2010-11 Planning Process – Committees and Working Groups

Strategic Planning Council
Steering Committee
Mission, Values, and Goals
Knowledge, Teaching, and Learning
Admissions, Access, and Affordability
Alumni Engagement and Development
Strategic Planning Council
Swarthmore’s planning process will be fundamentally guided by a commitment to the College’s core mission and values as well as a commitment to financial sustainability in this challenging environment. The Strategic Planning Council will help ensure that the process remains consistent with that intention. In particular, the Council will solicit feedback from various constituents, oversee communications efforts and, ultimately, develop and recommend a plan to the Board of Managers.
Council Members 2010–2011
  • Lisa Bao ’14
  • Stephen Bayer, vice president for development and alumni relations
  • Jim Bock ’90, dean of admissions and financial aid
  • Elizabeth Braun, dean of students
  • Timothy Burke, professor of history
  • Garikai Campbell ’90, associate vice president for planning
  • Mark Chin ’12
  • Rebecca Chopp, president
  • Reed Coke ’13
  • Bernadette Dunning, administrative coordinator, music and dance
  • Maurice Eldridge ’61, vice president for college and community relations and executive assistant to the president
  • Stu Hain, vice president for facilities and services
  • Constance Hungerford, provost
  • Eric Jensen, associate professor of astronomy
  • Koof Kalkstein ’78, member of the Board of Managers
  • Gil Kemp ’72, member of the Board of Managers, Council Chair
  • Sabrina Martinez ’92, president of the alumni council
  • Barbara Mather ’65, chairperson of the Board of Managers
  • Nancy Nicely, vice president for communications and public relations
  • Christopher Niemczewski ’74, member of the Board of Managers
  • Stephen O’Connell, professor of economics
  • Robin Shores, director of institutional research
  • Thomas Spock ’78, member of the Board of Managers
  • Thomas Stephenson, professor of chemistry and biochemistry
  • Suzanne Welsh, vice president for finance and treasurer
  • Patricia White, professor of film and media studies
  • Melanie Young, vice president for human resources
  • Rafael Zapata, assistant dean and director of the Intercultural Center
Steering Committee
The Steering Committee is responsible for overseeing the progress of the four working groups and will develop a financial plan to execute the proposals that emerge from the working groups. We expect working groups to link to the steering committee both by sharing membership but also through a process of regularly reporting strategic recommendations and their financial implications.
Committee Members
  • Elizabeth Braun, dean of students
  • Timothy Burke, professor of history
  • Garikai Campbell ’90, associate vice president for planning
  • Rebecca Chopp, president
  • Constance Hungerford, provost
  • Eric Jensen, associate professor of astronomy
  • Koof Kalkstein ’78, member of the Board of Managers
  • Gil Kemp ’72, member of the Board of Managers, Steering Committee Chair
  • Barbara Mather ’65, chairperson of the Board of Managers
  • Nancy Nicely, vice president for communications and public relations
  • Stephen O’Connell, professor of economics
  • Robin Shores, director of institutional research
  • Thomas Spock ’78, member of the Board of Managers
  • Suzanne Welsh, vice president for finance and treasurer
  • Patricia White, professor of film and media studies
The Evolving Mission, Values, and Goals of a
Swarthmore Education Working Group
Throughout its long history, Swarthmore has always evolved in ways that assured its readiness to educate its extraordinary students with the kind of intellectual rigor in a supportive social and cultural setting that prepared them for fulfilling roles in the world. The charge for The Evolving Mission, Values, and Goals of a Swarthmore College Education Working Group is to extend that tradition through discussion, analysis, and clarification of the College’s mission and values and in relation to the needs of current and future students. The working group will work to sharpen and highlight the goals of a 21st century Swarthmore liberal arts education in order to identify and articulate the academic and extracurricular experiences and opportunities our students will require to meet these goals.
Working Group Members
  • Diane Downer Anderson, associate dean of academic affairs and associate professor of educational studies
  • Dulany Ogden Bennett ’66, member of the Board of Managers
  • H. Elizabeth Braun, dean of students, Co-Convenor
  • Michael Brown, professor of physics
  • Emily Bryant ’12
  • Garikai Campbell ’90, associate vice president for planning and associate professor of mathematics
  • Joy Charlton, director of the Eugene M. Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility and professor of sociology
  • Rhonda Resnick Cohen ’76, member of the Board of Managers
  • Reed Coke ’13
  • Janet Smith Dickerson H’92, member of the Board of Managers
  • Maurice Eldridge ’61, vice president for community and college relations and executive assistant to the president, Co-Convenor
  • C. Stuart Hain, vice president for facilities and services
  • Adam Hertz, Marian Ware Director of Physical Education and Athletics
  • Koof Kalkstein ’78, member of the Board of Managers, Chair
  • Ellen Magenheim, professor of economics
  • Eileen Petula, assistant vice president for finance and controller
  • Robin Shores, director of institutional research
  • Craig Williamson, Alfred H. and Peggi Bloom Professor of English Literature, coordinator of the Honors Program, and coordinator of Medieval Studies
  • Rafael Zapata, assistant dean and director of the Intercultural Center
Leadership/Life Skills Subgroup
  • Koof Kalkstein (convenor)
  • Joy Charlton
  • Reed Coke ’13
  • Michael Brown
  • Rhonda Resnick Cohen ’76
Community Subgroup
  • Maurice Eldridge (convener)
  • Dulany Ogden Bennet ’66
  • Rafael Zapata
  • Craig Williamson
  • Stu Hain
Balance and Resilience Subgroup
  • Elizabeth Braun (convenor)
  • Janet Dickerson H’92
  • Emily Bryant ’12
  • Adam Hertz
  • Ellen Magenheim
  • Eileen Petula
The Future of Knowledge and the Ways in Which Knowledge
Is Taught and Learned Working Group

