Rabbi Daveen Litwin has been named the inaugural dean and chaplain of the William Jewett Tucker Center for Spiritual Life vice provost for student affairs Inge-Lise Ameer announced on Tuesday.
In 2014 the College’s Board of Trustees opted to split the former Tucker Foundation into the William Jewett Tucker Center for Spiritual Life, which emphasizes religion and spirituality, and the Dartmouth Center for Service, which focuses on volunteering and outreach. Previously, the Tucker Foundation’s work had encompassed both spirituality and service.
Currently, Theresa Ellis ’97 serves as the director of the Dartmouth Center for Service, and Nancy Vogele ’85 is the interim director of religious and spiritual life.
Litwin is set to take up her post this coming August. She is currently in the process of preparing to leave her current position as chaplain for the Claremont University Consortium and was not available for a phone interview.
In her new role, Litwin will work with more than 20 faith-based organizations on campus in addition to the United Campus ministers.
Ameer appointed a seven-member search committee composed of alumni, faculty, staff and students to select the inaugural dean and chaplain of the Tucker Center. The selection process took approximately seven months, she said, during that time Vogele served as interim dean. Ameer expressed gratitude for Vogele’s work, adding that her contributions to the Tucker Center were phenomenal.
Former Tucker Center assistant Eliza Rockefeller ’17 has known Vogele since her freshmen year of College.
Vogele is very committed to social justice and is an admirable figure in the campus community, Rockefeller said.
“Nancy is a very caring and compassionate person who has an ability to relate to students from a wide perspective of religions or no religion while still holding her faith,” Rockefeller said.
Ellis and computer science professor Prasad Jayanti co-chaired the search committee, which met for the first time last September. The committee evaluated an applicant pool consisting of over 80 individuals, Ellis said, then narrowed it down to provide a list of prospective candidates to Ameer.
Five candidates including Litwin were invited to campus for an interview, Ellis said.
Litwin wrote in an email that she arrived to campus for her interview in the middle of a snowstorm. The questions her interviewers asked her were well-constructed and gave her the opportunity to reflect on her past and her personality while helping her gain a deeper understanding of what drives the Dartmouth community.
Ameer said that Litwin’s experience working with students helped her stand out in the application process. She also said that Litwin stood out among a pool of excellent candidates, but declined to comment further on the selection process. Vogele also declined to comment.
The faith organizations on campus are eager for Litwin’s arrival.
President of Dartmouth College Hillel David Mannes ’17 said he felt positively about having another rabbi on campus.
Although Litwin is a rabbi and Hillel is part of the Tucker Center, Mannes said he does not see the relationship between Hillel and Tucker changing in the future.
“She is not here to be a rabbi,” Mannes said. “She’s focused on interfaith and multi-faith at the College.”
Aquinas House campus minister Megan Costantini wrote in an email that though she does not know Rabbi Litwin personally, she is pleased that the Tucker Center has found a candidate who will enrich the spiritual life of the Dartmouth community.
Litwin said she decided to apply for the position because she values the College’s holistic approach to education in which there is a strong interplay between academics and spiritual life.
She said that she believes it to be a privilege to connect with, listen to and learn from others, and that she feels honored to be part of this new chapter of the Tucker Center’s evolution.
“I am looking forward to partnering with campus colleagues in the ongoing process of building an inclusive campus community that supports the whole person through the cultivation and enrichment of the mind, body, and spirit,” Litwin said.
