A pilot version of the Great Issues lecture series, a review of the Student and Presidential Alcohol Harm Reduction Committee recommendations and potential restructuring of undergraduate advising are all part of College President Jim Yong Kim’s plans to improve student life at the College over the summer, he said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
“There are very few places in the United States where you have an entire class in residence by themselves,” Kim said. “It’s a fantastic opportunity and we want to understand how to make the most of it.”
Kim said he will take the preliminary steps toward reinstating the Great Issues lecture series this summer. The series was previously a mandatory course for seniors instituted by former College President John Sloan Dickey.
College administrators had previously planned to hold the entire series as a course this summer, but were unable to do so due to the large number of resources needed to implement the course. Instead, Kim said that this term, the College will hold two “big” Great Issue events that will include discussions and lectures, though the exact structure and dates of the events have not yet been determined.
“We can’t really do the dry run of the Great Issues series we had thought, so we hope to do a couple of events that will help us to think about how to put the Great Issues course together,” Kim said. “It’ll take a lot more discussion with faculty members before we can undertake something like a Great Issues course.”
Students and administrators will also continue to evaluate the recent SPAHRC recommendations released May 19 in response to the Feb. 4 announcement that Hanover Police would begin conducting alcohol compliance checks in Greek houses. Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone announced on Feb. 10 that Hanover Police would delay implementation of the compliance checks in response to strong student backlash on the proposal.
The SPAHRC recommendations include the creation of an alcohol coordinator position to supervise alcohol-related programs, keeping Dick’s House open over the summer, changes to the Social Event Management Procedures including a transition from can-based to keg-based alcohol distribution as well as improvements to the alcohol education program for first-year students, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Kim noted that not every SPAHRC recommendation “makes sense for [the College],” but added that he is “very concerned” about the amount of drinking that occurred in the past year.
College administrators will take into account the strong student opposition to the proposed transition from can-based to keg-based alcohol distribution, Kim said. He added that this is “not really an issue” over the summer, since sophomores are not allowed to have kegs.
SPAHRC will continue assessing these recommendations, as student co-chair Max Yoeli ’12 and Presidential Fellow William Schpero ’10, former student co-chair of the committee, are both on campus.
College administrators are also looking into consolidating independent advising groups into a central student life advising center separate from the academic advising system, Kim said. Administrators will focus on changing the nature of student work spaces and ensuring that student advisors are “cross-trained” to advise from multiple perspectives, he said.
Given the short time scale, Kim said he is unsure how much progress will be made toward the new advising system’s development by the end of the summer.
The new student life advising system will be under the jurisdiction of acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears, according to Kim. The College announced in August that Spears would fill the position vacated by former Dean of the College Tom Crady for a period of two years, at which point a national search for a permanent replacement will take place, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Kim cited Spears as a “very strong candidate” for the permanent Dean of the College position.
“I think Spears has done a fantastic job as [acting] Dean of the College,” Kim said. “We’re going to do a search but it’s hard for me to imagine there’s someone who will bring as much expertise and such a great track record to the job.”
Kim said he will also focus his attention on the Dartmouth Center for Health Care Delivery Science, which will be established by Summer 2011. He said he plans to teach a course relating to the Center in Winter 2011.
Kim added that he will devote time this summer to writing a book, titled “The Meaning of Medicines,” which will address means of increasing access to medicine.