Correction appended
The Outdoor Programs Office Search Committee will conclude its search in the next few weeks and will submit a recommendation to Dean of the College Tom Crady and Dean of Student Life Joe Cassidy, who will make the final hiring decision. The committee was encouraged by the College to consider any viable candidates internal to Dartmouth for the next OPO director, though an outside appointment is still possible, according to committee chair and Dartmouth chemistry professor Jon Kull.
The committee had almost finished its search before Thanksgiving, Kull said, but had to begin again after the College announced an external hiring freeze in November.
The hiring freeze includes a provision that allows external hires to be made under "extraordinary circumstances."
Earl Jette has been serving as interim director since former director Andy Harvard left the College last July.
Kull said that the committee's focus on internal hiring has not led to lower standards.
"[We're] putting them through the same process as external candidates," he said.
Kull declined to provide the specific criteria the committee is using for the search because the process is ongoing, but said the new director should be skilled at communicating with many different offices and working closely with students. He added that the OPO director must also have significant experience with the outdoors.
"We want an effective manager who has a vision for the where Outdoor Programs is going, and that requires familiarity with Outdoor Programs in general," he said.
Andrew Palmer '10, DOC president and a member of the committee, said he has been impressed with committee members' commitment to the OPO's tradition of strong student leadership.
"There were older members sometimes speaking more adamantly for student involvement than I was," Palmer said.
OPO has continued its programming as normal during the search process, OPO deputy director Brian Kunz said, but he added that the office has lacked an over-arching vision.
"We've been operating with limited direction," he said. "We all know what to do, and we're doing the best we can."
Many student members of the DOC expressed disappointed when Harvard left the College in the summer because they believed he had been forced to leave, DOC member Ian Wheat '09 said, adding that students hope the next director will possess a similar leadership style to Harvard's.
"We hope for someone willing to give the club as much freedom as it had in the past," he said.
Although Jette has managed the office well as interim director, the lack of a permanent director has prevented major improvements and changes, Dartmouth Mountaineering Club chair Noah Harwood '10 said.
"Without [Harvard], it's been difficult to get big projects and big trips underway," Harwood said, pointing to the cancelation of a proposed expedition to the Himalayas.
The Dartmouth ski team's winning record and the continuation of freshman trips are examples of the OPO's ability to function effectively without a permanent director, Kunz said.
"A lot of people think the office is being run pretty well," he said.
Both Kunz and Kull mentioned that the OPO has cycled through several directors over the last eight years, with one individual lasting only one month in the position. Kull said the committee hopes to end that streak.
"Our goal is to make sure that the turnover over the eight or nine years does not continue," he said.
Jette was unavailable for comment by press time.
The original headline and lede of this article incorrectly stated that the search committee had canceled their national search and was considering only candidates internal to the College. In fact, the College has encouraged all search committees to look at any viable internal candidates, though an outside appointment is still possible under what the College termed "extraordinary circumstances" in its release.
