Dear colleagues,

It’s hard to believe that the official launch of the new School of Arts and Sciences on July 1 is nearly here! I know you all have received messages from Elizabeth and John, Scott, and Anne about what to expect in the weeks and months to come. I’m reaching out to provide an A&S-wide update so that everyone is informed about the developments happening across our school and to again thank each of you for your collaboration in its creation.

This message includes a lot of information, and I hope it addresses questions about what’s to come tomorrow and in the weeks and months ahead. A Dartmouth News story on our school’s creation will also be released this week, which showcases the important work you all are doing to enhance the Arts and Sciences and the experience of all the people it serves at Dartmouth.

Finally, please join us for a Virtual Coffee Chat on July 1 at 10 a.m. with Olivia Jaras, Director of Human Resources, and Kyle Hastbacka, Assistant Director, Provost Division Human Resources (Zoom link). The Coffee Chat is an opportunity to connect with colleagues across A&S and discuss any questions you might have about the new school.

Launch of the School of Arts and Sciences 

As of tomorrow:  

• The Division of Undergraduate Student Affairs (DUSA) will include Residential Life, Student Life, Greek Life and Student Societies, and central student affairs. We will sunset the original Division of Student Affairs (Dean of the College office).
• The Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) will bring together select units from the former Division of Student Affairs (DoSA/Dean of the College) and the Division of Faculty (DOF) to enhance the undergraduate curricular and co-curricular student experience. Specifically, the DUE will include Student Support Services, Undergraduate Advising and Research, the Frank J. Guarini Institute for International Education, and the Office of the Registrar.
• The A&S Finance Center will become the A&S Office of Finance and Administration (OF&A), moving out of DOF and under the Dean of A&S.
• The updated DOF will retain all units that do not shift to DUE or OF&A.
• The new School of A&S will continue building dedicated Advancement, Communications, and Undergraduate Admissions teams. Each team has dual reporting directly to the Dean of A&S and relevant central offices.
• I will start convening the Dean of A&S cabinet this week. This leadership team, inclusive of the deans and leads of finance and operations, advancement, communications, and undergraduate admissions teams, will be instrumental in continuing the execution of implementation as well as day-to-day strategy and oversight of our school.
• The Dean of A&S will continue to receive support from our new colleagues: Senior Administrative & Project Manager Katie Watkins and Executive Assistant Karen Small. Welcome, Katie and Karen, and thank you for all you do.  

Anne, Elizabeth and John, Scott, and I will keep you updated throughout the summer and fall terms on opportunities to come together to collaborate and coordinate across A&S in new ways.

Upcoming Office Changes 

Most staff will remain in their current spaces as transitions take place. We are mapping out a long-term office plan for A&S leadership and co-located staff. In the short term, we will be using the following alternative offices/workspaces in a few cases:   

• Dean of A&S Cabinet: The Dean of Undergraduate Education and Dean of Undergraduate Student Affairs will join me in Parkhurst, Suite 102, along with the Dean of A&S Senior Administrative & Project Manager and our Executive Assistant.
• Select DUSA Staff: Select staff will relocate to Robinson.
• All others: Everyone else will remain in their current spaces.

Impact on Operations 

The Implementation Committee and A&S leadership are carefully planning “behind-the-scenes” operational transitions across HR and Finance to make sure we minimize any disruption as a result of these back-end updates. Rest assured that our July 1 transition does not have an immediate impact on daily operations; your day-to-day systems and main points of contact remain the same.

We will begin the phased rollout of operational transitions, detailed below, later this summer, and we expect to conclude that work by late fall or early winter. We will share more detailed information well in advance of each phase and will connect directly with individuals to ensure a smooth and thoughtful transition. 

• Phase 1: Office of Finance and Administration
• Phase 2: Division of the Dean of Faculty
• Phase 3: Division of the Dean of Undergraduate Education
• Phase 4: Division of the Dean of Undergraduate Student Affairs  

We will also be transitioning the support that former DoSA colleagues received on Dartmouth Online Review & Recruitment (DORR) and Employee Relations to the HR team within A&S OF&A as of late July. We have already shared this with DoSA colleagues, and the staff involved will continue to receive updates as the transition progresses.

Additionally, Maria Anderson and the OF&A are working to design and staff A&S-dedicated facilities and IT support (inclusive of existing DOF and DoSA staff who focus on data analytics, system integration, and student information systems). OF&A leadership will finalize details through late fall or early winter term, and Maria will keep us all updated as these teams become operational. Please reference this FAQO for more information on HR and other related updates related to the school launch.

Finally, as planned, our new budget model will “go live” in the summer of 2026 and will align with the new organizational structure of A&S, including a separate budget for DUE. Until then, we will continue to operate under the current FY26 budget structure and run a parallel budget with the new model to ensure smooth transition.

Thank you all for your support and effort to launch the new School of Arts and Sciences and for your continued commitment to our mission. I am looking forward to seeing all that we accomplish together! If you have any questions or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out—my door is always open. 

Warmly, 

Nina Pavcnik 

Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences