College President Jim Yong Kim has spent his first week in office touring laboratories, meeting with faculty and staff and even playing golf with undergraduates giving himself "a demanding schedule," Barry Scherr, College provost and the leader of Kim's transition team, said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Since Kim had no previous association with Dartmouth before becoming president, taking the time to gain familiarity with the College is a critical first step, many students interviewed by The Dartmouth agreed.
"It's very easy to rush right into something without first getting an overall picture," Tyler Brace '11, summer president of the Inter-Fraternity Council, said. "[Kim] has done a great job of stepping back and assessing what Dartmouth is and what he can do to enhance that experience."
Brace has already attended a preliminary meeting with the new College president, he said, and is hoping to set up a barbecue for Kim and the presidents of each fraternity, as well as a meeting between Kim and the executive board of the Greek Leadership Committee.
Brace added that he would like to talk to Kim about how to deal responsibly with underage and heavy drinking during sophomore summer, noting the lack of a Good Samaritan policy over the summer.
The IFC would also like to work with Kim to implement the Alcohol Management Policy, Brace said. AMP, which is a replacement policy for the current Social Events Management Procedures, is currently under review by Dean of Students Tom Crady. Brace told The Dartmouth that he believes AMP would be "step in the right direction in terms of a college alcohol policy."
Kim received his first official tour of the College on Tuesday, conducted by admissions tour guides Katie Pine '11, Raymond Rodriguez '09 and Ben Young '10, Pine said, terming the visit "much more of a conversation" than a regular admissions tour.
Kim was especially interested in learning about Blitzmail and the history of the College, Pine said.
"I was very impressed he seemed to know a lot, and he'd obviously done his homework," she said. "He was interested in the kinds of anecdotes that wouldn't be in books."
At one point, Kim and his tour guides came upon what they thought was a study group in the Haldeman Center, but turned out to be a meeting of the Dartmouth Coalition for Global Health, Pine said.
"He took us completely by surprise," Christine Goldrick '11, a member of DCGH's board of directors, said. "We were all really excited that he showed up. Most of us have been reading about him since high school."
The members of DCGH pitched Kim an idea for a "think tank" program combining undergraduates, graduate students and professors, which Kim agreed to play a role in, Goldrick said.
Kim also had a meeting with representatives of both varsity and club sports teams.The meeting, which was meant to give Kim perspectives on being an athlete at the College, was a "very down-to-earth conversation," Lane Bracken '11, who plays club rugby, said.
"The fact that [Kim] came right to us allows for a more effective and honest dialogue," Alex Mahler-Haug '11, who is on the club figure skating team, said. "He seemed to be quite well-versed in the sports scene at Dartmouth."
While they do not have set plans, both Mahler-Haug and Bracken said they would like to maintain some sort of relationship with Kim, especially to ensure that funding for club sports is maintained.
Mahler-Haug is a former member of The Dartmouth Staff.
"I think it's great to see a young face who's full of life and excited to be meeting people," Bracken said. "It's funny because any one of us has been here longer than he has, but the learning curve is going to be very steep."
Katie Gulemi '11 was one of three students, along with men's golf coach Rich Parker, who met Kim for a round of golf at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.
They played approximately 12 holes until Kim had to leave for an early-morning meeting, she said.
"He has a such a positive outlook he's still joking around on the golf course, having a good time at five in the morning in the rain," she said. "I'm really impressed with the way he's really attempting to get involved with the students, not just the administration. I think he's handling it well I just hope he has time to sleep."
Kim, who played golf competitively in high school, impressed Gulemi with his performance, she said.
"He hit a driver off the deck," she said. "It's really hard to do and it was raining. It's a very gutsy move and he pulled it off."
