Effective July 1, Harry Kinne III will take over as Dartmouth's new director of Safety and Security, the College recently announced. Kinne will replace Proctor Bob McEwen, who has served as head of Safety and Security for 36 years.
Kinne comes to Dartmouth from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., and brings nearly 30 years of experience to Hanover. Kinne has been at Wesleyan since 1982, holding various positions ranging from Director of Public Safety to Director of Facilities Operations.
The search process for a new director was initiated earlier this academic year, after McEwen announced his retirement last July. The search committee, which consisted of administrators, students and members of local police and fire departments, finally settled upon Kinne after viewing and meeting with applicants from across the country.
"Members of the search committee and I, and others who had a chance to meet with him, were deeply impressed by his perspective on safety and security work in a residential college setting, by his commitment to education and prevention, and by his enthusiasm for working and communicating closely with students, the staff of the department and other members of the campus and local communities," Senior Associate Dean Dan Nelson told the Dartmouth community.
Explaining his retirement, McEwen said, "it was just time to leave." He said he looks forward to the time he plans to spend with his four grandchildren, particularly during his first year of retirement. As of now, McEwen said, he has no real plans of getting back into professional work, but that he does "plan to get back into fly fishing." As a native of West Lebanon, and a current resident of Lebanon, McEwen plans to stay put, continuing to live near the campus where he worked for the past 36 years.
McEwen is also pleased with the choice of his replacement. After meeting with Kinne and talking to him briefly during the screening process, McEwen described the new director as "a very personable gentleman with an excellent personality."
"He comes in with a lot of experience and knowledge, and he will bring great things to the school community," McEwen said.
When Kinne arrives in Hanover later in the year there will likely be an orientation period where McEwen and Kinne work together "to get him familiar with Dartmouth culture and introduce him to Dartmouth's unique town and gown relations," McEwen said.
"During my time at Dartmouth I couldn't have asked for a better place to work or better people to work with," McEwen said. "He'll find that out."
