Gail Zimmerman, Dean of First-Year Students home > news_and_events > news_articles >
Focused on Freshmen: A Talk With the Dean of First-Year Students
"Going to college is a family affair," says dean of First-Year Students Gail Zimmerman. "Family is your support whether they're physically next to you or back home." Since pretty much every Dartmouth family is back home (and home can be thousands of miles away), Zimmerman and her staff at the First-Year Office are on hand to provide support for students making the transition to campus life-and a measure of help for parents making their own transition. They organize Family Orientation - a massive undertaking - at the beginning of fall term to introduce students and parents to Dartmouth and to each other. But that's not all. We spoke with Zimmerman about how her office serves the needs of students and their families.
Family Orientation clearly takes a lot of your office's time. After that, what are the two or three services most in demand from students and their families?
Our primary mission in the First-Year Office is to support the academic engagement of students. The majority of our contact with both students and parents is through academic advising - broadly speaking. We may be helping students select their term courses or consider their academic direction or determine the best study strategy for a particular course. Parents often ask for clarification of degree requirements, the D-plan, and study-abroad options. Many times personal circumstances affect a student's overall adjustment and transition to the Dartmouth community and often our work is supporting students and family through difficult times.
The term "helicopter parent" (one who's a bit too involved in her or his student's daily life and choices) entered the national lexicon around the time you came to Dartmouth in 1993. Have you encountered "helicopter parents" here?
I've never been a fan of the term "helicopter parent." It seems so pejorative. We spend twelve years encouraging parents to be a part of their children's education and then expect them to stop cold turkey as soon as they go off to college? A child's growing independence is a process that will happen gradually over the next four years. I welcome our interaction with parents. Those interactions are opportunities to provide information and be a resource for parents as they figure out how best to support and encourage their children through college. There is a reciprocal benefit as well; a parent's concern shared with us helps us best support the student.
Any advice for parents who find themselves worried or preoccupied about their student?
Call us. [The First-Year Office phone is 603-646-2681].
What does your office have planned for first-year parents at First-Year Family Weekend April 27-29?
The Student Activities Office works with members of the Class of 2010 to showcase the campus for families from the students' perspective. Wonderful events are in the works, including campus tours, sporting events, faculty lectures, and performances by our student dance and a capella groups.
The First-Year Office welcomes your questions. The office is located in the basement of Parkhurst Hall and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Phone: 603-646-2681
Fax 603-646-0027
e-mail: first-year.office@dartmouth.edu
Mail:
Office of the Dean of First Year Students,
Dartmouth College,
6007 Parkhurst Hall, Room 6,
Hanover, NH
03755-3529
For upperclass students, contact the Upperclass Dean's Office
Phone: 603-646-2243
Fax: 603-646-1405
E-mail: Upperclass.Deans.Office@Dartmouth.edu
Mail: Upperclass Deans Office,
Dartmouth College,
6003 Parkhurst Hall, Room 111,
Hanover, NH 03755-3529