Mr. H. Patrick Swygert

H. Patrick Swygert became president of Howard University on August 1, 1995. As Howard's 15th president, he is also the fifth African American to serve as the University's chief executive officer.

Mr. Swygert, born in 1943, is an alumnus of Howard University, having earned his undergraduate degree and law degree, cum laude, from the University in 1965 and 1968, respectively.

Mr. Swygert was president of the University at Albany, State University of New York, a public research university from 1990 until accepting the presidency at Howard in 1995.

Prior to assuming the presidency at Albany, Mr. Swygert had been associated with Temple University in Philadelphia since 1972, when he was appointed to the faculty of Temple University Law School. In 1987, he was named executive vice president of Temple University. From 1982 to 1987, he was vice president for university administration, and served as special counsel to the president from 1980 to 1982. He also was acting dean of the law school in 1977.

Mr. Swygert served as a visiting professor at the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law during several summers from 1982 to 1990. He also was a visiting professor of the Faculty of Law of the University of Ghana in 1975 and 1976; and visiting lecturer/visitor of Cairo, Egypt; Athens, Greece; and Rome, Italy. Additionally, Mr. Swygert has lectured abroad in a number of other countries, including the Hungarian Ministry of Higher Education and the SUNY Center for Private Enterprise Development in Budapest. He is the author of numerous articles and publications in higher education and law and has acknowledgements from institutions of higher learning and community and professional associations.

Currently, Mr. Swygert is a member of the board of directors of Fannie Mae, Washington, D.C.; The Victory Funds, Cleveland, Ohio; Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., Hartford, Connecticut; and Hartford Life Insurance Company, Hartford, Connecticut. He also serves as Chairman of the Community Business Partnership of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. Mr. Swygert further served as chair of the New York Special Commission on Educational Structure, Policies and Practices in 1993. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Bar, and the State of New York Bar.

In addition to his academic career, Mr. Swygert has held several government positions. In 1979, he served as special counsel to the Merit Systems Protection Board. From 1977 to 1979, he was general counsel to the U.S. Civil Service Commission. He also served as law clerk to Chief Judge William H. Hastie of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia; administrative assistant to Charles B. Rangel, D-NY; special assistant district attorney in Philadelphia; and an associate with the New York City law firm of Debevoise, Plimpton, Lyons & Gates.

Mr. Swygert is a native of Philadelphia. He and his wife, Sonja, have two sons: H. Patrick, Jr. and Michael B.