Carthage College has named The University of the South provost John Swallow as its 23rd president.
Swallow said he was drawn to the Kenosha liberal arts institution because of its “long-standing excellence and profound momentum.”
“Carthage’s deep heritage, exceptional faculty and staff, and state-of-the-art facilities are a special and rare combination, and the opportunity to lead Carthage to become ever stronger was truly captivating,” he said.
Swallow is leaving his alma matter, commonly known as Sewanee, for the Tennessee community in which it is located. He follows Gregory Woodward, who is leaving at the end of the school year after five years to become president of the University of Hartford in his Connecticut hometown.
“I am proud to welcome John Swallow to Carthage as our next president,” said David A. Straz, Jr., chairman of the board at Carthage. “The breadth and caliber of his distinguished career at prestigious liberal arts colleges has prepared him for this outstanding opportunity.”
Swallow graduated from Swanee in 1989 after enrolling at the age of 15. He later earned two master’s degrees and a Ph.D in mathematics from Yale University. He started a 17-year run on the faculty at Davidson College in North Carolina in 1994.
Aaron Trautwein, a Carthage professor on the presidential search committee, praised Swallow’s interest in both the sciences and the humanities.
“He has a very authentic voice,” Trautwein said. “He sees the world through many lenses. It’s really powerful to have someone who can do that.”
Swallow’s wife, Cameron, is a high school math and English teacher. The couple have two children in college.
Swallow said he was attracted to the similarities between Swanee and Carthage, Kensoha’s size and the chance to move closer to relatives in the Chicago area.
“Cameron and I are thrilled to join the Carthage community,” Swallow said. “The Carthaginians we met demonstrated such a genuine welcome, and such a deep commitment to transforming the lives of students, that we knew we had found the right place for us for many years to come. We simply can’t wait to get started.”
He will become president on July 1.
