Dan Nelson, currently the senior assistant to College President James Wright, will be the next director of the Outdoor Programs Office, the College announced on Wednesday. Nelson will assume the position this summer, replacing interim director Earl Jette, who has lead the OPO since former director Andy Harvard stepped down last July.
Nelson previously served as acting Dean of the College after James Larimore left in 2006 to fill a position at Swarthmore College.
The OPO directors have changed frequently in the past eight years, with one serving for only a month. Many students were upset when Harvard, the previous director, resigned, due to the perception that he had been pushed out by the administration.
The OPO manages the Dartmouth Outing Club, the ski teams and Skiway, the organic farm and the College's trails, cabins and lodges.
Nelson said his first goal as OPO director will be to increase the Outing Club's visibility on campus.
"The Outing Club is in great shape right now," he said. "The most important issue right now is that the Dartmouth community really understands its contribution to the College."
Nelson said his heavy involvement in the Outing Club as an undergraduate and his experience in the administration prompted him to apply to be the OPO Director.
"I think I can provide some administrative experience and understanding of how the College works, and also bring a great deal of passion and enthusiasm to the work and all the activities [run by the Outing Club]," he said.
Nelson was chosen for the position due to his long-standing ties to the Outing Club and his extensive experience working within the Dartmouth administration, chemistry Professor Jon Kull, the head of the search committee and a longtime supporter of outdoor programs at the College, said.
"[Nelson] literally has been at almost every meeting of the [Outing Club] I've been to in the past seven years," Kull said.
Kull noted that the committee was looking for a candidate who can improve the OPO's morale by serving as a strong and steady leader. The willingness to respect and promote the Outing Club's distinctive student leadership model is also an important criteria for an OPO director, he said.
"We had been looking for candidates who would be great advocates for the students," Kull said.
The reaction to Nelson's appointment within the Outing Club has been "really positive," Outing Club President Rebecca Vogel '11, said.
"I'm really excited about him," she said. "I think he's going to help a lot in terms of making the [Outing Club] more visible at the College."
A group of Outing Club members playing guitars, mandolins and violins on the lawn in front of Robinson Hall provided a uniformly upbeat assessment of Nelson's appointment.
"I think Dan Nelson is the perfect choice, especially at this time," Rory Gawler '05, the Outing Club general manager, said. "What OPO needs right now is someone who provides stability, and his commitment to the College and Outing Club is clear."
Vogel noted the importance of having a permanent director, which allows the individual to develop the relationships with both students and faculty necessary to help the Outing Club achieve its goals.
Freshmen trips director Scott Limbird '09 echoed the need for a permanent director to preserve the Outing Club's institutional memory.
"We've had an interim director for a while now, so it's great to have a guy who I think is going to be around for a while," he said.
