On Jan. 1, 2001, a changing of the guard will take place at the Outdoor Programs for the first time in 30 years, when current Director Earl Jette retires.
Kathryn Doherty, from the University of New Hampshire faculty, will assume the vacated position of the office that oversees such programs as the Dartmouth Outing Club, competitive varsity ski teams, College grant properties and College-owned lodges.
At UNH, Doherty teaches courses in Outdoor Education and works on her research in outdoor leadership and training.
"I'm really excited," she said. "I'm looking forward to working with the students, staff, faculty and alumni here."
A search committee comprising members of the dean's office, alumni relations, the athletic department, graduate and undergraduate student bodies and student activities office reviewed applications in June and made their decision two weeks ago, according to Assistant OPO Director Brian Kunz.
"She's going to do an excellent job. I'm very pleased with the appointment," said current Director of the Outdoor Programs Office Earl Jette.
"She's so charismatic, so intelligent, so full of life and energy. I'm really excited about what this will mean for the DOC," said DOC President Flora Krivak-Tetley '02, a member of the student interviewing committee that talked to the candidates at the end of Summer term.
Many involved with the Outdoor Programs Office were enthusiastic at the prospect of having someone with a new perspective join the College.
"It's always nice to have a new pair of eyes come here from a different school where they do things differently," said Kunz.
According to Kunz, the outdoor program at Dartmouth, the oldest in the country, predates the development of outdoor programs elsewhere, which proliferated in the 1960s and 1970s.
"We haven't kept up with some of the changes in the industry of outdoor education," he said, adding that he is looking forward to Doherty's experience with a newer department.
Also, students and staff said they thought the Outdoor Programs Office is going to be important in terms of the Student Life Initiative, and they expected to see the office evolve because of it, under Doherty's direction.
"[We want to be] reaching out beyond the traditional edges of the Outdoor Club and the Outdoor Programs Office. There are a lot of things going on with the Outdoor club that most people don't realize -- it's very consistent with what the Trustees want for the College," Jette said.
However, Doherty is perhaps the least aware of what she will want to accomplish, due to the fact that she does not have experience working with the office yet.
"I have some ideas, but I don't have any definite plans," Doherty said. "What I'm trying to do is get a sense of the big picture and the history [of the office], and then once I have that, then all of us at OPO can start making some plans."
Jette, who will stay on as a consultant and work on special projects, has the following piece of advice: "If you listen to people, they'll eventually find the answers to their own problems. You just have to be responsive -- this position is all about people."
Doherty was born in Pennsylvania, and grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts. She is a member of the American Canoe Association, the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Association for Experiential Education.
She is author of the book "Reflective Learning: Theory and Practice," which was published this year.
