Mark Hoffman, selected unanimously last November as the new director of the Collis Student Center and Student Activities, started his new position yesterday.
Hoffman replaces Tim Moore, who left the position last January to become director of the student center at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
Hoffman comes to Dartmouth from Connecticut College in New London, Conn., where he was the director of student activities for six-and-a half years.
Raring to go
Hoffman said he wants to be a very visible campus figure and he hopes to "make Collis a place to hang out, a destination, as opposed to a place to stop and go on the way somewhere."
He said he plans to meet with a variety of campus organizations, faculty and students to help him gain a perspective on the campus and the role of the fraternity and sorority system.
Hoffman said he will spend the first few weeks getting to know students and staff members and becoming familiar with the campus.
"I'd like to discover, to understand and to get a feel for student life at Dartmouth," Hoffman said.
He said he feels that will involve "trying to get out and about as much as possible."
"I think it's important to know the campus culture. Every school is different," he said.
Hoffman said he would also like to look into providing activities for people not involved in the Greek system and to take a look at the transition for students of color to Dartmouth and to Hanover.
He said he is eager to see students actively participate in making decisions and planning programs affecting student life on campus.
"I'll take feedback as long as it is presented in a professional manner," he said.
The road to Dartmouth
Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia, who chaired the selection committee, said the group was so impressed with Hoffman's qualifications that they selected him over more than 100 other candidates.
Sateia said Hoffman's responsibilities as director of the campus center at Connecticut College provided him with a great deal of experience for his new job at Collis.
"He really brings a wealth of information to campus," she said.
According to Sateia, Hoffman oversaw a $6.8 million project to renovate the student union at Connecticut College.
Sateia also called Hoffman a "strong advocate for students" and said he "really understands the place of a campus center."
Comparing the 1,600-student Connecticut College to Dartmouth, Hoffman said both schools are not only small, but also have a "very academically-oriented student body."
Dealing with a larger campus at Dartmouth, Hoffman said "getting things done here is probably more complex."
"At Connecticut, I knew everyone and all the phone numbers to call," he said. "I'm looking forward to working at a larger school."
Before running student centers, Hoffman studied history, Russian studies and teaching as an undergraduate at Colorado State University, from where he graduated in 1987.
In 1990 he received a master's degree in education from Iowa State University where he was actively involved in coordinating orientation programs and leadership development programs for the undergraduate students.
He said he became familiar with the Dartmouth campus after attending a conference held at the College by the Association of College Unions International in 1994, where he became acquainted with many of the staff members of Dartmouth's Student Activities.
Moving in
As he settles into his new office on the second floor of Collis, he proudly displays his collection of 361 novelty "float" pens. The office, however, has yet to be equipped with a computer, desk and phone.
"Probably my most obsessive passion is my float pen collection. They have things that float back and forth," Hoffman said with a smile.
"I spent my break cataloguing them and building a display," he said.
Hoffman purchased his first four float pens during a bicycling trip in Europe in 1985. "It wasn't until 1990 that the collecting skyrocketed," he said.
Friends and students bring float pens back from around the world, he said. He said he received a set of six pens from a student who traveled in Taiwan.
A pen picturing Elvis in front of his Graceland house and another pen with the Space Needle at the Seattle World Fair from the 1960s are two of Hoffman's favorite float pens.
