As the College moves forward with implementing the Trustees' Initiative, a new player has entered the game. Meet Cassie Barnhardt, the acting assistant dean of residential life, who is replacing Deborah Carney for this academic year.
Barnhardt isn't a person who you imagine having an office in Parkhurst Hall -- especially right now.
She is a chatty, personable 25-year-old (until Monday when she turns 26). She said she has danced for almost her entire life, and received a Bachelor of Arts in musical theater choreography. In fact, Barnhardt ended up in student affairs because she got injured in dance and could no longer support herself that way.
Perhaps more important to the majority of the Dartmouth community, she is a Greek enthusiast.
Before coming to Dartmouth, she worked on the Michigan State University Greek life staff with their Panhellenic Council, Interfraternity Council and Historically African American houses.
As an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, Barnhardt was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. After graduating, she worked for the national organization for a year.
"My own personal Greek experience enhanced my college career," she said. "It inspires women to reach their own potential. I really had an opportunity to internalize that in my own experience."
As Barnhardt sees it, the key role of the Greek system is helping students -- regardless of gender -- to "realize potential."
She said Greek life stresses values like scholarship, service, leadership and friendship. "You need all those characteristics to be a conscientious citizen. It's about creating purpose for students outside the classroom."
Barnhardt said she had heard about the Initiative before applying for the job here while paging through a web-based collection of newspaper articles compiled for fraternity advisers.
"Obviously, when I saw the job posting, I wanted to learn more," she said. So, Barnhardt read up on the Five Principles, the steering committee's recommendations and the final decision.
"I think it's a really exciting time for students," she said. "It really polarizes students from the rest of the institution in many ways. But it makes conversation."
She said similar conversations are crucial parts of every day life in the real world and the Initiative-prompted campus discourse is a good learning experience for students.
"It really challenges folks," she said. "The SLI will make better leaders."
She wants to create "standards of excellence" for the Greek houses. The standards will be the joint product of collaboration between the staff, faculty, alumni, Greek students and non-affiliated students.
In creating those standards, Barnhardt said Greek leaders will look at management, support, education and member development at other schools' Greek systems and see what they can draw from other places.
Barnhardt agrees with many -- both affiliated and non-affiliated -- that the Greek system needs to undergo changes if it is going to move forward with the College.
"Alcohol is obviously an issue, and we need to talk about it more often," she said.
She said the fact the Trustees have called for enhanced coeducation does not mean "men and women need to live under the same roof," but it will lead to an effort to "figure out how to relate to each other as a coed institution."
She said in her personal experience, being part of a single sex Greek organization helped her to develop as a leader.
Since she arrived to Hanover in early July, she has been meeting with Greek leaders. She said there is a wide range of views -- but that she has been "building relationships."
