HAMBURG, N.Y. – Ann Swan, chair of the Hilbert College Board of Trustees, was presented the 2012 President’s Medal, one of the highest honors bestowed by the college, during the institution’s 51st annual commencement ceremony on May 12.
The Hilbert President’s Medal recognizes board trustees, faculty and staff for extraordinary commitment and service to higher education, and for exemplifying Franciscan values. Swan was honored “for her steadfast belief in the vitality of Hilbert and enriching the institution’s future, her support in fostering the success of Hilbert students and for her esteemed leadership.”
Swan has served two terms as chairperson of the Hilbert Board of Trustees. Affiliated with the board since 2004, she has twice chaired the executive committee and this year was a member of the trustee committee. Prior to this, she served as chair and vice-chair of the student affairs committee and was on the institutional advancement committee.
Swan’s devotion and belief in the values and mission of Franciscan higher education, a foundation which guided and profoundly inspired her late husband, William E. Swan, has been illuminated through her generous philanthropic support to Hilbert. As testimony to this dedication to the Franciscan spirit and ideals, the college’s state-of-the-art premier performance space and auditorium, which opened in 2006, is named in honor of Swan’s husband.
A community leader in many civic activities in the Western New York area and a longtime teacher in the Buffalo Public Schools, Swan serves as executive director of the William E. and Ann L. Swan Foundation. She has also been a board member of several local organizations, including the Buffalo Niagara American Heart Association, Christ the King Seminary, the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo Foundation and the YMCA Buffalo Niagara.
The recipient of many honors for her exemplary service to the community, Swan, who earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University at Buffalo, most recently was presented a Bishop’s Medal from the Buffalo Catholic Diocese and a Caritas Award from the Brothers of Mercy.
She resides in Clarence.