Mary Pat McMahon, currently the associate dean of student affairs at Bowdoin College, will become Tufts new dean of student affairs on April 1.
According to Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Students John Barker, McMahons duties will include overseeing judicial affairs, medical issues and interventions, as well as the Office of Residential Life and Learning (ResLife) and the culture centers.
Through the strategic planning process we looked at how we needed more focus on the structural look of our programs and how they impact our student population, and [we] really review[ed] how our judicial policies and ResLife ... merged in, Barker said. So we decided to separate those two, which is why [McMahon] is coming to really focus on our judicial policy and look at ResLife and how we can change our residential life model.
According to acting Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman, McMahons presence will allow other administrators to expand their roles.
Tufts is a little understaffed, [so] now theres an extra person to add to this effort, Reitman said. A lot of great work gets done at Tufts because a lot of people put in huge amounts of effort, and theyre dedicated so they get it done, but this is an opportunity to have an extra person to add to that effort and give all of us some time to get out from behind the desk.
While the dean of student affairs position has traditionally been responsible for overseeing the Office for Campus Life (OCL) and the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, those duties have been transferred to the recently created dean of campus life and student leadership position, which Reitman is filling.
We never have time, it seems, to get ahead of the curve and do proactive work that really is facilitating community, he said. What Im feeling very good about is having the time to be able to focus on that sort of thing, rather than [having to] react to situations that have happened.
While some of McMahons responsibilities are already established, more will be developed, according to both McMahon and Reitman.
We havent worked it all out yet, so when [McMahon] gets here I think its going to be a good conversation between us with [Barker] about what it is we ought to look down the road to accomplish and who does what piece of it, Reitman said.
McMahon added that her role will evolve when she arrives.
Im still learning about the structure and oversight of things at Tufts, and there will be certain aspects that when I get [here] we [will] be determining what [it] means, she said.
According to Barker, the search process for the new dean took three or four months and involved a cross section of campus, which included undergraduates, graduate students and faculty.
We wanted to make it as public [of a] process as we could, while holding up confidentially for the applicants, Barker said.
According to Barker, the search committee used a firm to gather an initial group of names. The committee eventually narrowed that list down to four applicants who were invited to campus where they participated in all-day interviews with students and presented policies they had enacted in their previous institutions.
We think that during the interview process [McMahon] stood out as the person who engaged with students the best, was passionate about having a vision and really connecting to the community and [had] all the other qualities we were looking for, Barker said.
McMahon explained that she has held multiple positions during her time at Bowdoin. Currently, she is the director of residential life and the associate dean of student affairs for student conduct, student support and student leadership development. Prior to her current role, she was served as dean of first-year students and as an assistant dean of student affairs.
I was the kind of point person for sexual misconduct board, sexual misconduct policy, and I oversaw the judicial board ... all of which, I think, will help me coming into the dean of student affairs role at Tufts, McMahon said.
Barker said this experience will be an asset to Tufts.
Its in her background with Title IX, her sexual assault policies all the things were having critical conversations about right now, Barker said. She has a wealth of information and expertise, and I think shell just add to an already improving process.
McMahon said she is eager to begin in her new position.
[Im] really excited at this opportunity to be at Tufts, she said. Ive been really taken with the people that Ive met [here] ... Its a community where people are really global, and they think about all kinds of ideas and engage on so many different levels with one another and with their scholarship and with their community.
