Crocker could not be reached for comment by press time.
Lord said he enjoyed working at the Tucker Foundation but wanted to assume "broader" responsibilities at the College.
"It was a hard decision to make," he said. "We have accomplished a lot in the past eight years and have done a lot of great things and made a difference."
Lord was named Virginia Rice Kelsey dean of Tucker, an endowed position, when he came to the College in 2000. Diana Pearson, Dartmouth's vice president of communications, said she was unaware of any contractual issues associated with the change and could not comment if she were aware of any such issues.
Lord said he has a good working relationship with Crocker, and plans to help him during the transition period. He added that he will also continue to advance the mission of the Tucker Foundation within the context of his role as associate provost.
"I am committed to assisting and helping the Foundation in whatever way possible," Lord said. "[Crocker is] a very quick learner and will do an excellent job."
During Lord's time as dean, Tucker developed the Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth program, the Cross-Cultural Education and Service program, and the Service and Education trips, among other programs.
Lord, who said his new responsibilities will allow him to "work strategically" across different parts of campus, has been discussing expanding his role within the Provost's Office with Scherr for the past few years, Lord and Scherr said. Lord will work with the divisions within the Provosts' Office to develop and manage their diversity plans, Scherr said. The plans were originally developed four or five years ago, he explained, and are due for revision.
No one in the Provost's Office has been responsible specifically for the plans since about 2004, when the person who held those responsibilities left the College.
"I'm committed to Dartmouth College, committed to making a difference, and now it's time to do it," Lord said.
Lord will also help to review and suggest improvements to College community outreach programs, Scherr said. He will also assist Scherr with other projects.
"What [Lord] has in a lot of ways is a lot of originality in the way that he approaches things," Scherr said. "He's a very good person in terms of creating programs, and he just has a huge amount of energy."
Lord said it was too early to specifically define his new goals or duties, adding that his first task will be to assess the Provost's Office's needs.
"The goals will be determined as we build the projects, and so a lot of this stuff is new," Lord said.
Lord pointed to his eight years at the Tucker foundation, his time serving as interim vice president for institutional diversity and equity and his 20 years of experience working in higher education as helping to prepare him for his expanded role.
