Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson will depart Dartmouth for Scripps College after this academic year, College President Phil Hanlon announced in an email Friday morning. Johnson will be the vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Scripps, a 1,000-student women’s college in Claremont, California. Over the weekend, students expressed mixed reactions to the news, with some voicing surprise and concern at the high rate of recent administrative turnover and others wishing her well in a new career.
At Scripps, Johnson will oversee student life, help develop a student leadership center and teach.
Johnson said she decided to accept the new position because of the opportunity that the small, all-female liberal arts college will offer her to work more closely with the student body. She also noted the resources provided by the five-school Claremont College consortium, of which Scripps is a member, and personal motivations, as her husband has family in the state.
Johnson said that her departure will mark a “bittersweet” moment because of the affinity she feels for Dartmouth students and colleagues.
“Over my time here, I’ve had a number of organizations reach out to me to ask me if I was interested in moving on, but none of those opportunities appealed to me for one reason or another,” Johnson said. “Plus, there was lots to do here. But when the Scripps opportunity popped up, I actually thought I should take a look because it seemed like it could be a good fit.”
During her three years at Dartmouth, Johnson helped usher forth several student life initiatives, emphasizing student wellness and harm reduction. These include upgrading student-advising services, introducing new social venues through the Collis Center and Sarner Underground, expanding mental health resources at Dick’s House and promoting new residential options.
Alongside sexual assault prevention expert Jennifer Messina ’93, Johnson and her team also created the Dartmouth Bystander Initiative, a program that educates students on identifying and stopping situations that may lead to sexual assault.
In February, Johnson announced the Center for Community Action and Prevention to centralize existing efforts to prevent sexual violence. After the announcement, however, several faculty expressed concern with the center, criticizing its timing and administrators’ lack of transparency. Johnson met with a faculty group later that month to talk about coordinating resources, DBI training and the allocation of funds.
In 2012, Johnson helped introduce a series of harm reduction policies, including random Safety and Security walkthroughs, harsher punishments on Greek houses caught serving pre-made batch drinks and re-envisioned penalties for hazing violations.
Some of these policies were immediately met with ambivalence and criticism from the student body. At the time, Johnson said she thought a “silent majority” of students supported the spirit of the reforms but did not express that support publicly.
Since Johnson arrived at Dartmouth, the College has experienced a three-year decline in high blood alcohol level emergency cases.
Recently, Johnson also played a key role in responding to campus life concerns voiced through the “Freedom Budget,” a student-authored list of more than 70 suggestions for College policy changes. In conjunction with Hanlon, she spoke with demonstrators during the Parkhurst Hall sit-in, a protest prompted by Hanlon’s choice not to respond point-by-point to the document’s demands, and reiterated both her dedication and the College’s commitment toward fighting social injustice.
Reflecting on the changes that occurred during her three-year tenure at the College, Johnson said she believes that overall campus culture has moved in the right direction. She said she has focused on promoting “respectful and constructive dialogue” about difficult topics since her arrival.
Johnson said that some of her most “challenging but rewarding” initiatives have centered on sexual assault prevention. Johnson also named improvements to student advising services, expansion of social venues and the construction of the Triangle House, an LGBTQ affinity house, and physical plants for Alpha Phi and Kappa Delta sororities.
When asked about the recent spike in student protests at the College and corresponding media attention, Johnson noted similar nationwide trends. Dartmouth will be differentiated from other schools experiencing such activism by the College’s response and the degree to which the community embraces activism and remains open-minded, she said.
Prompted to reflect on how her departure could affect the administration’s sensitivity to concerns raised by students from minority groups, Johnson said that while she has been a voice for all students on campus, she hopes she has been “a special sort of role model for women and people of color.” She added that she is proud of the individual relationships she has built with students of all backgrounds, as well as the staff she has built.
“One of the things I’m most proud of is the team that I’ve put together,” she said. “I’ve put a stellar team in place, and I just don’t think Dartmouth or the Dean of the College operation will miss a beat.”
Of 91 students surveyed Sunday evening, the majority reported moderate satisfaction with Johnson’s job performance. While many said they could not or declined to name a specific initiative that marked her tenure, a significant portion noted her handling of the “Freedom Budget,” both positively and negatively, as the event for which she would be most remembered. Some also noted her commitment to inclusivity, work on bystander initiatives and efforts to combat sexual assault as key aspects of her tenure, while others noted a “laissez-faire” attitude and “bumbling response to campus unrest.”
The average ranking of Johnson’s tenure on a scale of one to five was a 2.95, with one being “not at all satisfied” and five being “completely satisfied.” The most common response was a three, which 43 respondents marked. While 10 students marked a one, three chose five.
Respondents consisted of 31 freshmen, 23 sophomores, 21 juniors, 13 seniors and one member of the Class of 2013, and two who declined to specify their class year. There were 49 male students, 39 female students and three students who did not specify their gender.
Si Yon Kim ’16, who said she participated in the “Freedom Budget” sit-in, said she perceives the announcement as a political move by the College, especially in light of what she said was an inadequate response to recent campus activism by College President Phil Hanlon.
“Am I surprised that Dean Johnson, who signed the exit stipulations given by the protesters, is leaving Dartmouth?” she said. “Absolutely not — this is a subtle message from the administration if students have a problem with the College, they will have to make their case in the school’s terms, and anything that deviates from the accepted mode of dissent will not be recognized as legitimate.”
Alexander Lee ’16 said he feels that many students have criticized Johnson without sufficient knowledge of what an administrator’s job entails. Lee added that although he was not aware of many of the initiatives Johnson implemented at Dartmouth, he believes the recent introduction of living learning communities is a positive step for the College.
Several students interviewed said they were not aware of Johnson’s planned departure. While some speculated about why they thought that Johnson was leaving for Scripps, others did not offer strong opinions.
“Regardless of why Dean Johnson wanted to move, it sounds like this is a good opportunity for her,” Kathryn Waychoff ’16 said. “She’s had a successful career, and I don’t think this is the end of it by far.”
