College administrators are in the process of seeking replacements for five important administrative positions that have been vacated over the past six months.
Replacements are being sought for former Director of News Services Alex Huppe, former Native American Program Director John Sirois '91, former Director of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding Marty Sherwin, former Director of Career Services Bill Wright-Swadel, former Assistant Dean of Residential Life Alison Keefe and former Assistant Freshman Dean Tony Tillman.
The five sudden departures mean that many searches will be going on simultaneously. The search for a new Career Services director and a new Native American Program director have been underway for several months, while the other searches will begin soon.
Dean of Upperclass Students Dan Nelson chairs the search committees for both the Career Services director and the Native American program director.
The search for a replacement for Wright-Swadel began last spring and has continued through the fall, according to Nelson.
Nelson said he plans to invite a short list of candidates to the campus for interviews this term.
"I hope to have an appointment made by the beginning of Winter term," he said.
"We interviewed candidates last Spring term but did not make an appointment," he said. "That search is now continuing, and I hope to make an appointment by the end of Spring term, if not sooner."
Career Services Associate Director Kathryn Hutchinson currently serves as acting director of Career Services.
The search for director of the Native American program began last year, Nelson said.
Sirois told The Dartmouth last spring that he would leave the College at the end of Spring term to work for the tribal attorney's office for the Confederate Tribes of Colesville Reservation in Washington.
Film Studies and Native American Studies Professor Michael Hanitchak is the acting director of the Native American program. Hanitchak previously chaired the Native American Council and worked in the College's admissions office, according to Nelson.
Nelson said both offices are functioning well.
"Thanks to the commitment, experience, and skills that Kathryn and Michael bring to their acting positions, and thanks to the abilities of the excellent people who work in those offices, both offices are functioning very successfully," he said.
Deputy Provost Bruce Pipes, who will chair the search committee for the next News Service director, said the search for a successor to Huppe has not begun yet.
Huppe is about to start his new job as director of public affairs at Harvard University .
"The first thing we had to do was look at the job description and determine if we want to retain the position," Pipes said.
Pipes said the College decided to keep the position.
Next, the College will appoint a committee and begin looking for candidates, Pipes said.
"Next month we will get the search committee going," he said. "It will take us a couple of months to search."
According to Pipes, the News Service is running smoothly due to the experience of its acting director, Roland Adams.
Freshman Dean Peter Goldmsith said the search for an assistant dean of freshmen has not begun yet. The Freshman Office is hoping to find a replacement for Tillman by next June, according to Goldsmith.
Goldsmith said a search committee has not yet been appointed but one will be established "in the next couple of weeks." He said the Freshman Office hopes to start the search before the winter.
French professor Stephanie Hull currently serves as the interim dean. Goldsmith said the Freshman Office is running "wonderfully well."
Hull "was up at Moosilauke eight out of nine nights," he said."She has interacted with members of the Class of 1999 energetically and enthusiastically."
Associate Dean of Residential Life Bud Beatty is conducting the search for a new Assistant Dean of Residential Life.
Beatty said the search officially begins this week and that theyhope to find a replacement "as soon as possible." He said he is working with Dean of Residential Life Mary Turco and Assistant Dean of Residential Life Deb Reinders on the search.
The search for a new director of the Dickey Center will begin in October, according to Eugene Lyons, who is serving as the Dickey Center's acting director.
Director of the Dickey Center Marty Sherwin left the College last spring to become a professor at Tufts University.
The search is being directed by the provost's office, Lyons said.
"In the meanwhile, I am serving as acting director of the center and we will be supporting a full program of faculty and student activities this year," he said.
The process
The search process for new administrators is a lengthy one.
Once a committee has been appointed to begin the process, the position is advertised through conventional channels and informal inquiries, according to Goldsmith.
Nelson said the preliminary steps of "the search process involves advertisements in local and national publications and networking letters and phone calls."
Next, the committee reviews candidates' resumes and identifies a short-list of candidates to invite for interviews, according to Nelson.
After consulting with references and conducting interviews, a decision is made, Nelson said.
Students are often involved in the search process.
"Students are members of the search committees for the director of career services and director of the Native American program," Nelson said. "They inform the process through participation in interviews."
