Steve Leavitt, professor of
anthropology and interim dean of students since September, has been named as
the new dean of students, it was announced Wednesday (March 3) by President
Roger Hull.
“Having served very well in the
capacity of interim dean for the past eight months, Steve was the clear choice
of the search committee and me,” Hull
said in a campus email.
“Not only will Steve bring an
unusual academic perspective to the position, but he will also be able to view
things in a way that most people in the position cannot. I believe that both of
these attributes are of tremendous import at this point in Union's
history.”
Leavitt and his wife, Karen
Brison, joined the College's anthropology department a decade ago. Together,
they served as co-directors of the Union Scholars Program. They also led
several term abroad programs to Fiji.
“I want to use this year as a
time for all of us to assess the good and not-so-good about student life here
outside of academics,” Leavitt said in a letter introducing himself to
students at the beginning of the year. “This includes housing, social
life, psychological and social services, and, yes, parking.”
Leavitt earned his bachelor's
degree from Swarthmore College.
He went on to earn his Ph.D. at the University
of California at San
Diego. He has written on religious movements, family
relations, sexuality, adolescence, and responses to bereavement. He previously
taught at Washington University
in St. Louis. Leavitt and Brison
live in Schenectady with their son,
Jeffrey.
Hull
also thanked members of the search committee: Prof. Julius
Barbanel, chair; Prof. Zoe Oxley; Christina Sorum, dean of faculty;
Cheryl Rockwood, head trainer and director of student athletic programming; Jon
Jackson '04; Daniel Taft '06; Matt Milless, director of student activities; and
Gretchel Tyson, director of affirmative action.