On Feb. 8, Director of Residential Communities Amanda Atkinson sent an email to Palmer, Pittenger, Roberts, PPR Apartments, and Mary Lyon (PPRMents) Resident Assistants (RAs) informing them that William Morrison, the Area Coordinator (AC) for PPRMents, would no longer be serving in his position, effective immediately. The sudden announcement was made amid semester planning between Morrison and the RAs, with no previous notice of a change in staffing. A source informed The Phoenix that Morrison has since left campus and has returned to Louisiana.
Morrison was hired in November 2023, filling a nine-month-long vacancy in the PPRMents AC position. He succeeded Khadijah Greene, who served as an AC between July 2021 to March 2023. Morrison came to the college at the height of RA unionization efforts. In December, one month after Morrison was hired, two RAs in Morrison’s area were sent written warnings, citing a “failure to upload a picture of a bulletin board” and a “failure to follow up with details” about a proposed program. The citations are the source of unfair labor practice charges filed against the school by Swarthmore’s RA union, which alleges they represented an unlawful retaliation against employees for their pro-union activity.
In an email to PPRMents RAs, Mattie Schaefer, AC for Alice Paul, David Kemp, Mertz, and Worth, revealed that they, alongside current ACs Desire Forman, and Lexi Kapij will serve as interim supervisors.
The Phoenix reached out to Atkinson for comment and has not received comment at the time of publication. In a statement to the Phoenix, Vice President for Communications Andy Hirsch told The Phoenix that the college does not discuss specific personnel information “as a matter of practice and in the interest of employee privacy” when asked what students should know about the circumstances of Morrison’s departure.
“The Division of Student Affairs is committed to ensuring that students continue receiving the same level of support from area coordinators during this transition period,” he clarified. “Please consider this our collective response.”
