Dean of the College Valerie Smith will leave her position to become the president of Swarthmore College on July 1.
Swarthmore’s Board of Managers named Smith on Feb. 21 after unanimous agreement. She said she had been offered the position on Feb. 8 and accepted shortly thereafter.
She said will miss working with members of the University but is excited about the opportunity to lead Swarthmore.
“I have learned an enormous amount during my time here at Princeton, and I am very grateful for the experiences I have had here as a faculty member and as dean,” she said.“My values are aligned with Swarthmore's. I am eager to have the opportunity to lead a top-ranked liberal arts college that is committed to academic rigor, increasing the access and affordability of higher education for students whatever their circumstances and educating students for the common good.”
She joins Swarthmore as its first president of color and its second female president, as well as the 15th president in its history.Former Swarthmore president Rebecca Chopp left last year to become chancellor at the University of Denver.
Smith hasservedas Dean of the College since 2011. She first came to the University in 1980 to teach English and African-American Studies before moving to the University of California, Los Angeles in 1989, after which she returned to the University in 2001 as the director of the African-American Studies program.
During her time at the University, Smith chaired the Working Group on Undergraduate Socioeconomic Diversity, was involved with establishing modules for the University’s Freshman Scholars Institute and helped repeal the grade deflation policy.
Dean of the Faculty Deborah Prentice was selected by President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 to chair a search committee to appoint the next Dean of the College, according to a University press release.
Smith was enjoyable to work with, Provost David Lee GS ’99 said.
“We certainly will wish her well as she takes up her new duties at Swarthmore,” he said.
Vice President for Campus Life Cynthia Cherrey also recently announced her departure from the University. Cherrey is due to leave the University in August to head the International Leadership Association as president and chief executive officer. She also remains a defendant in a lawsuit about mental health procedures filed against the University.
The 2015-2016 operating budgetreport, written by thePriorities Committeeof the Council of the Princeton University Community, noted the University was facing a competitive labor market.
“TheUniversity continues to face significant competition for top talent,” thereportsaid. “The University continues to authorize higher salaries to recruit and retain talent.”
The previous operating budgetreportfor the 2014-2015 year voiced similar concerns.
“In this environment of aggressive recruitment, lagging salaries could make us vulnerable to losing our best talent to our peers,” the report read.
Smith received over $700,000 in “recruitment incentives” from 2011-2013, an October 2013 Daily Princetonian article reported.
The departures were rooted in personal considerations, said Daniel Day, acting director of communications.
“The departure of a dean or administrator from the University is part of the normal ebb and flow of higher education officials making career and personal choices,” he said. “For those same reasons, people leave other institutions and companies to come to Princeton.”
No connection exists between the Priorities Committee's recommendations and Cherrey and Smith’s impending departures, Day added.
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