Even with James Wright's selection to become Dartmouth's newest president, vacancies remain in four of the College's top administrative positions -- dean of the College, provost, vice president/ treasurer and dean of residential life -- priming the College for a period of administrative transition that will greatly determine the future of Dartmouth.
Dean of the College
The dean of the College position, formerly known as the dean of students, became vacant in June, when Lee Pelton stepped down to assume the presidency of Willamette University in Salem, Ore. Currently, the Dean of the College Search Committee -- chaired by Dean of the Faculty Ed Berger and made up of three professors, four administrators and two students -- is looking over applications for the position.
After narrowing down the list to a handful of candidates, the committee will conduct interviews with the finalists. It is not clear when the committee will actually select the new dean -- January is likely -- but it is certain that the position will stay vacant at least for the start of the Fall term. Dan Nelson, formerly the senior associate dean of the College, is currently serving as the acting dean of the College, and will do so until a new dean is chosen.
The Provost
The College's provost is the second-highest ranking administrator of the College, the chief academic officer and oversees the operations of the College of Arts and Sciences, the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, the Thayer School of Engineering and the Dartmouth Medical School.
The provost also oversees a wide variety of departments, such as the College's library and computing systems, the Hopkins Center and Hood Museum, and the Dickey Center for International Understanding and the Tucker Foundation.
The provost position was left vacant when James Wright announced that he would step down from his position this summer. Wright's decision stemmed from faculty criticism that Freedman deviated from the normal procedures in the search for a new provost.
Freedman appointed Wright, who had been serving as acting as provost since January 1997, as the permanent provost last summer without consulting a search committee. Wright began serving as acting provost after Lee Bollinger stepped down from the position to assume the presidency of the University of Michigan.
This time, a formal search process will be conducted by a seven-member search committee headed by Religion Professor Ronald Green. No students sit on the committee.
Vice President/Treasurer & Dean of Residential Life
College Vice President and Treasurer Lyn Hutton and Dean of Residential Life Mary Turco announced their resignation on the same day in late March.
Hutton was the College's highest ranking woman, and she will become the vice president and chief financial officer of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a private institution in Chicago, Ill.
Turco, who came to the College as a graduate student in 1974, became dean of residential life in 1987. Turco said she is leaving to finish writing a book about the achievement and motivations of female athletes, especially the Olympic gold medal-winning women's hockey team.
Win Johnson, who was the College's associate treasurer and director of financial services, is serving as acting vice president and treasurer of the College until a permanent replacement for Hutton is found.
Mary Liscinsky, who was acting associate dean of residential life, has moved up to serve as acting dean of residential life until Turco's permanent replacement can be found. The new dean of residential life is unlikely to be chosen before the new dean of the College is selected.
