Joseph Swain

Joseph Swain (1857--1927) served as the ninth president of Indiana University.

Education

Indiana University (B.A. 1883, M.S. 1885), Wabash College (LL.D. 1893)

Professional Background

Professor of mathematics and biology at Indiana University (1883-1891), professor of mathematics at Stanford University (1891-1893)

Biography

Joseph Swain was IU’s first Indiana-born president. A native of Pendleton, Indiana, he attended IU as an undergraduate and graduate student, and began his teaching career in IU’s Departments of Mathematics and Biology. He left his professorship at IU in 1891 to follow departing IU president David Starr Jordan to Stanford University. He then accepted the invitation to return to IU as president in 1893, a position he held for nine years. Swain was a member of the Religious Society of Friends, and though successful at IU, he ultimately accepted the invitation to become president of Swarthmore College in 1902. He retired from Swarthmore in 1921 as President Emeritus and died six years later.