LAURA E. SKANDERA TROMBLEY

  • President, Southwestern University, July 1, 2020–present
  • Phone 909 630-6834 – Email: Lestrombley@gmail.com

EDUCATION

  • Ph.D., English, University of Southern California, 1989
  • MA, English, Pepperdine University, Summa  Cum Laude, 1983
  • BA, English and Humanities majors, Pepperdine University, 1981

HONORARY DEGREES, TITLES, AND APPOINTMENTS

  • Appointed to The Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges Board of Directors, Fall 2021
  • Awarded Legacy Scholar, Mark Twain Journal, Spring 2019
  • Trustee Distinguished Professor of the Humanities in the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Bridgeport, May 2019
  • Recipient of The Dixon Wecter Distinguished Professor of American Literature Award, Huntington Library, May 2018
  • Appointed to The Rhodes Trust, Chair, District 16 Committee of Selection for the Rhodes Scholarships, March 2017
  • Recipient of the Lou Budd Award in Recognition of Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Mark Twain Studies, 2017
  • Chair, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, 2015-2016
  • Emerita Trustee, Pitzer College Board of Trustees, 2015-Present
  • Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, Pepperdine University, 2013
  • First Thomas Nast Gastprofessorin, University of Koblenz-Landau, 2013

 ADMINISTRATIVE HONORS, GRANTS, AWARDS

  • Chair of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and keynote speaker at 70thAnniversary events in Berlin, Helsinki, Jerusalem, and the State Department in Washington, DC, 2016.
  • Judge, 4Humanities “Shout Out For the Humanities,” student prize contest. 4Humanitiesis an advocacy initiative for the humanities, March 2016.
  • C-Suite Quarterly (CSQ) Magazine, Visionaries in Philanthropy, Art & Culture Award, November 2015.
  • Janet Z. Giele Award, 3rd Annual Conference on Women in Leadership: Work-Life Balance, sponsored by Pepperdine University, March 2015.
  • Vice-Chair, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, elected 2014-2015.
  • Member, J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board Executive Committee, 2014-2017.
  • Member, Project Pericles Presidents’ Council Executive Committee, 2008-2015.
  • Fulbright Senior Specialists Roster, 2004-2014.
  • “Seasoned President Grant” recipient from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 2010.
  • CEO Leadership Award, Council for Advancement and Support of Education District VII, 2008.
  • “New President Grant” recipient from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, 2003.
  • Accomplished Alumna Award, Pepperdine University, 2002.
  • Dorothy A. Trux Award for an Emerging Professional Administrator, National Association for Women in Education, 1997.
  • National Learning Communities Dissemination Project. Funded by the Comprehensive Program of the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education. 1997-1999.
  • New York State Progress in Equity Award, American Association of University Women, 1996.
  • National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute, “Boundaries and Borderlands: The Search for Recognition and Community in America.” American Commitments. Project #3: Curriculum and Faculty Development Network. Sponsored by Association of American Colleges and Universities. 1994.
  • Leadership Opportunity in Science and Humanities Education. Funded group: “The Adirondacks: An Interdisciplinary Coordinated Studies Program in Environmental Studies.” Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education, and the National Science Foundation. 1993-1994.
  • American Commitments: Initiatives on Diversity, Democracy, and Liberal Learning. Funded group: “Social Justice.” Association of American Colleges and Universities. Funded by the Ford Foundation and National Endowment for the Humanities. 1993-1994.

 SUMMARY OF ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE

Positions Held

2020-present Professor of English, Southwestern University

2018-2020 Trustee Distinguished Professor of the Humanities in the College of      Arts and Sciences, University of Bridgeport

2015-present Professor of the Practice of English in the USC Dana and David          Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California

2002-2015 Professor of English and World Literature Field Group, Pitzer College

1997-2002 Professor of English, Coe College

1993-1997 Associate Professor, Department of English, SUNY Potsdam

1990-1992 Assistant Professor, Department of English, SUNY Potsdam

1988-1990 Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of English, Pepperdine                University

1987-1988 Lektorin, American Studies, Universitaet Eichstaett

1985-1987 Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin, American Studies, Universitaet Eichstaett

1983-1985, 1987 Assistant Lecturer, Writing Program, University of Southern California