As the university underwent significant restructuring in its arts and sciences department this past summer, several Fordham administrators have since began new positions. One of them, Dave Swinarski, Ph.D, was recently named senior associate dean at Fordham College Rose Hill.

One of Fordham’s longtime mathematics professors and a former associate dean began his new role on July 1, 2025. Swinarski said his position was created as part of the structural changes to the Fordham arts and sciences department.

One of Swinarski’s biggest projects that he has been tasked with in his new role is implementing a new academic advising system known as “tandem advising,” which pairs students with academic and professional advisors throughout their Fordham career. With over a decade of teaching and administrative experience, Swinarski hopes to guide students and faculty through Fordham’s transition to the tandem advising system.

“I’m happy that I can bring the experience I have from being a chair and associate chair and associate Dean before to help us navigate this transition and make the new model work,” Swinarski said.

Before Fordham restructured their arts and sciences department, the university had four separate deans who oversaw undergraduate education, graduate education and faculty affairs at both the Lincoln Center and Rose Hill campuses, according to Swinarski. With Fordham’s new restructure, however, these three areas have now been consolidated. Jessica Lang, Fordham’s inaugural dean of Arts and Sciences, now oversees all operations across campuses. Swinarski credits Lang for creating his new position.

“Previously, we had four deans in Arts and Sciences in total,” Swinarski said. “The Provost announced about a year and a half ago that he wanted to change to a different model where we’d have just one Dean … Last year, they searched for that position, and they selected Dean Jessica Lang. She’s our first Dean of Arts and Sciences.”

Swinarski holds bachelor’s degrees in both mathematics and English from Notre Dame University, a master’s in mathematics from Oxford University and a Ph.D in mathematics from Columbia University.

After he graduated from Columbia, Swinarksi began a position as a math professor at Fordham’s Lincoln Center Campus in 2011.

“I fell in love with New York, and so I moved away for my first job. I was lucky that the year that I was finishing that position, Fordham was advertising a tenure-track job in math, and [they] correctly read between the lines of my cover letter that I would give my left arm to come back. Here I am,” Swinarski said.

His new role is not Swinarki’s first time in an administrative or leadership position here at Fordham. Swinarski said he became the associate math department chair around 2016, which he held for two years before holding the title of associate dean from 2018 to 2021. In 2021, Swinarski decided to return to the math department at Fordham, where he chaired the department, taught and conducted research. However, when Swinarksi had heard that the arts and sciences department was restructuring, he said that he wanted to step back into administration.

“When I heard that they were reorganizing arts and sciences, I thought that I really would be able to contribute a lot based on my past, so I applied for this role and I was selected,” Swinarski said.

Swinariski believes that the vision for the new structure of Fordham’s arts and sciences is a beneficial one.

“I think having one Dean of Arts and Sciences means that we can all work together just for, you know, one person and their vision and their goals. I think it’s a smart move,” Swinarski said.

Swinarksi said that while it is “very busy” and “pretty demanding,” he is enjoying his new role and enjoys getting to meet and interact with students.

“I was in administration once three years ago, but there, I was working exclusively with faculty,” he said. “In this new job, I’m working directly with students, and that’s been a lot of fun and I’ve gotten to meet especially with a lot of our seniors and hear about all the exciting things that they’re doing and planning and that’s all … really fun.”

As Fordham adjusts to the new academic advising model, Swinarski says he looks forward to guiding students and faculty.

“I’m really excited about our new structure,” Swinarski said. “Dean Lang has lots of ideas for short and long-term projects and initiatives and I’m excited to bring the experience and skills that I have to help her make those plans a reality.”