February 11 — Hampshire College is searching for a new Dean of Students, according to a job listing posted on the College’s hiring portal on November 20, 2025. According to the listing, the Dean of Students will oversee Student Engagement, Wellness, Community Advocacy, Domestic BIPOC and International Student Success, and New and Transfer Student Orientation and Transition. While not mentioned in the initial job listing, Residence Life will also report to the Dean of Students. The new full-time position will report to the Vice President of Academic Affairs, Gary Hawkins, and earn a yearly salary between $90k and $95k.
Gary Hawkins told The Hampshire Leapfrog that the new Dean of Students will be integrated into student life, “not some administrator who is in an office … and [will be] particularly focused on the work of student success & retention.” The Dean will be part of the “on-call rotation,” a rotation of student-facing staff members who respond to student emergencies and concerns after-hours and over the weekend. To facilitate an active relationship with the student body, Hawkins says a Dean of Students who lives on-campus is “absolutely on the table,” but that depends on final negotiations with candidates. Campus Safety & Well-being (CSW) will not report to the Dean, but Hawkins emphasizes that “certainly the work has to be highly-coordinated and connected.” CSW currently reports to the Senior Vice President for Justice, Equity, and Antiracism (JEA), Dr. Sheila Lloyd.
Three finalists candidates were identified by the search committee, which Hawkins says is “a mix of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs,” as well as one Division III student. Per a memo from Senior Director of Residential Life Alexandria Donkor on the evening of February 9, one of these three finalist candidates has withdrawn from the selection process due to personal reasons. The remaining two candidates will be visiting campus on Tuesday, February 10, and Thursday, February 12. Each day will feature a “Student Session” from 12pm to 1pm where students will be able to speak with the candidate and ask questions, and a candidate presentation from 2:30pm to 3:45pm where the candidate will present and then answer questions from students, faculty, and staff. Hawkins says “[the search committee will] absolutely … really privilege the student input.”
The job listing for the position set an anticipated start date of December 15, 2025. That date has come and gone, but Hawkins says “to me, its always more important that we do a … really good job of reviewing and vetting, and that’s what we’re in the midst of.” Hawkins says the College is “now targeting” a March 1 start date for the role.
When asked how hiring a Dean of Students might affect the College’s finances, Gary Hawkins told Leapfrog that rather than being a completely new role adding a new salary to the budget, the position will ultimately reconfigure and absorb some existing positions and their responsibilities in Student Affairs such that the impact on the budget is minimal.
Hampshire College has been without a Dean of Students since the position was eliminated along with the Division of Student Affairs in the layoffs and restructuring of the College in the summer of 2024. The functions of the Division of Student Affairs were largely centralized under the Division of Justice, Equity, and Antiracism (JEA), led by Senior Vice President Dr. Sheila Lloyd, as well as some functions being moved under Academic Affairs and Auxiliary Services. In his announcement of the restructuring, then-President Ed Wingenbach wrote that “combining student-facing services and supports with those already operating within JEA will center the commitments to equity and antiracism across the work the College does to create a just and flourishing campus culture that supports student success.”
In a letter to the student body on September 24, 2025—last semester—then-interim President Jennifer Chrisler wrote “After more than a year since the reorganization of 2024, we’ve had the opportunity to see what’s worked and what needs iteration. As a result of these assessments, I have made several changes,” and went on to announce the move of Residence Life, Student Engagement, Student Retention & Success, Community Advocacy, and Domestic BIPOC and International Student Success from under the Division of Justice, Equity and Antiracism to the Division of Academic Affairs.
Hawkins says the choice to move Student Affairs under Academic Affairs “was primarily driven by the opportunity of coordinating … student support and student services,” bringing together offices like The Center for Academic Support and Advising and Community Advocacy under one banner. When asked whether the opportunities of a Student Affairs under JEA model spoken about by former president Ed Wingenbach had failed to materialize, Hawkins said “President Chrisler’s vision is the opportunities of joining Student Affairs and Academic Affairs, as opposed to any sort of comment on the previous structure. … It’s not a case of being disappointed with what happened there, it’s more a different organizational structure being driven by a new president. That’s my take on it.”
When reached for comment, President Chrisler told The Hampshire Leapfrog “Because Hampshire students have ownership over their own education, on this campus the interconnection of academic work, student groups and activities, and residence life is particularly important. At this point for Hampshire I believe the structure of a unified division of Academic and Student Affairs is the best way to accomplish that interconnection and most fully support students. Dean Hawkins and Dr. Lloyd continue to work together closely on student support, retention, and ensuring that Hampshire’s pursuit of justice, equity, and antiracism is integrated into all of our work.”
According to Hawkins, once the College had decided to move Student Affairs under Academic Affairs, it brought in an external reviewer, Patrick Connelly, to assist the college in developing the exact structure. Connelly has a background in Student Affairs but now works in Academic Affairs at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, a public liberal arts college comparable to Hampshire College in size. Hawkins said that Connelly recommended the school return to a Dean of Students model.
Connelly also recommended a priority be placed on securing leadership for Residence Life. Hawkins said “[That was something] we knew, but these are the things where an external reviewer helps to confirm the urgency.” The College has since hired Alexandria Donkor as Senior Director of Residence Life in December, as well as Akim Green who joined as an Assistant Director working with continuing students.
REVIEWED BY: Phe O’Leary, Verne Gulley, Ryan Nivus
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