President's Biography

Janet Morgan Riggs graduated from Gettysburg College with a B.A. in psychology and mathematics in 1977, summa cum laude, and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in social psychology from Princeton University.  

Janet returned to Gettysburg College in 1981 as an instructor in the Psychology Department, where she was promoted through the ranks to professor of psychology and served as department chairperson.  She was executive assistant to the president from 1991 to 1994 and served twice as interim provost from 1995 to 1996 and from 2006 to 2007.  She was appointed provost in 2007 and was named interim president in 2008.

Janet is the recipient of the Gettysburg College Student Senate Faculty Appreciation Award, the Thompson Award for Distinguished Teaching, and the Woman of Distinction Award presented by the women students of Gettysburg College.

Janet has taught courses in experimental methods, social psychology, and general psychology.  Her research interests are in the areas of expectancy confirmation, gender role stereotypes, and attributions for behavior. She is currently a consulting editor for The Psychology of Women Quarterly.