Biography

Curriculum Vitae

Laura Skandera Trombley

President, Southwestern University
July 1, 2020–present

(909) 630-6834
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 Philosophical Society of Texas, beginning February 2026
  • Appointed to The Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges Board of Directors, Fall 2021-present
  • NCAA Division III Presidents Council, Fall 2022-2025
  • Williamson County Museum Board, June 2023-2025
  • Appointed to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III Presidents Council, Fall 2022-2025
  • 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

  • Alpha Chi National Honor Society, 2021
  • Chair of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and keynote speaker at 70th Anniversary events in Berlin, Helsinki, Jerusalem, and the State Department in Washington, DC, 2016.
  • Judge, 4Humanities “Shout Out For the Humanities,” student prize contest. 4Humanities is 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 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