Four Women Appointed to Endowed Chairs at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania

Swarthmore College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution in suburban Philadelphia, has announced the appointment of five faculty members to endowed professorships. Four of the five appointments went to women.

Sara Hiebert Burch was appointed to the Edward Hicks Magill Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. She is an expert in animal physiology and conducts research on hibernation. Professor Burch is a graduate of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She holds a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Washington.

Sibelan Forrester was appointed to the Susan W. Lippincott Professorship of Modern and Classical Languages. She is a professor of Russian and focuses on folklore and women’s poetry. She has translated eight books from Russian to English. Dr. Forrester joined the faculty at Swarthmore in 1994 after teaching at Oberlin College in Ohio. She is a summa cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Russian literature from Indiana University.

Ann Renninger was named to the Dorwin P. Cartwright Professorship in Social Theory and Social Justice. A professor of educational studies, Dr. Renninger’s research is focused on student learning, engagement, and motivation, particularly in science and mathematics classrooms. She is the co-author of The Power of Interest for Motivation and Engagement (Routledge, 2015).

Amy Cheng Vollmer is the new holder of the Isaac H. Clothier Jr. Professorship of Biology. Professor Vollmer’s research is focused on microbiology and immunology, particularly the bacterial response to stress. Professor Vollmer joined the faculty at Swarthmore in 1992 after teaching at Mills College in Oakland, California. She is a graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas, and earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Illinois.