Alysson Satterlund, the current director for student organizations and interim director of the Women's Resource Center and PRIDE Center at California State University, Sacramento, will assume the position of director of the College's Office of Pluralism and Leadership on Feb. 15, according to Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson.
The selection process for the new OPAL director involved a national search conducted by a committee composed of students, faculty and staff, Johnson said.
The committee narrowed the choice down to three "top-notch" finalists, but Satterlund was the "clear consensus candidate," Johnson said.Satterlund's experience working with groups including LGBT students and students of color influenced her selection, Johnson said.Satterlund worked in higher education for 17 years prior to her selection, including four years at the University of North Carolina and three years at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke University. Satterlund also worked at California State University and as dean and special assistant to the Chancellor at the City College of San Francisco in California, which Satterlund described as "a big experience in collaborating," according to an email from the Dean of the College to staff. In this position, Satterlund served 95,000 students and coordinated bi-annual meetings of the San Francisco Higher Education Consortium.Satterlund's expertise and leadership will move OPAL in a positive direction, helping it to evolve as an organization, Johnson said.
"In addition to her expertise in organizational management communication, I think she'll bring a leadership style that encourages a collaborative work environment," Johnson said.
Satterlund will help OPAL focus on its two complementary goals building an inclusive community for students and "building bridges between students across the spectrum," according to Johnson.
"[OPAL] is one of the places where different students can connect to the campus and connect to the institution and engage," Johnson said. "In order to be the well-rounded students we want them to be, they need to be able to communicate across difference."Satterlund was drawn to Dartmouth because of its "amazing community" and the closeness that comes from working at a school smaller than ones she has been a part of in the past, she said.
"There's an intimacy when you get to actually know people and see them on a regular basis," Satterlund said. "That's what I loved about Duke I could see my students in the cafeteria."
As director of OPAL, Satterlund said she plans to emphasize the organization's role in building communities and bridges between groups at Dartmouth."One of the things I loved when I was visiting campus and doing research was this idea that OPAL, along with other partners, was really there to build a community," Satterlund said. "I'm just so thrilled to be a part of what comes next and to help shape that in collaboration with others."
In her new position at OPAL, Satterlund will aim to bring together different groups on campus to help the organization's mission of community building.
"I would want it to be something that students and community members could look to and be proud to be associated with and support," Satterlund said. "My vision is a community working together for the benefit of themselves and others."
Satterlund received both her bachelor's degree and a master's degree from California State University, Chico, and she received a PhD from UNC, Chapel Hill in interpersonal and organizational communication, according to the email. She additionally holds a certificate from Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management.