Knowledge is expanding at an accelerating pace; interdisciplinary inquiry and collaboration, along with problem-based research, are dramatically expanding the frontiers of our understanding; and technology has forever changed cognition, learning, and knowledge itself. The realities of this landscape will challenge the Knowledge, Teaching, and Learning Working Group to investigate such questions as: How should our academic program be designed to address knowledge in the 21st century? What knowledge and skills do we need to provide our students to enable them to contribute meaningfully to an increasingly global society? How do we best teach the extraordinary students who will come to Swarthmore, richly diverse in their cultural perspectives, learning styles and academic experiences?
Working Group Members
  • Lisa Bao ’14
  • Gayle Barton, chief information technology officer
  • Tim Burke, professor of history
  • Garikai Campbell ’90, associate vice president for planning and associate professor of mathematics
  • Constance Hungerford, provostand Mari. S. Michener Professor of Art History, Convenor
  • Eric Jensen, associate professor of astronomy
  • Jacob Krich ’00, member of the Board of Managers
  • Bennett Lorber ’64, member of the Board of Managers
  • Barbara Mather ’65, chairperson of the Board of Managers, Chair
  • Stephen O’Connell, professor of economics
  • Adam Rosenberg ’12
  • Peggy Seiden, College librarian
  • Robin Shores, director of institutional research
  • Lisa Smulyan ’76, associate provost and professor of educational studies
  • Thomas Stephenson, provost designate and James H. Hammons Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • Will Treece ’11
  • Suzanne Welsh, vice president for finance and treasurer
  • Patricia White, professor and coordinator of film and media studies
Pedagogy Subgroup
  • Lisa Bao ’14
  • Stephen O’Connell
  • Will Treece ’11
  • Lisa Smulyan
  • Gayle Barton
Competencies Subgroup
  • Tim Burke
  • Barbara Mather
  • Jacob Krich ’00
  • Peggy Seiden
  • Garikai Campbell ’90
Faculty-Student Connections/A Culture of Expanding Knowledge Subgroup
  • Adam Rosenberg ’12
  • Patricia White
  • Eric Jensen
Faculty Subgroup
  • Constance Hungerford
  • Bennett Lorber ’64
  • Ellen Magenheim
  • Rich Wicentowski
  • Sibelan Forrester
  • Garikai Campbell ’90
Admissions, Access, and Affordability Working Group
The most important decisions that Swarthmore makes, together with the hiring and tenuring of faculty, are in admissions, financial aid, and tuition policies. The special nature of the Swarthmore experience depends on both the quality of the faculty and the quality of the students and the interactions among them. The charge of the Admissions, Access, and Affordability Working Group is to explore questions such as: Who should Swarthmore recruit and admit given our mission to challenge, educate, and shape world citizens and future leaders? What attributes support a student’s ability to thrive at Swarthmore? How does that inform whom we recruit and admit and how we construct the composition of the class as a whole? How do we use our financial aid and tuition policies most effectively to ensure access and affordability for the students we seek? How should we balance the costs of those policies with the costs of maintaining the highest quality program in a way that is both financially sustainable and consistent with our values?
Working Group Members
  • Jim Bock ’90, dean of admissions and financial aid, Co-Convenor
  • Garikai Campbell ’90, associate vice president for planning and associate professor of mathematics
  • Mark Chin ’12
  • Bernadette Dunning, administrative coordinator, Music and Dance Department
  • Cheryl Grood, associate professor of mathematics
  • Mark Kuperberg, professor of economics
  • Alex McClung, assistant director of institutional research
  • Barbara Milewski, associate professor of music
  • Christopher Niemczewski ’74, member of the Board of Managers
  • Eileen Petula, assistant vice president for finance and controller
  • Salem Shuchman ’84, member of the Board of Managers
  • Darryl Smaw, associate dean for multicultural affairs
  • Thomas Spock ’78, member of the Board of Managers, Chair
  • Sonja Spoo ’13
  • Thomas Stephenson, provost designate and James H. Hammons Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry
  • Laura Talbot, director of financial aid
  • Danielle Toaltoan ’07, member of the Board of Managers
  • Joseph Turner ’73, member of the Board of Managers
  • Suzanne Welsh, vice president for finance and treasurer, Co-Convenor
Alumni Engagement and Development Working Group
Swarthmore alumni express deep appreciation for the education they received and pride in the rigor, depth and richness of their educational experience. Many are eager to be engaged with the school, both in support of future generations of students and also to continue, in new ways, the deep learning experiences they enjoyed as students themselves. The Alumni Engagement and Development Working Group will consider how best to nurture such engagement. We will also examine strategies to better understand our community’s philanthropic perspectives, habits, and preferences and review best practices for fundraising initiatives. We will consider new possibilities for fostering the College’s relationship with Swarthmore alumni and parents as community members and as donors.
Working Group Members

