College Vice President and Treasurer Lyn Hutton and Dean of Residential Life Mary Turco both announced their resignations yesterday, bringing the number of high-ranking administrators who have stepped down from their positions at the College this academic year to five.
Turco and Hutton made their decisions following the recent announcements of upcoming resignations by President James Freedman, Provost James Wright and Dean of the College Lee Pelton.
Last fall, Freedman announced his intention to resign after Commencement this year. Wright said he will stop serving as provost after June 30, and Pelton is leaving to take over the presidency of Willamette University in Salem, Ore.
Turco said she is leaving to finish writing a book, and Hutton is becoming the vice president and chief financial officer of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a private institution in Chicago, Ill.
Turco said she resigned because she has been working on two research and writing projects during what has been a "busy year," turning her duties as dean of residential life into more than she could handle.
Turco took a leave of absence from the College last summer in order to be a visiting scholar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where she researched material for a book about women faculty and tenure, the topic of her doctoral thesis.
During the Winter term, she also continued work on a research project about the achievement and motivations of female athletes. The project evolved into a book that she had planned to complete by Jan., 1999.
But because the first U.S. Women's Ice Hockey Team won the gold medal in the Winter Olympics in Feb., Turco's literary agent asked her to finish the book sooner.
"It went from being a purely academic pursuit to the production of a commercial book which must be finished by this summer," Turco said.
Because the College had already granted Turco a leave of absence during the 1997 Summer term, it would not permit her to take another leave within the year.
"I had a window of time when I could write the second book," Turco said. As a result, she decided to resign.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton said he will announce the name of an interim dean of residential life by the end of this week.
"But the question is, should the interim dean last beyond July 1?" Pelton said. It will be difficult to run a search committee immediately, because most administrative changes throughout the country occur in the fall or early winter, he said.
But Pelton said the College will make sure all activities and programs in progress, such as the fire code and other housing-related issues, are addressed now.
In addition to acting as dean of residential life, Turco has been teaching in the women's studies program for the past four years. She will continue to be affiliated with that program.
"My goals are to complete these two books and to continue to teach," she said.
If she were to consider a future administrative job, Turco said she would look for one "that had a clear teaching component to it." She said such a job would not be typical of an administrative position at Dartmouth.
Hutton will be in charge of administrating the MacArthur Foundation's financial assets, "based currently of about $4 billion," said Ray Boyer, a representative of the Foundation.
The Foundation gives grants to help groups and individuals work to make lasting positive effects on the human condition.
She will serve as a corporate officer and will also be a member of the Foundation's senior management team.
Win Johnson, currently the College's associate treasurer and director of financial services, will take over as acting vice president and treasurer of the College on June 15.
"I'm excited by it," Johnson said. "I'm stepping into some enormous shoes."
With Freedman, Wright and Pelton's resignations earlier this year, Turco and Hutton's moves increase the administrative void at the College.
Turco said the fact that her resignation followed so many others at the College is purely coincidental. "I honestly don't think that their resignations affected my decision," she said.
But she said she is not surprised that so many people have stepped down since College President James Freedman resigned.
"It happens in organizations -- when the leader announces his or her resignation -- that other people think about whether they want to continue with the next administration or advance other aspects of their careers," Turco said.
Current administrators at the College said they do not see the void as a big cause for concern.
Wright called the situation the "normal turnover of an institution."
"It does leave some more vacancies and openings, but you shouldn't underestimate the strength of all the professionals," he said. "The people who day-to-day keep the institution running are going to remain."
Pelton said he does not think the College's "ability to do business" will be affected.
"On the outside, we will continue to appear as a very stable place that enjoys a special place in the national landscape of higher education," Pelton said.
He said he thinks choosing an administration will be a positive opportunity for the new president of the College.
"From the new president's point of view, he or she should see this as an opportunity to shape the administration," Pelton said. During Freedman's early years, he appointed a vice president and treasurer, a dean of the College, provost and dean of the faculty.
"The key appointment is the president," Wright said. Even if he or she doesn't start immediately, their name can be used to recruit new administrators, Wright said.
Wright said the faculty provides "tremendous continuity" at the College. He added that students do not "typically look to the senior leadership" when they make decisions, so admissions should not be critically affected.
