Janet Morgan Riggs
Encyclopedia
Janet Morgan Riggs is the 14th President
of Gettysburg College
. Riggs, a member of the Gettysburg College class of 1977, has held several positions at the college, including professor
of psychology, interim provost, provost
, executive assistant to the president, and interim president.
and psychology
because she thought the heavy emphasis on statistics
would help her get into graduate school. "I began college as a math major, but somehow got "stuck" my first semester in a Psych 101 class I didn't want.",said Reggy..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
degree, graduating summa cum laude.
with an M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology
. In her final year at Princeton, Riggs was actively pursued by Gettysburg College to take a one-year position in the psychology department.
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.
. 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 teacher at the Gettysburg Area Middle School, have three grown children: Brian, Rachel, and Tommy.
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College
Gettysburg College is a private four-year liberal arts college founded in 1832, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States, adjacent to the famous battlefield. Its athletic teams are nicknamed the Bullets. Gettysburg College has about 2,700 students, with roughly equal numbers of men and women...
. Riggs, a member of the Gettysburg College class of 1977, has held several positions at the college, including professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of psychology, interim provost, provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
, executive assistant to the president, and interim president.
Gettysburg College
Riggs met her eventual husband, Ed Riggs, at Gettysburg College during her freshman year, 1973. She completed a double major in mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
because she thought the heavy emphasis on statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
would help her get into graduate school. "I began college as a math major, but somehow got "stuck" my first semester in a Psych 101 class I didn't want.",said Reggy..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
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree, graduating summa cum laude.
Princeton University
Riggs graduated from Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with an M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology
Social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
. In her final year at Princeton, Riggs was actively pursued by Gettysburg College to take a one-year position in the psychology department.
Work in Psychology
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.Administrative Positions
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
Katherine Haley Will
Katherine Haley Will served as the 13th President of Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from 2004 until 2008, when she stepped down for family reasons. She also served as chair of the Annapolis Group...
, 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.
Awards and Recognition
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.Personal life
Riggs is a native of suburban PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
. 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 teacher at the Gettysburg Area Middle School, have three grown children: Brian, Rachel, and Tommy.
External links
- Gettysburg College: Office of the President official website