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Colgate's Johnson to Dartmouth

Tue, May 31, 2011

Colgate's VP & Dean of the College is off to Dartmouth in July.

Colgate's Johnson to Dartmouth

Dartmouth President Jim Yong Kim today announced that he has appointed Charlotte H. Johnson, vice president and dean of the college at Colgate University, as dean of the college at Dartmouth. She will assume her new role in July.

Johnson has been dean at Colgate since 2006, leading a student affairs division of 114 staff in 16 units.

In announcing the appointment, Kim said, “Charlotte is a visionary leader in the field of student affairs. Her thoughtful and extremely effective approach to her work at Colgate is widely respected, and we’re thrilled that she’s agreed to join our team at Dartmouth.”

Johnson, who was appointed following a national search, said, “I have long admired Dartmouth and am excited and privileged to be joining President Kim, Provost (Carol) Folt, and the exceptional leadership team they have assembled. This is an extraordinary opportunity to lead and innovate. I look forward to partnering with the Dean of the College staff, students, faculty, and alumni as Dartmouth continues to distinguish itself as a leader in higher education.”

The Dean of the College is Dartmouth’s senior student affairs officer, providing leadership for a comprehensive set of undergraduate student affairs programs and services. The dean is a member of the president’s leadership team, and is responsible for numerous activities including student support services, counseling services, campus life programs, dining services, health services, judicial affairs, and campus safety. The dean works closely with the faculty to integrate Dartmouth’s curricular and co-curricular experience, and to foster a climate conducive to the academic, personal, and professional success of students.

Provost Carol Folt said Johnson’s “reputation as a strong and inclusive leader will serve her well at Dartmouth. Charlotte combines a genuine affinity for students with outstanding ability to collaborate across the institution and manage a complex organization.”

Johnson brings more than 14 years of experience working with students to Dartmouth. Prior to her role at Colgate, she served, from 2000 to 2006, as assistant dean for student affairs at the University of Michigan Law School, and, before that, was the law school’s director of academic services, beginning in 1997. At Michigan, she collaborated with faculty to create new interdisciplinary academic programs. She was also a member of the legal and communications strategy teams that contributed to the defense of the university’s admissions policies in the landmark 2003 Supreme Court case upholding affirmative action in higher education.

Previously, she worked for eight years at Garan Lucow Miller, a law firm in Detroit, where she focused on corporate and municipal defense in cases involving medical devices, insurance coverage, and lawsuits involving exposure to toxic substances. She was the first African American woman to be made a partner of the firm. In 2008, she received the Presidential Award for Outstanding Service from the National Bar Association. Johnson has also presented at national conferences on the importance of access and inclusion in higher education.

Johnson earned a BA in psychology in 1985, ranking first in her graduating class at the University of Detroit. She earned a law degree from the University of Michigan in 1988.

Additionally, she has completed continuing education programs at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and at Michigan. She was chosen by the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan to be a Menttium Scholar at Menttium Corporation, of Minneapolis, where she completed a program supporting leadership development and diversity for high-performing mid-career level women.

Johnson will take over from Sylvia Spears, who, in August 2009, took on the role of Acting Dean of the College for two years, with the expectation that a national search would be launched during the 2011 academic year.

Source: Dartmouth

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