As we begin a new academic year, I am writing to share some exciting updates in the Office of the Dean of the College aimed at enhancing all aspects of Student Life to ensure the quality of experience for all students.

The Commons 

Roman Graf and Stefano Mula have recently started in their new roles as Head of Brainerd Commons and Interim Head of Cook Commons, respectively. They will work alongside their Commons Teams; and collaborate with the Dean of Students, the Dean of the College, and other Student Life colleagues to bridge the academic and social lives of students.

I would like to introduce our newest Commons Residential Advisers (CRA). They include:
RD Jenkinson ‘10.5 (Atwater), Molly Eberhardt ’11 (Brainerd), Sarah Helland ’11 (Cook), Rachel Ochako ’11 (Ross), and Stanis Moody-Roberts ’11 (Wonnacott). The CRAs have been hard at work since August helping us get ready for Orientation and training the FYCs and RAs. We are so pleased to have them join our team. 

The Office of the Dean of Students (DOS)

Katy Smith Abbott recently returned from leave and jumped right into her new role as the Dean of Students. The newly established Office of the Dean of Students is comprised of Judicial Affairs; Residential Life; Student Activities; Outdoor Programs and Club Sports; Orientation; and Student Life Policy. The Center for Campus Activities and Leadership (CCAL) is now known as Student Activities. We have officially retired the acronym “CCAL”.

As a team, the staff of the DOS office will have direct collaborations with the Commons, the Center for Education in Action (EIA), International Student and Scholar Services, the Project for Creativity and Innovation, and other offices and programs on campus. The Office of the Dean of Students is located in the McCullough Student Center.

Over the summer there were important changes to the roles of some of the DOS staff:

Doug Adams has now assumed the role of Associate Dean of Students for Residential Life and Student Life Policy. Key components of Doug’s position include: working to implement a satisfying and sustainable programming model for our upper-class residences; maintaining oversight of the McCullough Student Center; assisting the Dean of Students in advising the SGA; and working on student life policies as well as special projects within the DOS area. 

JJ Boggs has taken on a dual role, as Associate Dean of Students for Student Activities and Orientation, providing leadership and management of the Student Activities Office as well as directing the College’s orientation program. Working with her colleagues in Student Activities, she will continue to implement activities and services which supplement the academic program of the College, supervise the operations of the Student Activities office, and provide advice and resources for students and student organizations.

Karen Guttentag is now Associate Dean for Judicial Affairs and Student Life. In this role, Karen will continue to oversee Judicial Affairs and will support, advise, and mentor various student organizations. 

Dave Kloepfer has taken on the role of Student Activities Program and Events Manager. Dave will advise, coordinate, and supervise the activities of MCAB, and will serve as primary manager of technical services for all McCullough Student Center events.

Other staff members in the Office of the Dean of Students include Derek Doucet, Director of Outdoor Programs and Club Sports; Diane Foley, Assistant to the Dean of Students; Karin Hall-Kolts, Residential Systems Coordinator; and Jessie Jerry, Office and Budget Manager for Student Activities.

Education in Action (EIA)

Additionally, I am happy to inform you that Lisa Gates has officially moved into her expanded role as Associate Dean of the College and Director for the Center for Education in Action. Lisa completed her work with Middlebury’s reaccreditation this past spring and will now be full-time in EIA. In the past year, Lisa has overseen the creation of the Center for Education in Action, which brings together the collective resources of career services, civic engagement, fellowships and health professions. This year, EIA will focus on several new initiatives. Highlights include increasing summer and winter term internships and funding opportunities; reaching out to students early in their undergraduate career; and focusing on the impact of experiential learning to deepen academic interests and explore career and life directions.

Over the past several months, EIA had a few changes in the roles of their staff: 

Peggy Burns is now Associate Director for Civic Engagement and Internships. In addition to her work with civic engagement, Peggy is leading a new internships effort, with colleagues Tim Mosehauer, Assistant Director for Career Services, and Karen White, Administrative Coordinator for Experiential Education. 

Ashley Calkins ‘06 joined us in June as the Community Engagement Coordinator. In addition to being an alumna, Ashley also worked two years as a VISTA member here after graduation.   

Emma Lennon ‘11 joined us this year as our Mentoring and Youth Programs Coordinator. An AmeriCorps VISTA member, Emma will work closely with mentoring programs, including Community Friends, Xiao Pengyou, Distinguished Men of Color, DREAM, and College for Every Student. 

Karen White joined the EIA team this summer as the Administrative Coordinator for Experiential Education. She will be working with Tim and Peggy on internships and working with Lisa on the work of keeping EIA running smoothly.   

Parton Health and Counseling Center

In order to provide the highest level of integrated health care for students health services, counseling services, and sports medicine are now formally linked as Parton Health and Counseling Center (“Parton” for short). The executive director is Gus Jordan, a clinical psychologist. He is joined at the administrative level by Dr. Mark Peluso, medical director, College physician, and head team physician; Terry Jenny, associate director of health services; and Dave Matthews, director of sports medicine.

In addition, we are pleased to welcome Ximena Mejia as the new director of counseling services. Ximena previously served as assistant director of the counseling center. With Gus, she will help oversee the work of counseling services and will join the Parton administrative team.

Parton also has a new website at go/health, with easy to access links to medical information.

We are very excited about these changes and very much look forward to our continued work in supporting the College and our students.

All the best,

Shirley M. Collado
Dean of the College

Leave a Reply