A search that began last summer with 80 potential candidates to fill the spot of president of Occidental College, a Southern California liberal arts college, recently ended in the appointment of former Dartmouth Provost Susan Prager.
This summer Occidental College will welcome Prager, its first female president, to campus. Since leaving Dartmouth in 2001, Prager has been the Arjay and Frances Fearing Miller Professor of Law at the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law.
"She was part of an application process that was highly scrutinized and she will be able to bring a perspective to the school because of having served there at an institution similar to ours here in Southern California," said Dean of Occidental College Eric Frank, who graduated from Dartmouth in 1974.
The search committee carried out the national search to replace current Interim President Kenyan Chan using the aid of students, faculty and consulting firm A.T. Kearney. The search winnowed the field down to two candidates, one of whom was Prager. The Occidental Board of Trustees then chose her over the other finalist.
"She will be able to help us as an institution move toward the future positively. Prager's relationship with the city of Los Angeles, having lived here most of her life and having worked here, she can bring a unique and personal aspect," Frank said.
Prager's experience in California was instrumental in making the search committee feel she was the right choice for Occidental, according to search committee chairman Dave Berkus. Prager's extensive experience included 16 years as dean of UCLA School of Law and 14 years as a member of Stanford's Board of Trustees. The Board believed her contacts in Southern California would enable her to fundraise effectively, Berkus said.
"One of her primary goals she has indicated is to increase the endowment and The Board of Trustees approved a master plan, which she will be a part of," Director of Communications Jim Tranquada said.
An increase in resources would allow Occidental to implement more programs that represent a liberal arts education, according to Frank.
"We would like to send many more students abroad, we would like to have a percentage similar to Dartmouth, but it's very costly. But we also want to lower the student to faculty ratio which is low but can always be lower," Frank said.
Occidental's former president left due to personal issues and many students on campus eagerly await Prager's arrival this summer, Frank said. According to the dean, the student body's excitement about the coming of the school's first female president is apparent.
Dartmouth President James Wright also endorsed Occidental's decision.
"I am delighted to learn that Susan Prager has been appointed to the Occidental College presidency. We were pleased to have her serve at Dartmouth and I have every confidence that she will excel as the Occidental president," he said.
