Meet the Vice President

John Swensson, interim vice president of Instruction, has taught at De Anza College since 1989 as a member of the English, business and speech departments. He served as president of De Anza's Academic Senate and was, for six years, the dean of the Language Arts Division, the largest division in the district. He also taught at West Point, Vincennes University, National University, West Valley College, Foothill College and Orange County Community College.

Swensson has been on six Campus Abroad trips to Paris, London and Viet Nam. In collaboration with the Library staff, he established the DeCillis Viet Nam Conflict Collection, the second largest collection of its type in the country. His teaching includes specialties in Vietnamese literature, culture and history, and the sculpture of Rodin. Swensson won a League for Innovation Innovator of the Year Award for work in the collaborative learning area, and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development award for Teaching Excellence.

He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a master's degree in English from the University of Virginia, and a master's degree in business systems from the University of Northern Colorado.

A Viet Nam veteran and retired army officer, Swensson has also produced a Hollywood film ("Fire Birds" with Nicolas Cage, Tommy Lee Jones and Sean Young).