Alumni Engagement Task Force

  • Jenny Bailin ’80, member of the Board of Managers
  • Richard Barasch ’76, member of the Board of Managers
  • Tiffany Barron ’13
  • Stephen Bayer, vice president for development and alumni relations, Co-Convenor
  • Eric Behrens ’92, associate chief information technology officer
  • Karen Borbee, professor of physical education
  • Nancy Burkett, director of career services
  • Garikai Campbell ’90, associate vice president for planning and associate professor of mathematics
  • Susan Clarey, director of advancement communications
  • Don Cooney, director of development
  • Maurice Eldridge ’61, vice president for college and community relations and executive assistant to the president
  • Alisa Giardinelli, associate director of news and information
  • Gil Kemp ’72, member of the Board of Managers
  • Thomas Laux ’14
  • Lisa Lee ’81, director of alumni relations
  • Susan Levine ’78, member of the Board of Managers
  • Sabrina Martinez ’92, president of the alumni council, Chair
  • Jorge Munoz ’84, member of the Board of Managers
  • Nancy Nicely, vice president for communications and public relations, Co-Convenor
  • Robin Shapiro ’78, member of the Board of Managers
  • Robin Shores, director of institutional advancement
  • Martha Spanninger ’76, member of the Board of Managers
  • Rick Valelly ’75, Claude C. Smith ’14 Professor of Political Science
  • Philip Weinstein, Alexander Griswold Cummins Professor of English Literature
  • Myrt Westphal, associate dean for student life
  • Melanie Young, vice president for human resources

Development Task Force

  • Richard Barasch ’76, member of the Board of Managers
  • Stephen Bayer, vice president for development and alumni relations, Co-Convenor
  • Nancy Burkett, director of career services
  • Garikai Campbell ’90, associate vice president for planning
  • Don Cooney, director of development
  • Gil Kemp ’72, member of the Board of Managers, Chair
  • Lisa Lee ’81, director of alumni relations
  • Thomas Laux ’14
  • Nancy Nicely, vice president for communications and public relations, Co-Convenor
  • Robin Shapiro ’78, member of the Board of Managers
  • Robin Shores, director of institutional research
  • Rick Valelly ’75, professor of political science
  • Myrt Westphal, associate dean for student life
  • Melanie Young, vice president for human resources
Social Media Subgroup
  • Lisa Lee ’81 (co-convenor)
  • Nancy Nicely (co-convenor)
  • Stephen Bayer
  • Eric Behrens ’92
  • Susan Clarey
  • Alisa Giardinelli
  • Susan Levine ’78
  • Joel Johnson ’96
  • Marjan Chittaee ’05
  • Erica Sands ’13
  • Fritz Ward
Knowledge Network Subgroup
  • Eric Behrens (convenor)
  • Phil Weinstein
  • Tiffany Barron
  • Garikai Campbell ’09
  • Jorge Munoz ’84
  • Martha Spanninger ’76
Administrative Support Subgroup
  • Garikai Campbell ’90 (convenor)
  • Maurice Eldridge ’61
  • Karen Borbee
  • Jenny Hourihan
  • Nancy Burkett
  • Sabrina Martinez ’92