Dean of Students Liz Braun announced today that Dion Lewis will join Swarthmore College on Dec. 1 as the new dean of the junior class and director of the Black Cultural Center (BCC). Lewis is currently an assistant dean in the Office of African American Affairs and director of the Luther P. Jackson Black Cultural Center at the University of Virginia.

"Dion brings a wealth of experience and knowledge related to student development and support in the context of cultural centers,” Braun says. “He is widely known as someone who supports and empowers students as an advisor and mentor. Faculty, staff, and students all reflected on his ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with all constituencies."

"Dion's sense of humor makes him easy to connect with," says Sedinam Worlanyo '17, a member of the search committee from Accra, Ghana. “Additionally, his confidence and wealth of administrative experience make me confident that he will not only be a strong student advocate but also an effective administrator in the BCC."

In addition to his work at UVA, Lewis previously served as the assistant director of the Paul Robeson Center at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He earned his B.A. in sociology and his M.Ed. in social and philosophical foundations of education from Rutgers University. Lewis is currently completing his Ed.D. at the University of Virginia with a dissertation that focuses on examining the impact that co-curricular engagement has on identity development for Black male undergraduate students.

"I am excited about becoming a member of the Swarthmore College community,” Lewis says. “During my campus visit, I was impressed with the level of thoughtfulness and conversations I had with students and potential colleagues. It is my hope to continue the tradition of excellence at Swarthmore while maintaining collaborative relationships with a variety of internal and external members of the college community."