College President Jim Yong Kim announced several changes to the structure of the administration in an effort to "introduce a more integrated senior management structure," he said in a letter to the College community Thursday evening. The reorganization, which will be implemented June 1, overhauls the hierarchy of the administration, while also reassigning certain duties.
Current Vice President of Alumni Relations David Spalding '76 will fill a new position, chief of staff, that will report directly to Kim.
"I will be managing the staff in the President's Office," Spalding said in an interview with The Dartmouth on Thursday. "I will also be working with the president to help carry out his vision for the College. What's entailed in that is making sure we are broadly involving the community in major issues and building consensus around issues that may come up."
Within the new administrative structure, there will be fewer "direct line" reports to the College president, Spalding said. Fewer direct reports will allow administrators to carry out their goals and objectives more effectively, he said.
Five administrators the executive vice president and chief financial officer, the provost, the senior vice president for advancement, the chief of staff and the general counsel will report exclusively to the President under the new structure. Seven other administrators will dually report to the president and to either the provost or the executive vice president and CFO.
The new structure includes the creation of an Advancement division, which will be overseen by current Vice President for Development Carolyn Pelzel, who will assume the new position of Senior Vice President of Advancement in June. This office was created "to enhance the way we present Dartmouth's strengths to the world," the letter said.
The Offices of Alumni Relations, Development and Public Affairs will all report to Pelzel in her new capacity as leader of the division, according to the letter.
In an e-mail to College alumni, Kim added that the Advancement division was also created to allow administrators to improve the way in which they "engage alumni in the life of the College."
Furthermore, current Senior Vice President and Senior Advisor Steven Kadish will oversee the Finance and Administrative area in the role of executive vice president and CFO, which he will assume in June.
Currently, the positions for vice president for development, chief investment officer, provost and dean of Dartmouth Medical School remain unfilled. Searches are underway to fill the positions of vice president for Alumni Relations and vice president for finance, according to the letter.
"A number of key positions remain open on our organizational chart," Kim wrote in his statement.
A committee to find a permanent provost was formed March 30 and has begun accepting nominations for the post. The position will likely be filled by an internal candidate, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Searches to find permanent administrators for the Dean of the College and vice president for development have not been officially launched.
The search for the College's new chief investment officer was temporarily suspended in November, at which point the investment committee of the Board of Trustees temporarily assumed the CIO's responsibilities, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Director of Class Activities Patsy Fisher '81 will temporarily fill Spalding's current position as vice president for Alumni Relations, according to the letter. The vice president for finance will report to Kadish.
As chief of staff, Spalding will be working on "initiatives" from the President's Office that are elements of the new "strategic planning process," he said, adding that the process will begin later in the term.
Spalding did not detail what the new initiatives will be, explaining that administrators will be "looking at all aspects of the College" as they set a "plan to take the College forward."
In a recent interview with The Dartmouth Editorial Board, Kim said he is ready to begin taking on new initiatives now that the administration has successfully cut the required $100 million from the budget and elections have concluded for open seats on the Board of Trustees and the executive board of the Association of Alumni.
The administration will host a series of breakfasts, lunches and dinners with various members of the Dartmouth community, including students and faculty, in order to discover precisely what projects to take on, Kim said.
In the letter, Kim said administrators will be looking towards the College's 250th anniversary in 2019.
Kim's announcement of the new administrative structure represents the "first time that Dartmouth has posted an official organizational chart," Vice President for Communications Diana Pearson said.
"[This is] definitely an important move for President Kim so that people are fully aware of what our senior management structure is," Pearson said.
