Kapi'olani Laronal will become director of the College's Native American Program on Sept. 30. Members of the search committee and students expressed excitement for Laronal's focus on uniting global Native communities.
Laronal, who has Native Hawaiian and Native Alaskan heritage, will work with faculty, staff and tribal communities to assist Native students in their personal and social development. Other directorial responsibilities include maintaining the Native American student retention rate and preparing students for life after graduation, search committee member Preston Wells '15 said.
The search committee, chaired by Native American studies professor Melanie Benson Taylor and Office of Pluralism and Leadership director Alysson Satterlund, sought candidates knowledgeable about Native student life and experienced in crisis management, fundraising and supervision.
Six candidates were selected for additional screening, three of whom participated in day-long campus interviews. Laronal presented to faculty and administrators, met with undergraduate deans and interviewed with OPAL staff and Native American students.
"This was someone who could represent [students] and who they could come to talk to, while at the same time, someone who could set up different programs and make different links into and out of Dartmouth," Wells said.
Native Americans at Dartmouth co-president Phoebe Racine '14 said she is excited about Laronal's appointment and hopes she will make a long-term commitment to the program.
"She's demonstrated that she's very passionate about student welfare and knowledgeable about indigenous issues," Racine said. "She can be a powerful advocate for Native Americans on this campus."
Wells said he looks forward to seeing Laronal's plans to shift NAP's focus to the international community and her interest in expanding connections to the global indigenous population.
Due to increased numbers of Native students in the Class of 2017, the committee is also pushing for an assistant director to aid Laronal with her responsibilities.
"I know that she will be, first and foremost, for the students and continue to make the Native American Program at Dartmouth the best in the country," Wells said.
Laronal will succeed former program director Molly Springer, who went on medical leave last December and currently works as coordinator of living and learning programs at California State University at Monterey Bay.
Laronal was the co-founder of the Pacific Islander Outreach Network for Equal Education Representation at the University of Washington's Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity. She worked at Northwest Indian College on behalf of the Nisqually and Lummi tribe and surrounding tribes of the Pacific Northwest.
Laronal studied sociology at the University of Washington and later attended the University of Michigan, where she earned a master's degree in higher education. She is a former nationally-ranked bodybuilder.
