Six Women Faculty Members Who Have Been Appointed to Endowed Chairs at Swarthmore College

Swarthmore College, the highly rated liberal arts educational institution in Pennsylvania, has announced the appointments of seven faculty members to endowed chairs. Six of these appointments went to women.

Yvonne Chireau was named the Peggy Chan Professor of Black Studies. Dr. Chireau is the author of Black Magic: African American Religion and the Conjuring Tradition (University of California Press, 2003). Professor Chireau is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She earned a master’s degree at Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D. at Princeton University in New Jersey.

Kathleen Howard is the Edward Hicks Magill Professor of Mathematics & Natural Sciences and chair of the department of chemistry. Her lab focuses on the use of magnetic resonance spectroscopy to investigate the structural and dynamic properties of membrane-bound molecules. Professor Howard is a graduate of Princeton University and holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Yale University.

Ellen Magenheim was appointed to the Centennial Chair and Professor of Economics. She joined the faculty at the college in 1986 and was promoted to full professor in 2001. Dr. Magenheim is a graduate of the University of Rochester, where she majored in history. She holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland College Park.

Barbara Milewski is the Daniel Underhill Professor of Music. A Polish music specialist, she has conducted research on questions of national identity and memory in the music of Chopin and songs created in the Nazi concentration camps. Professor Milewski holds a Ph.D.  in music from Princeton University in New Jersey.

Lynne Molter was named the Henry C. and J. Archer Turner Professor of Engineering. Dr. Molter joined the faculty at Swarthmore College in 1987 and was promoted to full professor in 2002. She is an alumna of the college and earned bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and engineeering. She holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Tyrene White is the Richter Professor of Political Science. Her recent research has foucsed on the local political influence of Chinese nongovernmental organizations and on the use of litigation to improve the status of Chinese women. She is the author of China’s Longest Campaign: Birth Planning in the People’s Republic, 1949-2005 (Cornell University Press, 2006). Dr. White is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.