Three Women Scholars Retire From the Faculty at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania

Swarthmore College, the highly rated liberal arts institution in suburban Philadelphia, has announced the retirement of six faculty members, with a combined 213 years of service to the college. Three of the retirees are women.

Deb Bergstrand, a professor of mathematics & statistics, joined the faculty of Swarthmore in 1999 after 14 years at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. A scholar of graph theory, Dr. Bergstrand received her bachelor’s degree from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania, in 1975 and her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1980.

Sara Hiebert Burch is the Edward Hicks Magill Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science. She joined the faculty in 1994. As an undergraduate, she spent two years on the Swarthmore campus as a study-abroad student. Dr. Hiebert Burch earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She went on to earn a Ph.D. at the University of Washington. An authority on hypometabolic states in small birds and mammals, Dr. Hiebert Burch taught courses on animal physiology and behavioral endocrinology.

Connie Hungerford is the Mari S. Michener Professor of Art History. An authority on 19th-century French painting, Dr. Hungerford joined the faculty in 1975. She has also served Swarthmore in administrative roles, including as provost from 2001 to 2011 and as interim president from 2014 to 2015. Professor Hungerford holds a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of Ernest Meissonier: Master in His Genre (Cambridge University Press, 1999).