Associate professor Lindsay Whaley of the classics and linguistics departments and Kate Conley, professor of French and Italian, were appointed last week as new associate deans of the faculty.
Whaley, who joined the Dartmouth faculty in 1993, will serve in the new position of Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences. Conley will replace Dean Lenore Grenoble as Associate Dean of Humanities. The two professors will fill these positions for a three-year period, beginning on July 1 of this year.
Whaley has done extensive research on endangered languages and has taught 12 courses at Dartmouth. His work has included field research on Tungusic languages in China, and he co-founded the first fully electronic linguistics journal, called Linguistic Discovery. Over 40 undergraduate students have completed honors theses, senior fellows and other academic programs under Whaley's guidance.
Dean of the Faculty Carol Folt said that Whaley's involvement with international programs, extensive research and teaching make him an excellent candidate for the position.
"We really want someone to push forward with the off-campus and interdisciplinary programs," Folt said.
Along with these duties, Whaley will be in charge of student advising, the writing program, interdisciplinary courses under the "college courses" delineation and a number of the academic centers.
The new position was created to accommodate the increased demands of the college's dozens of off-campus programs, growth of the faculty and expansion of other activities, including student advising.
Faculty members were asked to submit letters of recommendation for the new position.
"Professor Whaley," Folt said, "certainly had lots of support."
As Assistant Dean of Arts and Sciences, Whaley will work with current Associate Dean for the Sciences Rob McClung, Dean of Graduate Studies Charlie Barlowe, Associate Dean for the Social Sciences Mike Mastanduno as well as Conley.
During the ensuing three-year period, Folt and the faculty will reassess the roles of the associate deans after the addition of this new position.
Conley, who has been on the faculty since 1992 and has directed seven French off-campus programs, has also conducted extensive research on surrealism and 20th century French studies. She has also assisted numerous students in completing theses in the department of French and Italian.
