On warm spring days, students strolling along Parrish Walk might think the “greatest show on earth” has come to campus. But the performers are not from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. They’re Swat Circus members, gathering weekly to practice everything from juggling to balancing on a rolla bolla board. Or they could tightrope walk [...]
June 2 dawned brilliantly blue as 374 seniors moved in a serpentine line along Parrish Walk and into the secluded, woodsy setting for their rite of passage. Some students had decorated their caps: bright yellow daisies; “2013” in shiny, red studs; and unable to relinquish academics quite yet, stacks of books. After inspiring speeches by [...]
As Swarthmore College celebrates its 150th anniversary, there will be no shortage of meaningful events to herald the occasion. In December, the College will kick off more than a year of events with publication of Swarthmore College—A Community of Purpose. In January 2014, all alumni will be mailed a copy of the book, which charts [...]
This spring, a flurry of complaints by college students across the nation contended that, with respect to sexual assault policies and practices, their schools are in violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. They also filed [...]
In his Political Theory class, Ben Berger, associate professor of political science, likes to illuminate the themes of philosophical texts by pairing them with five modern films. Movies, he believes, are a familiar art form that can provide comfortable entry points to complex philosophical discussion.
This spring, Berger further enriched his course by enlisting Philadelphia-area screenwriters, [...]
That Swarthmore College was an early proponent of peace and conflict studies should come as no surprise to those familiar with the College’s dedication to Quaker values. However, the recent discovery of an article published 125 years ago indicates the College was the first college or university to offer an actual peace-studies course.
Lee Smithey, associate [...]
What in the world can actor Robert de Niro, writer Annie Dillard, actress Sally Field, senator and astronaut John Glenn, singer/songwriter Bruce Springsteen, and folk singer Pete Seeger possibly have in common with Swarthmore’s Alexander Aleinikoff ’74, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot ’66, Jed Rakoff ’64, and Phyllis Wise ’67?
Until quite recently, probably little to nothing. However, when [...]
In May, several alumni were appointed to the College’s Board of Managers.
There are five new term managers. S. Leslie Jewett ’77 is chief financial officer of California First National Bancorp, president and director at California First National Bank. June Rothmann Scott ’61 is a recently retired professor and chair of the microbiology and immunology department at [...]
John Boccio
Professor of Physics
Year he came to Swarthmore: 1967
Area of expertise: aspects of fundamental quantum theory, computational simulation of galaxy-galaxy collisions
In 46 years at the College, John Boccio has taught courses on, among other topics, quantum theory and chaos, fractals, complexity, self-organization, and emergence. His spring 2013 semester course, In Search of Reality, examined the [...]
Seventeen years after capping one of the most remarkable careers in Swarthmore athletics history, Skye Fulkerson Tarr ’96 is still making waves—this time in the art studio, not the swimming pool.
While on the Swarthmore swim team, Tarr, who specialized in the breast stroke, became one of the College’s most decorated female student-athletes, earning six All-America [...]
