John L. Swink was born in Colorado in 1914. He eventually moved to New Jersey to attend Princeton High School before enrolling at Rutgers. He thus began a long association with Rutgers spanning four decades. As a student attending Rutgers, Swink majored in mathematics and became active in the ROTC. After graduating from Rutgers in 1936, he worked as an audit clerk at Prudential Life Insurance Company for three years while teaching mathematics at Rutgers. In 1939, he became a full-time instructor in the evening extension division until he was called to active duty during World War II in 1941. In 1945, he returned to Rutgers to become the Registrar for the University College in Newark. After earning an M.B.A. from New York University in 1948, Swink went on to become Associate Dean of University College in 1951. Seven years later, he was appointed Dean of Administration and he served this role from 1958-1962. During this time, he also served as the temporary Chief Administrative Officer for Douglass College and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science (Cook College) until new deans were appointed for these colleges. Swink was again promoted when he was appointed Vice-President and Treasurer in 1962. In 1967, he took on an additional role as the president of the New Brunswick-Raritan Valley Chamber of Commerce. After retiring from Rutgers in 1975, he continued to remain active by joining the Rutgers University Foundation, which is an independent agency that raises funds on behalf of the State University.
From the description of Records, 1951-1965 1958-1962. (Rutgers University). WorldCat record id: 187861976
