How did you get into academic administration?

I got my first job in higher education basically on an invitation to apply for a position that was open at my alma mater, University of Michigan Law. Once I got into it, I found it was suited to my temperament and who I am as a person, and better aligned with some of those things that I really care about: education and education as it works to help transform and better young people’s lives.

What have been your biggest satisfactions and biggest frustrations working as dean of the college at Colgate University for the past five years?

Satisfaction is derived from the interaction with students and the ability to make a contribution somehow to their moving forward, to their success. The biggest frustration: Sometimes things can move slowly in academia.

Can you provide a revealing or instructive example of how you resolved a difficult student issue?

When I was midway through my tenure at Colgate, right after the 2008 presidential elections, racist graffiti was discovered in one of the bathrooms on campus. As you might imagine, it stirred up a lot of emotions and it really was a huge deal for the community, because racism is ugly. There were students who came out as a group and wanted to negotiate various changes in the curricular and co-curricular experience as a result of the incident. One of the really difficult things about that time was not being able to do everything that students thought we ought to do as an administration in response to the incident, and having to explain to students why some of the things they asked for they couldn’t get right away. In the end, we were fine, and the relationship with students was stronger because I was able to explain and be transparent about the decisions being made.

You were the first African-American female partner at the firm Garan Lucow Miller in Detroit. How does your background as a lawyer inform your approach?

The best training as a lawyer that prepared me for higher education is the ability to see different perspectives, and beyond that, the ability to help people reach consensus. The other thing is that law toughened me up a bit: Sometimes you have to have a thick skin to be in higher education. I won’t say it made me completely immune to the tough situations and tough decisions that come along, but it has certainly helped me make very critical and principled decisions.

What kind of manager are you?

I’m the sort of manager who expects a lot from people, but nothing that I don’t expect from myself. I also pride myself on letting the people who work with me be the experts in the things that they are experts in, and allowing them the room and creativity to be successful. I will also say that I’m not afraid to make a decision and go against the grain if I believe it’s the right thing to do.

Why do you think Dartmouth chose you?

I bring good experience, and I think I bring a sound philosophy when it comes to operating within the context of student affairs. By “sound philosophy” I mean making decisions based on principle, as opposed to the need to be popular. I hope they selected me because they think I’m a fun person with a sense of humor that people—students, alumni, staff, faculty—will really enjoy working with. At the end of the day that’s what it’s about. When I choose someone to work with, I ask myself, “Can I be in the trenches with this person when things get really tough and heated?” I hope they asked themselves that question, and I hope the answer was yes.

Why did you take the job?

I always wait for the “clicking sound” that I once read an article about, meaning, “this is the right fit.” Students and the faculty I’ve met, the staff, all sent out this vibe that said to me, “Charlotte, this would be a great place for you, this is a place where you can make a contribution and a difference.”

Whom did you consult about the College when considering the position—and what did you hear?

I didn’t have to go far because I’d hired a number of people who had worked at Dartmouth in the past. I also relied on a couple of long-time mentors who know the place, the reputation, and were able to give me good advice. People who’ve worked at Dartmouth or attended school here have this affinity for the place, the alumni particularly. Dartmouth, like anywhere else, has its issues, but those issues, I think, are really eclipsed by the experience students have here. It leaves alumni, for the most part, with overwhelming feelings of nostalgia and desire to support the organization.

What are your top priorities?

The No. 1 priority is getting out there and listening to people—students, staff, faculty, alumni—so I can get a better sense of what Dartmouth is all about, how I can most effectively make contributions in my position. Another will be to make sure that the staff and the dean of the College division feel like the division is cohesive and on a really solid foundation to move forward.

What’s your take on the best ways to keep students safe?

Enlisting them as agents in their own safety. I don’t think there’s any better insurance than students themselves being involved in the process. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have policies or structure, I’m saying that at the end of the day, those policies need to be transparent enough and common sensical enough that students can sign on. We need to partner with students to help them make wise decisions about their own safety.

How will you attempt to get to know students?

Going into the places where students meet and interact. I think that’s the best way.

How involved will you be in the new anti-binge drinking initiative and what recommendations of best practices or innovative programming or policies do you have?

I’ll certainly be involved in this initiative. I think that all institutions share what are fairly standard best practices: early education, helping students make good decisions, informing them about the risks of binge drinking in terms of safety and health, peer educators (having students educate and work with each other) and, most recently, having students intervene and help another student who has made some poor choices involving alcohol.Those are the best practices out there, but I think part of the initiative is to find out if there are other practices, if there are additional ways we can engage students to be the insurers of their own safety.

How important is student input when it comes to strategic planning?

I think student input is always important, not just in terms of strategic planning but in terms of their satisfaction with the interactions they’re having with various administrators.

Any sense of differences and similarities between Colgate and Dartmouth as places to work and live?

I think Colgate has prepared me for the long winters and the relative isolation of Dartmouth. I think that being out there in rural areas breeds a community that you don’t get everywhere, because you have to make your own fun. The community becomes more important when you’re so interdependent on each other, and I think that’s been the case at Colgate, and I suspect from what I know and have learned so far, that that’ll be the case at Dartmouth as well.

What do you do for fun?

My husband and I love golf, going to the movies, restaurant hopping. We are big on family so when we have the opportunity we always have our extended families over or we go and visit them.

Lauren Vespoli is a DAM intern from Connecticut. She’s majoring in history.