New Dean of Freshmen appointed

Lorraine Sterritt, an associate dean at Harvard, will help coordinate a new advising system for freshmen. The College of Arts and Sciences announced yesterday that a Harvard University administrator has been appointed as the College's first dean of freshmen, a position created as part of the College's ongoing overhaul of its advising system. Lorraine Sterritt, Harvard's associate dean of freshmen for academic affairs, will take the position on July 1. Sterritt will be responsible for overseeing freshman advising, coordinating academic support services for freshmen and planning a newly expanded New Student Orientation in the College. The College has actively been planning changes to its advising system this semester, the results of which will be seen in a new, more comprehensive advising program for freshmen this fall. College Dean Richard Beeman explained that the dean of freshmen position was designed to have someone organize and implement the new system of advising. "By creating a high-level position? we're going to get advising in the College off to a good, strong start," Beeman said. Sterritt said she is looking forward to the opportunities her new position will provide. "I love freshmen," she said. "I really see the freshman year as a time when it's really important to get good advice." Sterritt, who has been at Harvard for four years and previously worked with freshmen and sophomores at Princeton University, said her new job will offer her the chance to further develop her work on freshman advising. "It builds on what I've already been doing at Harvard," she said. "I think it's going to be a great opportunity." Sterritt noted that she was pleased to find that a large number of faculty members in the College were interested in advising students, saying that she hopes "to be able to build on what already exists." Freshmen need "a real human being that they can sit down and talk with about academic matters," said Sterritt. She also emphasized the importance of supporting advisors and showing them how they can best help students with academic concerns. College Advising Director Diane Frey said Sterritt will serve as "a point person" for freshmen, getting in touch with students who might not otherwise be able to get the undivided attention of an administrator. "I think she'll have more time to do outreach to freshmen," Frey said, adding that "since there's no one person dealing with freshmen [now], we might not have heard all their concerns." Frey noted that while Sterritt will work primarily with freshmen in the College, she will also be involved with the other undergraduate schools. "It will be something of a work in progress," Frey said. "I'm sure good things will come out of it." Sterritt will report directly to Beeman and Deputy Provost Peter Conn. In addition to her administrative work with freshmen, Sterritt, who has a doctorate in French literature from Princeton, said she will teach one course a year in the Romance Languages Department, most likely on Renaissance French literature, which is her specialty.

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