College officials have chosen four recent Dartmouth graduates to serve as the inaugural Presidential Fellows in Global Studies and Higher Education under new College President Jim Yong Kim, Dean of the Faculty Carol Folt said in an interview with The Dartmouth on Wednesday. The fellows will work with Kim and other administrators to research and assist with projects throughout the Dartmouth community, Folt said.
Molly Bode '09, Daniel Lee MPH'09, Alessandra Necamp '09 and Jesse Silberberg '09 were chosen as this year's fellows, Folt said, following a "very competitive" application process involving approximately 50 applicants from both the College and Dartmouth's graduate schools.
Silberberg is the former publisher of The Dartmouth.
Folt interviewed applicants for the position with the help of Megan Steven '02, assistant dean of faculty, Folt said. The decisions were made in close consultation with President Kim, she said, adding that the goal was to try to find graduates with both a talent for research and the ability to effectively communicate and work within a team.
"We were looking for people who were really excited about higher education and global studies someone for whom this [fellowship] looks like an opportunity, or could be a launching pad into something that they were excited about doing," Folt said.
Silberberg was attracted to the fellowship partly because of his strength in communication, as well as the opportunity to work with Kim, he said. He is also looking forward to gaining experience in the administrative side of higher education, he said.
"My career plans aren't certain by any stretch," he said. "Education is an area that I've thought about going into, as is law. Hopefully this year-long position will give me a better sense of what I want to do."
Bode attributed her interest in the fellowship to her premedical studies as an undergraduate. The fellowship will provide a useful background for future graduate studies in global or public health, she said.
Folt did not enumerate what the nature of the fellows' projects might be, noting that many of their potential tasks remain in formative stages. The fellows will likely be involved in assisting with aspects of Dartmouth's upcoming re-accreditation, Folt said. Each fellow will be matched with projects based on his or her particular strengths, she added.
Bode expects to begin working in President Kim's office with Lee, who has prior experience working in global health and medicine, she said.
Lee served as a policy aide at the White House Domestic Policy Council before completing his Masters in Public Health at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, he said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
"Coming from a background in public health and policy and given my interests in pursuing a career in international health, I was excited at the chance of working with Dr. Kim and his team," he said.
The first projects the fellows will undertake in Kim's office will likely involve working to make education at Dartmouth more globally oriented, as well as expanding programs to study and research global health issues, Bode said.
"I know [Kim] is probably going to think about ways to incorporate some of the things he's been working with while at Harvard [University]," Bode said. "He comes from [Partners in Health,] so I'm sure there will be something which has ties to PIH in some ways."
Folt envisioned the program as an opportunity for professional development for the fellows, she said.
She stressed that the program is not intended to replace the involvement of current Dartmouth students in the affairs of the College, but rather to allow the fellows to see the College from an administrative perspective and to gain useful experience for their future careers.
The fellows will receive compensation from the College along the lines of a graduate stipend and will hold their positions for one year, Folt said.
In an e-mail to The Dartmouth, Necamp said she is currently out of the country, and was unavailable for comment as of press time.
