Senior associate Dean of the College Inge-Lise Ameer will assume the role of interim Dean of the College on Aug. 1, College President Phil Hanlon announced in an email Wednesday morning. Ameer will take the place of Charlotte Johnson, who will depart to become vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Scripps College in Claremont, California.
Ameer has worked to expand both academic advising and new housing initiatives in her role leading student academic support services and campus life initiatives.
Discussing her plans as Interim Dean of the College, Ameer emphasized that she will not introduce major new initiatives but said she planned to continue the work she and Johnson have pursued over the past few years. That work includes supporting the Moving Dartmouth Forward initiative, advancing initiatives like the Center for Community Action and Prevention and maintaining a push to end binge drinking, she said.
In addition to those measures, Ameer said she plans to build on current advising programs, including the First-Year Student Enrichment Program, the Academic Skills Center and Advising 360, a program she spearheaded in 2012 for the Class of 2016.
Once the steering committee for Moving Dartmouth Forward releases its recommendations, Ameer will coordinate with the committee to determine the best ways to implement changes, she said.
Since the arrival of the Class of 2016 in fall 2012, Dartmouth has replaced its President, Provost and Dean of the College, among other high-level administrative positions.
Ameer said that she does not expect these transitions to impact students, noting that “on-the-ground” infrastructure, like the Academic Skills Center and Undergraduate Deans Office, remains most important to student life, she said.
“The other thing that I always say about new faces is it’s going to bring new ideas to the table, innovation to the table,” Ameer said.
Ameer’s interim appointment comes with an uncertain end date. Some faculty and higher education experts interviewed in May preferred a candidate with an academic background.
Sylvia Spears served a two-year interim appointment as Dean of the College that ended just before Johnson’s tenure began. Under her appointment, Spears designed new policies to combat alcohol abuse and sexual assault, oversaw the development of the First-Year Student Enrichment Plan and cut the Deans Office budget by $600,000.
Johnson said she supported the idea of Ameer becoming the permanent Dean of the College. Johnson noted her close working relationship with Ameer and said Ameer has been involved in every major Deans Office initiative since Johnson began at the College.
“I think she can certainly handle the position in all aspects,” she said. “I know that Dartmouth will do a national search, and I hope that she will apply for the position.”
She said Ameer’s judgment, diplomacy and sense of humor have primed her to meet the challenge of juggling the Dean of the College’s various responsibilities.
Student body vice president Frank Cunningham ’16 said he approved of the appointment, citing Ameer’s close work with Johnson.
Greek Leadership Council summer chair Elizabeth Wilkins ’16 said that the GLC supported Ameer’s appointment because of her experience working with student life.
In the past few months, Ameer has worked on the College’s future housing initiatives.In February, she hosted aMoving Dartmouth Forwardsession with residential education director Mike Wooten on housing initiatives that will begin in the fall, like affinity houses for students with common interests, including a “design-your-own” option.
Before arriving at the College, Ameer worked as an assistant dean at Harvard University.
