Janet Morgan Riggs (born c. 1955) is an American

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

and academic administrator. She served as the 14th

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of Gettysburg College from 2009 to 2019. Riggs, a member of the Gettysburg College class of 1977, has held several positions at the college, including

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of psychology, interim provost, provost, executive assistant to the president, and interim president.

Education

While at Gettysburg College, Riggs became a sister of

Chi Omega Chi Omega (, also known as ChiO) is a women's fraternity and a member of the National Panhellenic Conference, the umbrella organization of 26 women's fraternities. Chi Omega has 181 active collegiate chapters and approximately 240 alumnae chapte ...

. She completed a double major in

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

because she thought the heavy emphasis on

statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...

would help her get into graduate school. She worked as a research assistant for the psychology department during the summer and did independent study in her senior year. In 1977, she received her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree, graduating summa cum laude. Riggs met her eventual husband, Ed Riggs, at Gettysburg College during her freshman year, 1973. Riggs graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

with an M.A. and Ph.D. in

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...

. In her final year at Princeton, Riggs was actively pursued by Gettysburg College to take a one-year position in the psychology department.

Career

After receiving her degrees from Princeton, Riggs accepted a position at Gettysburg College as an instructor of psychology. She was promoted to the position of professor of psychology and eventually served as chair of the psychology department. During her time in the psychology department, Riggs taught courses on experimental methods, social psychology, and general psychology. Her research has included expectancy confirmation, gender role stereotypes, and attributions for behavior. She has published several articles on this research and currently serves as a consulting editor for the ''Psychology of Women Quarterly''. From 1991 to 1994, Riggs served as executive assistant to the president under President Gordon Haaland. In 1995, she served a one-year term as interim provost. She returned to this position in 2006, and was named provost the following year. In March 2008, following the resignation of President Katherine Haley Will, Riggs accepted the position of interim president. In February 2009, following an extensive national search, Riggs was named the college’s 14th president. She has served the college for 27 years in 2009. Riggs has been awarded the Gettysburg College Student Senate Faculty Appreciation Award, the Thompson Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the Gettysburg College Woman of Distinction Award. She was the main speaker for the 2018 Dedication Day ceremonies in Gettysburg on November 19, 2018. Riggs retired on July 1, 2019. Bob Iuliano, former Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Deputy to the President of Harvard University, succeeded her as President of Gettysburg College.

Personal life

Riggs is a native of suburban

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. She lives with her husband Ed, who also graduated from Gettysburg College in 1977, in a residence adjacent to the Gettysburg campus. Riggs and her husband, who is a retired teacher, have three grown children.

Publications

* ''THE EFFECT OF PERFORMANCE ATTRIBUTIONS ON CHOICE OF ACHIEVEMENT STRATEGY'', 1982 * ''Mandates for mothers and fathers : perceptions of breadwinners and care givers'', 1997 * ''Social roles we choose and don't choose : impressions of employed and unemployed parents'', 1998

References

External links