The College did not have to look too far to find someone to fill in for former Dean of the College Lee Pelton when he left Dartmouth last month to assume the presidency at Willamette University in Oregon.
Dan Nelson, former dean of upper-class students and senior associate dean of the College, took over for Pelton on July 1.
He said his job is to "keep the ball rolling" until the College finds the next dean.
"I don't want to make any major change in the direction of the College, but some of the current issues on the table needs to get some attention," Nelson said.
According to Nelson, these issues include new athletic facilities, life and safety improvement in residential halls, revision of the alcohol policy and enhancement of alcohol education effort.
"These things are planned for the fall, but we must work on them during the summer as well," Nelson said.
Although he is appointed to the position for six months, Nelson pointed out that it can be longer or shorter depending upon when the College finds a permanent replacement for Pelton.
Nelson said he has no say on the selection of the new dean.
The dean search committee is headed by the Dean of the Faculty Edward Berger, and includes two student members: Cara Mathews '99 and Watt Boone '00.
Nelson said he enjoys his current job and added that it is "the best job at Dartmouth."
"It directly involves the quality of student life including residential, social and academic aspects," Nelson said. "I enjoy working with students."
Nelson said he also enjoys working with the new College President James Wright and the new Acting Provost Constance Brinckerhoff.
"I like working with Jim because he is interested in the quality of student life and it's rewarding to work with someone who cares about it," Nelson said.
A member of the Class of 1975 at the College, Nelson worked for five years for the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. After working for the magazine, he realized he was more interested in education more than journalism.
Nelson then attended Princeton University for graduate school. While finishing his Ph.D. in religion and political philosophy, Nelson assisted Princeton build new residential "colleges."
"That's when I found out that I was interested in administrative advising," Nelson said.
After teaching for a year, Nelson came back to the College as a Class Dean in 1987.
Nelson said he intends to stay in the dean of the College office "as long as there's interesting and challenging work to do."
