Five faculty members were recently named to endowed professorships:

Sara Hiebert Burch

was appointed the Edward Hicks Magill Professorship of Mathematics and Natural Science, which was created in 1888 largely by contributions of interested friends of Edward Magill, president of the College from 1872 to 1889, and a bequest from John M. George. A professor of biology, Burch is an animal physiologist with a special interest in the metabolic regulation of hibernation-like states. She also studies stress response and environmental regulation of diet preferences. Her animals of interest are hummingbirds, bowerbirds, and hamsters. Additionally, she is a productive scholar and the author or co-author of more than 30 publications, many with student collaborators. At Swarthmore, Burch has supervised research experiences for more than 40 Swarthmore students.  

Frank Durgin

was appointed to the Elizabeth and Sumner Hayward Professorship, which was founded by Priscilla Hayward Crago ’53 in memory of her parents. A professor of psychology, Durgin specializes in space perception, visual attention, metaphor processing and interpretation, and cognitive and social factors in perception experiments. A prolific researcher, he is the author or co-author of more than 65 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. Durgin is currently the associate editor of Attention Perception and Psychophycics.

​Sibelan Forrester

was appointed the Susan W. Lippincott Professorship of Modern and Classical Languages, which was established in 1911 through a bequest from Susan Lippincott, a member of the Board of Managers, a contribution from her niece, Caroline Lippincott, Class of 1881, and gifts from other family members. A professor of Russian in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Forrester is a literary scholar, translator, and poet with a special interest in folklore, women’s poetry, and translation. She has co-edited four volumes on Slavic literature and Russian culture and is the author of more than 30 articles and book chapters in English and Russian. Forrester has also translated eight books from Russian to English, along with more than 40 stories, poetry collections, and articles. Additionally, she is a published poet and fiction writer.

Ann Renninger

was appointed to the Dorwin P. Cartwright Professorship in Social Theory and Social Justice, which was created in 1993 by Barbara Weiss Cartwright ’37 to honor her husband and is awarded to a full professor who has contributed to and has the promise of continuing major contributions to the understanding of how social theory can be brought to bear on creating a more humane and ethically responsible society. A professor of educational studies, Renninger specializes in student learning, engagement, and motivation, especially in the science and mathematics classroom as it applies to real life situations. She is the author of two books and the editor or co-editor of 13 edited volumes and more than 75 articles and book chapters.

Amy Cheng Vollmer

was appointed to the Isaac H. Clothier Jr. Professorship of Biology, which was established by Isaac Clothier as a tribute of gratitude and esteem to Dr. Spencer Trotter, a professor of biology from 1888-1926. Vollmer specializes in microbiology and immunology, especially the bacterial response to stress and environmental challenge. She is the author or co-author of 40 articles, book chapters, or reviews, and more than 50 peer-reviewed abstracts. At Swarthmore, she has supervised more than 75 students in research projects in her lab.