Following seven months of service as acting president, Jean Parvin Bordewich has been officially named the eleventh president of Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina. Her appointment is effective for two years, during which she will focus on stabilizing Guilford’s finances and maintaining accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
According to the Department of Education’s most recent data, Guilford College enrolls over 1,100 undergraduate students, 52 percent of whom are women. The liberal arts institution also has a small graduate population of roughly 50 students.
During her tenure as acting president, Bordewich oversaw a successful fundraising campaign that raised $6 million, exceeding its goal of $5 million. Bordewich stepped into the role after serving as chair of Guilford’s board of trustees. Her professional background includes senior staff positions with several members of the U.S. Congress. She has also served as staff director of the U.S. Senate Rules Committee, as well as the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
Additionally, Bordewich is a playwright, whose work focuses on the moral choices of public figures at pivotal moments in history. Her most recent work, Electionland, is about the contested 1876 presidential election. The play debuted in 2024 at the President Rutherford B. Hayes historic site and was featured in a reading in the U.S. Senate.
“I never imagined this culmination of my education, professional career and volunteer service,” said Bordewich. “But it’s full circle for me. Guilford teaches that fulfillment comes from developing one’s full being and applying that to a purpose that meets the world’s needs. The world needs Guilford now, and I am eager to lead this unique community for the next two years.”
Bordewich began her undergraduate education at Guilford, before transferring to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, to complete her bachelor’s degree in classics. She later earned an MBA from George Washington University.