The task of writing about Commencment and the events surrounding it has always been a bonus of my job—a chance to honor and applaud the students who have taken on the rigors of a Swarthmore education; to cheer for the faculty members who have supported them; and to acknowledge former students who return as models [...]
Tom Kramer '65, P'10 reads his original poem as images from this year's Commencement play in the background.
Tom Uttech
Exhibition: Nov. 1 to Dec. 15
List Gallery, Lang Performing Arts Center (LPAC)
Tom Uttech’s vibrant paintings portray woodlands teeming with the wildlife he observes in northern Wisconsin and Quetico Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Blending close observation and memory with visionary invention, he evokes liminal states—moments infused with heightened awareness, drama, and imminent transformation.
Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion
Performance: [...]
A mind-blowing cornucopia of intellectual stimulation—under the auspices of the well-known TED talk conferences—swept into campus March 31. TEDxSwarthmore brought a dozen speakers, including President Rebecca Chopp, six Swarthmore professors, three alumni, one parent, and one student together to offer different perspectives on the complex question “What Makes a Good Society?”
TED is known for its [...]
Seventeen straight years during which one or more brothers wore Garnet and White jerseys was just the beginning for the “first family” of Swarthmore athletics. The six Selverian brothers from South Jersey—Rich ’84, Jeff ’86, Mark ’89, Greg ’91, Art ’93, and Kurk ’97—fueled some of the most decorated football teams in the history of [...]
At the Board’s annual meeting in May, five managers were appointed to replace those cycling off the Board.
Delvin Dinkins ’93 is the director of assessment and accountability for the Tredyffrin-Easttown School District in Berwyn, Pa., and served on the Swarthmore Alumni Council from 2006 to 2011.
Marilyn Holifield ’69 is a partner at Holland & Knight [...]
Lillian Li
Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Professor of History
Year She Came to Swarthmore: 1974
Areas of Expertise: Chinese economic history; food and famine in China, Africa, and Europe; Japanese history and culture; and The Silk Road.
Lillian Li’s tenure at the College has been full of firsts. She pioneered the school’s Asian history program, the first-ever professor hired [...]
Connecting to a tragic event that occurred late in the spring semester, Chairman of the Board Gil Kemp ’72 invoked a moment of silence during Commencement, May 27, to honor Ravi Thackurdeen ’14, whose dynamic life ended while studying abroad in Costa Rica. Ravi had been reported missing on April 29 after being pulled out [...]
Graduation Day dawned sweltering and sticky, but the robe-clad seniors remained undaunted, as did their fans. Cheering College staff members lined Parrish Walk, scrutinizing the stream of 369 graduates, trying to spot those with whom they’d developed special relationships.
With caps bobbing, gowns swaying, each adorned with a splendid bloom from the Dean Bond Rose Garden, [...]
New Basketball Coach on Board
Landry Kosmalski, an assistant coach at Division I Davidson College, was named the head men’s basketball coach. A 2000 Davidson graduate, Kosmalski was an assistant coach at his alma mater from 2004 to ’06 and 2009 to ’12. Kosmalski helped lead the Wildcats to two Southern Conference championships and NCAA tournament [...]
