Howard Robert Swearer (March 13, 1932 – October 19, 1991) was an American educator. He served as the sixth president of

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

, serving from 1970–1977, and the 15th

president of Brown University The following is a list of presidents of Brown University From 1765 to the 1920s, the president was required by the University Charter to be of the Baptist denomination: References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Presidents Of Brown University * Br ...

between 1977 and 1988. His death from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

shocked and saddened the Brown community, as few knew about it in advance.

Early life and education

Swearer was born on March 13, 1932 in Hutchinson,

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. His undergraduate work was at

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 ...

, graduating in 1954. He earned a master’s and a Ph.D. in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, in 1956 and 1960, respectively. After receiving his doctorate, he became a political science professor at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, teaching there from 1960 to 1967.Mitchell, Martha.
"Swearer, Howard R."
Encyclopedia Brunoniana. 1993. He left UCLA to work for Ford Foundation from 1967-1970, working in their International Division.Ford Foundation.
Ford Foundation Annual Report 1968
. Ford Foundation. 1968.

Carleton College

Swearer served as Carleton’s president from 1970-1977. Carleton's new Music and Drama Center, which had been in the planning stages since 1960, was finally dedicated during his administration, as was the new Seely G. Mudd Hall of Science. He also oversaw a successful capital campaign during this period.Hardis, Joe.
"History of the President's Office"
Carleton College Office of the President. 2005. It was during the Swearer administration that Carleton's Winter Break was extended from four to six weeks by moving the start date of fall term two weeks earlier. Due to the high fuel prices in 1974 with the OPEC embargo, Swearer and the college's treasurer suggested the change might save fuel (not only would the college be largely unoccupied for a longer period during the colder months of November and December, but students who wished to visit home for

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

would not need to return to campus immediately afterward and then head home again a week or two later). Though students were at the time opposed to the change, their objections were overruled and it was put into effect for the 1974-1975 school year. A poll taken in 1975 found a high level of support for the change, and Carleton has had a six-week winter break ever since.Hillemann, Eric.
Winter Break
From the Cobwebs conference on Carleton's private bulletin system, Caucus (password required). April 21, 1998.

Brown University

President Swearer left Carleton in 1977 to become president of

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, where he served until December 1988. During his tenure there, he led another successful capital campaign that increased several research grants and allowed for several deferred building projects to go forward. In 1985, Swearer helped found Campus Compact, a national non-profit dedicated to the civic purpose of higher education and the development of future democratic leaders. Swearer believed universities should be communities of compassionate people involved in serious intellectual pursuits, but never divorced from the realities of their communities. In 1987, he formed what is now known as the Howard R. Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown.Brown University.
"About the Swearer Center"
Swearer Center for Public Service. 2000.

Retirement

Following his term as Brown’s president, he was appointed as the director of Brown’s Institute for International Studies. He later moved to

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, where he died of cancer on October 19, 1991. Swearer's wife Janet died in 2020.

Trivia

* President Swearer's son, Nick, built Iggy, a long iron sculpture of an iguana that stands in front of the Science Museum of Minnesota, when he was a high school student in

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...

. At one point during construction, Iggy was stolen from the Swearers' driveway and placed on a bridge on campus.Chanco, Ben: "The Lizard King."

St. Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey County, Minn ...

, August 12, 1999.

References

External links

- Official site for the President of Brown University
Office of the President
- Official site for the President of Carleton College
Howard Swearer's entry
on Carlwiki {{DEFAULTSORT:Swearer, Howard 1932 births 1991 deaths American educational theorists Harvard University alumni People from Hutchinson, Kansas Presidents of Brown University Presidents of Carleton College Princeton University alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty Deaths from cancer in Connecticut 20th-century American academics