Updated 12:15p
Kenosha---A southerner who impressed the search committee as being a "scholar-teacher" with strong communications skills will become the next president of Carthage College.
John Swallow currently serves as executive vice-president and provost of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., a small liberal arts school that's owned by the Episcopal Church. Swallow received an undergraduate degree from the same school after having enrolled there at the age 15, according to a news release from Carthage.
Swallow will replace Gregory Woodward, who's returning to the eastern U.S. after having served as Carthage's president for the past five years.
After obtaining his undergraduate degree, Swallow went on to earn two masters degrees and a PH.D in math, all from Yale University. He joined the faculty at Davidson College in North Carolina, where he spent 17 years, including ten in an interdisciplinary humanities program.
Aaron Trautwein, a Carthage professor who served on the school's search committee, says Swallow's strong analytical and communication skills are what impressed him the most. "He has a very authentic voice," Trautwein said in a Carthage news release. "He sees the world through many lenses. It's really powerful to have someone who can do that."
Swallow is quoted as saying that he was immediately drawn to Carthage by its "long-standing excellence and profound momentum."
Carthage is currently enjoying record enrollment and 30 straight years of operating surpluses. It's invested $200 million in campus infrastructure since 1999.
“I am proud to welcome John Swallow to Carthage as our next president,” said David A. Straz Jr., chairman of Carthage's board. “The breadth and caliber of his distinguished career at prestigious liberal arts colleges has prepared him for this outstanding opportunity.”
Swallow's wife, Cameron, is a high school math and English teacher. The couple has two children in college.
Swallow plans to start at Carthage July 1.
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