Rovana Popoff, senior advisor in the undergraduate college at the University of Chicago, accepted an offer to fill the position of dean of upperclass students. The decision, which was announced this week, marks the end of a two-year search for the position.
Popoff stood out among other candidates for her experience working in programs based on interaction with students, faculty and administrators, according to Mary Liscinsky, chair of the search committee for the position and the interim dean for upperclass students.
"[Popoff can] view the school as an integrated whole," Liscinsky said. Popoff's projects at the University of Chicago include coordinating the undergraduate Goldwater Fellowships and Rhodes and Fulbright Scholarships. She also directs programming for students entering the University from public schools and develops academic skills workshops. As a graduate of Columbia University, Popoff also has Ivy League experience, which Liscinsky cited as an additional job qualification.
Popoff, who will begin in July, will be responsible for administrative duties, supervising all upperclass deans and advising individual students of all classes.
According to Liscinsky, Popoff has extensive experience with academic advising, a critical component of the job.
"Conversations [with students] aren't just about classes, they're about what's important to you as a person and where you want to go, and she knows how to have those bigger conversations," Liscinsky said.
Popoff said she views her new position as a continuation of her current duties. She has no plans for drastic changes for the College.
"At this point, my plan is to spend time talking to and working closely with faculty, students and other administrators in order to get a firm understanding of the culture and issues that are particular to Dartmouth," Popoff said. "Any new plans will develop from those interactions."
Popoff said she accepted the position largely because of Dartmouth's focus on the undergraduate population.
"At the University of Chicago, undergraduates can sometimes lose out to our large graduate student population, and this can be really frustrating for those who focus on undergraduate needs and issues," she said.
Popoff described Hanover as "an incredibly beautiful area," and cited the College's location as another major reason for accepting the position.
The position of upperclass dean has been vacant since fall of 2005 when Former Dean Sylvia Langford left for the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The College advertised the position in the spring of 2006 but could not find a suitable candidate until the position was advertised a second time this January, when Popoff applied.
Student input was an important part of the application process and carried just as much weight as the other members of the search committee, Liscinsky said. When Popoff visited the campus during Winter term, she met with small groups of students drawn from athletic teams, Student Assembly and the Dean's Office of Student Consultants.
