Some students only see deans when they want money or when they have run afoul of College regulations. But there are others who listen to deans for hours each week.
This term eight high-level administrators are doubling as professors, teaching everything from anthropology to women's studies. This is hardly unusual, since most administrators began their careers as professors.
One such administrator, Dean of First-Year Students Peter Goldsmith, has taught several anthropology courses in the past -- including a first-year seminar and an upper-level course on "Religious Innovations in the African-American World."
Goldsmith said his dual perspective of College life helps him in the classroom and in Parkhurst. Being a dean helps him as a professor by making him "more attuned to registrarial deadlines," and teaching helps him as a dean by reminding him of the "primary business of the College" and of the pressure placed on students in the classroom, he said.
Dean of Residential Life Mary Turco has also taught students, most recently in a Fall-term women's studies class examining sexual equality in higher education.
Assistant Dean of the Faculty Sheila Culbert -- who teaches a popular history course on the American Civil War -- said juggling teaching and administrative responsibilities is "stressful."
"The heavy workload is a choice I make because I like teaching and think it's important," she said.
Dean of Graduate Studies Edward Berger, who is responsible for the 500 students in the graduate programs in the arts and sciences, teaches introductory and graduate level courses in the biology department -- including a genetics course this term.
Rockefeller Center Director Linda Fowler is leading a government seminar on women in public office, Director of the Native American Program Michael Hanitchak is teaching a course on Native Americans in film and television and Assistant Dean of First-Year Students Stephanie Hull is leading a course on French genre painting.
Associate Dean of Faculty David Lagomarsino teaches a history course on Spain in the Golden Age, Director of the Academic Skills Center Carl Thum teaches a first-year seminar in the education department and Associate Dean of the Faculty George Wolford teaches a graduate course in the psychology department.
