swarthmorephoenix.com/2009/02/26/news/swarthmore-names-next-president</a>
Interestingly, it talks about how confidential the search was in order to be able to consider sitting presidents, provosts, etc. of other colleges & universities.</p>