Dartblog

With the size of the administration already breaking records, Dartmouth, I am hearing, will be announcing a few new hires in coming days. As with all of these hasty dispatches, please take this one with a bit of skepticism. The information comes from nice (and informed) folk who e-mail me, often with substantiating material; often with more than I feel comfortable running. But a rumor ain’t nothing but a rumor.

The first hire is for a position called Associate Dean of Student Life for the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, an office previously occupied by Tommy Woon. Dartblog reported on Mr. Woon’s exit from Dartmouth and OPAL in June of last year. He moved on to the frozen pastures of Macalister College in Minnesota.

The office has in the meantime lain vacant. It will soon be filled, I’m hearing, by Sylvia Spears. Ms. Spears works in Human Development & Family Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Her biography is provided on the website of the URI Multicultural Center.

Dartmouth has also been looking to fill the unfortunately-named position of Dean of Upperclass Students. This position has been vacant for a spell, and its duties had been performed by other employees in that office ever since the former dean, Sylvia Langford, resigned. I believe Dartmouth has elected to hire Rovana Popoff, presently a Senior Adviser in the Office of the Dean of Students in the College at the University of Chicago. Very little biographic information on Ms. Popoff is floating ‘round the Internet. Google Scholar does show a paper that she and a colleague wrote.

Attempts this afternoon to chat with both Ms. Spears and Ms. Popoff failed.

C’est tout. As always, if you have any news tips, do be in touch.

One more thought. With no offense intended toward the newcomers, it seems to me that it would have made more sense to promote two of its own employees to these positions. Instead, like any bureaucracy worthy of the name, Dartmouth just plods on, never firing anyone, never doing long-term internal talent development—just hiring, hiring, hiring. It’s wasteful, in my opinion.

One final thought. I don’t pretend to understand why the rumor mill in higher education churns so vigorously, but it does. Another neat place to read rumors in the political science field is the IR Rumor Mill Blog, which reports on professor hires long before they are announced.