Nearly nine months after he was inaugurated as the 18th leader in the Wheelock Succession, College President Phil Hanlon is nearing the end of an eventful first year at the College.
His first four terms have been characterized by new initiatives, student activism and administrative turnover.
In July 2013, two months prior to his inauguration, Hanlon appointed the Right Rev. James Tengatenga of Southern Malawi as the Tucker Foundation’s dean. Following Hanlon’s selection, students and faculty criticized Tengatenga’s leadership of a church with anti-gay stances. Although Tengatenga later expressed his support for LGBTQ equality and same-sex marriage, pressure mounted on campus. Dartmouth’s chapter of the NAACP circulated a petition objecting to the selection that more than 30 faculty and staff signed.
Hanlon met with Tengatenga on Aug. 14 and revoked his appointment, noting in a statement that Dartmouth’s “commitment to inclusion” was too important to be mired by controversy over the selection.
During his inauguration speech on Sept. 20, Hanlon outlined his plans for the Society of Fellows program, which would offer teaching opportunities for postdoctoral students, and described a new student innovation center for entrepreneurs. Later that fall, in his first major speech to faculty, Hanlon reaffirmed several themes from the inauguration, including his commitment to experiential learning, his plans to expand graduate programs and his desire to boost interdisciplinary studies through “cluster” hiring of faculty. The cluster effort will create groups of professors to teach and research cross-disciplinary issues.
In January, Hanlon announced that Carolyn Dever, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Vanderbilt University, would become the College’s Provost. Earlier in the year, Hanlon named Richard Mills as the College’s new executive vice president and chief financial officer. Hanlon also appointed Thomas Bruce as the new senior vice president for public affairs.
When Dever arrives and Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson departs for Scripps College, six senior positions in his administration will have changed leadership.
Hanlon’s first winter at the College saw student demonstrations and activism. Campus outrage followed an online post on Bored at Baker that outlined steps to rape a member of the Class of 2017, identifying her by name and residence hall. In February, a group of students released an eight-page “Freedom Budget” proposal that listed more than 70 proposals to address the distribution of power and resources on campus. The following month, the College responded online, noting its current steps to promote diversity and inclusivity.
In the beginning of spring term, a group of students unsatisfied with the College’s response occupied Hanlon’s office and demanded a point-by-point response to the document. Hanlon spoke with the group for 45 minutes before leaving. After two days, the students left Parkhurst Hall after Johnson agreed to their terms of departure, which included that College representatives would not refer to them as “threatening.”
Hanlon held a campus summit in April to discuss ways to end dangerous behavior, focusing on sexual assault, high-risk drinking and exclusivity. In a message announcing the summit, Hanlon described a new presidential steering committee that would examine these issues. Hanlon will present the recommendations at the College’s Board of Trustees in November.
Also in April, Hanlon accepted an anonymous donation of $100 million to the College, the largest in Dartmouth’s history. The gift will support academic initiatives, including the President’s faculty cluster plan.
In May, Johnson announced that she would leave the College at the end of the academic year to become the vice president for student affairs and the dean of students at Scripps College.
Some faculty and students interviewed by The Dartmouth noted that while Hanlon came into office facing a challenging campus climate and administrative turnover, he managed to handle the situation well.
English professor Ivy Schweitzer commended Hanlon’s decision to hire Dever as Provost, saying it “signaled his real commitment to prioritizing arts and humanities issues.”
Schweitzer said she was impressed by Hanlon’s leadership despite taking over without a complete staff.
“Obviously, even though he is Dartmouth to the core, there is certainly a learning curve,” Schweitzer said.
Chemistry professor John Winn also noted Hanlon’s Dartmouth background and said he was pleased Hanlon arrived with a clear understanding of the institution and a vision for its future.
“My impressions are that President Hanlon clearly had, right from the start, a pretty good understanding of what Dartmouth is and wants to be,” Winn said.
Although Winn said he appreciated Hanlon’s focus on growing the faculty, he also said that one year is not long enough to conclude what path the administration is on. He compared the transition to when a student attends graduate school.
“You don’t really expect them to publish a paper in their first year,” he said. “They’re taking courses, learning the ropes and getting used to how the lab runs. I think that’s true of the senior leadership in colleges and universities.”
Math professor Dana Williams echoed similar sentiments, writing in an email that many of the President’s major initiatives were still “coming into focus.” To Williams, while it is too early to see how effective Hanlon’s proposals might be, the College seems to be progressing under Hanlon’s leadership.
Campus climate following the Dimensions protest last year would have made for difficult entry for a new administrator, English professor Thomas Luxon said.
Luxon lauded Hanlon’s willigness to work within the framework of existing strategic planning.
The College released a series of planning reports in early March 2013, just months before Hanlon arrived on campus. Proposals included ways to reimagine academic and residential life and growing Dartmouth’s global recognition.
“It would have been easy to come and do the planning all over again,” Luxon said. “You would have forgiven a new president for putting the brakes on everything.”
Ten students interviewed praised Hanlon’s openness and desire to gather student input.
Julia Isaacson ’15 pointed to Hanlon’s informal meals with students last summer as evidence of Hanlon’s willingness to engage with students. He has continued to hold open office hours.
“I feel like more students know President Hanlon on a personal basis than President Kim,” Isaacson said. “I think students appreciate the efforts he makes. I feel like he’s genuinely interested.”
Hanlon as a president, Kiko Lam ’14 said, seems more approachable than former College President Jim Yong Kim, though she noted that comparing presidents is difficult because of the turnover of senior administrators.
Both students and faculty spoke to Hanlon’s efforts to address sexual assault on campus.
Winn praised Hanlon for not shying away from the issue, citing the President’s opinion piece in Time Magazine, and Mariel Wallace ’16 said she appreciated Hanlon’s response to negative portrayals of the College in the press.
“I think Hanlon has been more proactive presenting Dartmouth’s perspective,” Wallace said.
Student body president Casey Dennis ’15 said he thought Hanlon had progressed on student life issues, citing the April summit and the Moving Dartmouth Forward campaign. Dennis also praised Hanlon’s visibility and accesibility.
Former student body vice president Michael Zhu ’14 commended Hanlon’s decision to form the steering committee.
“I don’t think it was an easy decision for him, but I think it was necessary decision,” Zhu said. “I think it was a tougher year for him than he imagined, but I think he handled it well.”
