News
The new Dartmouth provost Barry Scherr identifies his three main goals as better integrating various parts of campus, increasing diversity, and supporting academic student life initiatives.
Scherr said that he hopes to encourage more interaction and prudent sharing of resources between Dartmouth's undergraduate college, the graduate programs in arts and sciences, and the medical and business schools.
He also believes that increasing the diversity of the student body and faculty will make Dartmouth a stronger institution.
The recent Committee on Institutional Diversity and Equity report was "excellent," he said.
Scherr added that he was pleased to see that College President James Wright had already begun work on implementing some administrative aspects of the report.
He would like to see more funding channeled towards the Admissions Office for recruiting diverse students, he said.
While it is expensive to send admissions officers on the road for recruiting efforts and to bring prospective students to the Dartmouth campus, Scherr believes that the benefits associated with diversity justify the expenses.
Similarly, he would like to see an increase in the scholarship money granted to international students.
Scherr also plans to work extensively on academic planning as provost.
He recognized that the report drafted by his predecessor, Susan Prager, shortly before her resignation, had been highly controversial.