collegeparent

Who is to replace her? Why is she leaving?

lydia08

Where'd you see that? I can't find anything about it online...

Nevermind, Swarthmore College's 14th President

Modadunn

Yikes. That's the same picture that is on Colgate's page! You'd think they might come up with their own picture!

Nothng on web site about new search yet

ticklemepink

*high pitched* what??? That can't be true!!!!

lydia08

Colgate's Chopp to become president of Swarthmore College - Colgate University News has a bit about the committee and search process.

This sucks - I really liked Becky Chopp. My first year, someone in the class of... '06(?) wrote a song called "Love Song For Chopp." Not sure how well that went over with the administration, but... I think most people on campus would agree she was pretty great.

Yeah, our library is in the background of the photo on the Swarthmore site. Come on.

MADad

What's the buzz on campus? D came very close to enrolling at Colgate 2 yrs ago, and we remember they're being some controversy over Pres. Chopp. Some loved what she was doing re: improving the 'party school' reputation of the school (getting frats under control, etc.). Yet there seems to be a group of older alumni (who sponsored an anti-Chopp website and advertised it on a billboard just outside of campus) who wanted to go back to the "good old days".

At a breakfast with the president, she was asked about the billboard and we thought, gave a very thoughtful answer.

jrpar

MADad, those older alumni are a small marginal group, and really not a factor on campus at all. My guess is that the Swarthmore opportunity was just too good to pass up. I think President Chopp and Swarthmore are a great match.

pinkfeather

The real issue is how will this change Colgate policies under a new administration, especially decision to maintain or reduce financial aid etc....

gellino

What was the gist of her answer?

interesteddad

Jrpar:

I've had a chance to glance back through the archives of the Colgate paper and read some of Chopp's articles, interviews, and stories. I am inclined to agree with you. I'm impressed by the way she handled the students marching on her office with "demands" about the fraternity house transactions. She seems to have come through that whole emotionally-charged process with high marks at Colgate, which is amazing. I think they took more hide off Al Bloom's back for dropping football at Swarthmore.

I was impressed by her response to a racial graffitti incident in a dorm -- immediately lining up the whole parade of administration officials including herself for large campus meeting to make clear that was unacceptable behavior from the finest young adults in America. There appears to be a theme of giving responsibility to students and expecting responsibility in return that will play well at Swarthmore and, that I think, is a really effective approach with college students.

The weekly open-door office hours, the regular columns in the paper: that stuff will play very well among the students at Swarthmore as I'm sure it did at Colgate.

BTW, to answer those who are asking "why"? Good fit, four times the per student endowment, and college presidents really don't stay more than 10 years in today's hyper fund-raising environment. So once they get to seven years, it's hard to turn down a great offer.

I'm pretty sure that nobody at Swarthmore knew who the candidates were. They managed to keep it pretty secret. My alum daughter travels in pretty well-connected Swarthmore circles and she hadn't heard a peep. I doubt if anyone at Colgate knew, except the people Chopp would have had to have advised at some point.

It's the same situation as Williams losing Morty Schapiro to Northwestern. He wasn't looking except in the vague sense that he knew he'd want to move on in a few years -- before his second capital campaign. The Northwestern job fell in his lap.

It's kind of the downside of the modern fundraising president. The Pres. can only reach the same hand into the same alums' pockets so many times before you need a new schmoozer in chief with new ways of describing the grand educational vision.

MADad

gellino--

She answered very diplomatically, stating that there is always somebody who doesn't agrree with everthing one does, and that they had a right to their opinions. Didn't hide from the question, didn't put her critics down. Took the high road.

nidachti

"It's the same situation as Williams losing Morty Schapiro to Northwestern. He wasn't looking except in the vague sense that he knew he'd want to move on in a few years -- before his second capital campaign. The Northwestern job fell in his lap."

I don't see this move at all... unless Chopp was unhappy at Colgate, or the board is unhappy with her. Swarthmore simply isn't really a step up in any real sense. It may be somewhat more highly regarded academically, but it's smaller. The job isn't going to be that much different. The same cannot be said of the switch Morty Schapiro is making. Mr. Schapiro is moving from a small liberal arts college to a major university with world class graduate programs. The new job is clearly more demanding and important.

So does anyone have the inside scoop on why Ms. Chopp is leaving?

interesteddad

Double the endowment and four times the "per student endowment" qualifies as real. It's one of the top four liberal arts college jobs in the country along with Pomona, Amherst, and Williams. When you factor location into the mix (college presidents are people, too), Swarthmore is very attractive (as is Pomona).

If it helps, Swarthmore hired Dartmouth's Dean of Students two years ago in a lateral move for the same position. Location and quality of life had a lot to do with his decision.

bluebayou

I-dad is correct.

1) In the halls of academe, it's expected that a Prez will only be there 7-10 years. (Don't ask why)
2) Top candidates like to be challenged, and moving to a new school, even another LAC, will present new challenges.
3) Time to go pick the pockets of whole new group of alum/funders (as I-dad notes).
4) Perhaps time for a change in scenery, and the chance to hang with the good folks at Haverford and Penn, not to mention the other great colleges in Philly.

interesteddad

Hey, what do you guys at Colgate think? I mean, certainly, the whole buyout of the frat houses and the Broad Street initiative is the kind of thing that could cause irreparable harm between the Pres. and the alumni. But, in reading the bits and pieces about that whole thing, it sounds like Chopp got high marks for navigating a sticky challenge.

Swarthmore's board members have been going on and on about the praise from everyone they talked to about Chopp. I mean, of course, they would, but this is the way the chair of the search committee described what they were hearing:

As for whether there was something about Colgate that influenced her decision? That's something that nobody would ever hear from someone like Dr. Chopp, outside of her husband maybe. If that had been the case, I think she would have made a move long before seven years, so I would be quite surprised.

The seven to ten year thing is just one full cycle of a strategic plan and matching capital campaign. Presidents used to stick around for two cycles, but the job is now so much fund raising and glad handing that it's just very hard to gear up for another cycle with the exhuberance of the first time around. They've all heard your best spiel, your best jokes, your heart-warming stories.