Beginning July 1, Laskaris will replace outgoing Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Karl Furstenberg, who announced his plans to retire last fall and will be leaving the College after spending 17 years working for the Dartmouth admissions office and 13 years managing admissions at Wesleyan University prior to his time at Dartmouth.
Laskaris has worked in Dartmouth's admissions office since 1987 and became the Director of Admissions in 1996. In an interview with The Dartmouth, she said she is excited about the promotion.
"I am looking forward to working with my colleagues across campus to really continue the strong work that we have done in the admissions office during Karl's tenure -- to continue to advance the important institutional priorities that guide the work that we do," Laskaris said.
Scherr said that he feels Laskaris will be a successful dean because of her devotion to the College's admissions office so far.
"She's a very good spokesman for the office. She can speak with real knowledge and enthusiasm about all aspects of the admissions process," Scherr said. "She seems to be a good person to have in a very responsible position such as this one."
Scherr also said that because of Laskaris' experience in the College admissions office, she is familiar with recent technological advances such as online applications, increasing her qualifications for the role of dean.
Laskaris also stressed the importance of the admissions office's progression to paperless applications.
"The transition from a paper-based application review process to an entirely paperless one will completely change the tools we use to read applications and make decisions," she said.
Laskaris was one of a handful of nominees selected by a search committee organized by the provost. After meeting with each of the nominees, Wright met with Scherr and the search committee to hear their assessments of each of the candidates, after which Wright and Scherr decided to appoint Laskaris.
"We were looking for qualities of good judgement, people that can communicate effectively, people who understand the nature and the values of an institution such as Dartmouth," Wright said in an interview. "[Laskaris] brings those things."
Wright also stated that while Laskaris will be able to use her experience in the admissions office to further its current goals, she will bring her own ideas as well.
"She'll certainly pick up on and follow the philosophy and objectives which are there, but she'll put her own imprint on the office," Wright said.
In her role as Director of Admissions, Laskaris has been responsible for the domestic and international recruitment and selection process, including developing web-based strategies for attracting prospective students. In progressing to Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, Laskaris will oversee both the admissions and financial aid processes for prospective and admitted students, as well as accrue increased responsibilities within the office itself.
"She now takes a far greater role in providing leadership for the entire office and in terms of working with people outside the office in communicating what they're doing," Wright said.
Both Wright and Scherr said that the biggest challenge for the admissions office in the future will be to continue to recruit qualified applicants that will create strong, diverse classes. According to Scherr, this task will become more and more difficult as both the pool of qualified applicants and competition with peer institutions continue to increase.
Wright also stressed the positive impact that Furstenberg has had in shaping the College's student body throughout his tenure.
"I think that Karl Furstenberg has stood out nationally as a tremendous model of integrity -- someone who brings good judgement to the admissions process," Wright said. "His legacy is a strong and a powerful one."
