The Office of Residential Life recently announced Jeffrey DeWitt and Vicki Gist will be the College's new area directors beginning in July.
Acting Dean of Residential Life Mary Liscinsky said the area directors are responsible for supervising the student area coordinators and performing functions the ACs cannot.
"They really help set the daily tone and atmosphere and events that happen in the residence halls," Liscinsky said. "They oversee programming and deal with issues ... like roommate conflicts."
Each AD is responsible for half of the campus. Liscinsky said it is currently planned that DeWitt will coordinate activities for the west side of campus and Gist will work with the ACs on the east side.
Liscinsky said each side presents unique challenges. The west campus AD deals with the Greek houses and the east campus AD deals with the special East Wheelock Cluster and its integrated academic and social programming.
DeWitt and Gist will replace Christina Carico and Ann Janeway, the current ADs.
DeWitt is currently a resident director at the University of California at Davis. He received his undergraduate education and his masters degree from the University of Arizona.
"I'm excited about working in a close campus community which is different from what I've experienced in a large public school," DeWitt said.
DeWitt said he is looking forward to working on creating a student judicial review board to deal with students' complaints about actions in the dormitories similar to the judiciary system currently in place at UC-Davis.
DeWitt said he does not want to change elements of the College's residential life until he discusses current conditions with students and staff.
Gist studied on the undergraduate and masters level at the University of South Carolina while working in the Office of Housing, Safety and Judiciary Programs, according to Acting Assistant Dean of Residential Life Chris Chambers.
Last Summer, Gist was Dartmouth's Association of College and University Housing Officers intern and worked on the Tuck Business School's Leadership Education and Development Program, a national program sponsored by business schools which encourages high school students to think about higher education.
Liscinsky said the directors were selected by a search committee of five faculty members and administrators and AC Carlo Corti '98.
Liscinsky said the committee screened 200 applicants looking for the right people for the 10-year-old position.
"They have to have some residence life experience. They have to be committed to diversity and leadership development," Liscinsky said. "We like people who are creative and committed."
"[ADs] tend to stay for about three years, which is not unusual for student affairs positions at this level," Liscinsky said. "They almost always leave at the same time, I think because they are always such a good working team."
Gist could not be reached for comment.
