New Office of Student Life Created

Associate Dean of Residential Life Suzy M. Nelson will become the dean of a newly-established Office of Student Life, the product of a merger between the Office of Residential Life and the Office of Student Life and Activities, College Dean Evelynn M. Hammonds announced on Thursday.

The restructuring of the offices comes after three high-level College deans announced their departures this past year, including Dean of Student Life Judith H. Kidd. The merging of the offices will help "reduce operating expenses," "eliminate redundancy," and "facilitate invaluable connections and streamline support for our undergraduates," according to the e-mailed statement of the announcement from Robert P. Mitchell, a spokesman for the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Given the departures of Kidd "and Monique Rinere, Associate Dean of Advising Programs, as well as the impending departure of Georgene Herschbach, Dean for Administration and Finance later this year, I have been considering how to organize the College in a way that will provide our undergraduates with the best learning experiences possible," Hammonds said in the statement. “After much deliberation over the past few weeks, I determined that merging these two existing offices into one would be the most effective way to leverage the expertise of our College staff members."

Beginning this upcoming academic year, the new office will oversee matters relating to residential life, housing, student activities, The Student Organization Center at Hilles, The Cambridge Queen's Head Pub, The Harvard College Women's Center, public service initiatives, and The Harvard Foundation, according to the statement.

Hammonds also announced that Joshua McIntosh, assistant deal of ORL, has been named associate dean for student life. Assistant Dean and Director of Student Activities David Friedrich and Director of the Women's Center Susan Marine have both been appointed assistant deans for student life. As a result of the restructuring and departures this past year, OSL will be composed of five fewer full-time staff members than were previously in ORL and OSLA together, the statement said.

-- Check thecrimson.com for updates.