Dear Friends,

I write with mixed emotions to share the news that Pamela Prescod-Caesar will be leaving her position as Vice President for Human Resources. Her last day at the College will be Wednesday, Oct. 14.

Pamela came to Swarthmore in 2012, and since then she has consistently worked to support and empower staff and faculty. Under her leadership, Human Resources significantly expanded and strengthened the learning, development, health and wellness, and diversity and inclusion programming and resources available to our faculty and staff.

Pamela was instrumental in reimagining efforts to remodel the College’s compensation and benefits programs and streamline the College’s benefits administration processes. She did so while focusing on the needs and interests of faculty and staff, establishing avenues for conversation and collaboration to ensure the College’s benefits offerings are meaningful, flexible, and reflective of the needs of our community members. 

Throughout her time at the College, Pamela has also prioritized bringing awareness to the accomplishments of all our faculty and staff members, and she has been a devoted advocate for and mentor to her team. From our festive Winter and Spring Gatherings, to our many successful blood drives, to our annual Season of Kindness, under her leadership Human Resources has celebrated and honored the wide-ranging talents and extraordinary generosity of our community. 

Later this semester I will announce the formation of a selection committee that will be charged with searching for and identifying Pamela’s successor. In the meantime, Catherine Geddis, retired vice president of human resources at Barnard College, will serve as interim vice president, effective Sept. 29, 2020. Catherine brings to Swarthmore a wealth of experience in higher education human resources. She holds a BA in classics from Montclair State University and an MLS from Rutgers. I know her from our time together at Princeton, where she served in multiple roles within human resources from 2000-2012, including as Princeton’s director of human resources services. She was recruited from Princeton to Barnard College where she served as assistant vice president for human resources until she earned a promotion to vice president in 2015. She retired in June of this year. I am confident that the depth and breadth of Catherine’s experience will be valuable assets to Swarthmore during this period of transition. 

I’m sorry that the pandemic will prevent us from celebrating Pamela’s tenure in person. I hope you will join me in thanking her for her leadership and her innumerable contributions to the Swarthmore community during her eight years here and in wishing her the best in her future endeavors. 

Sincerely,

Val Smith
President