The Provost has introduced new Faculty Initiatives encouraging participation, ideas and volunteers within the Dickinson community. Current Initiatives are below.
Posse Chicago, Call for Mentors
We are happy to invite applicants to be the next Posse Mentor for a group of young and talented scholars from Chicago, IL. Dickinson has a long and successful relationship with the Posse Program, which is a national leadership organization founded at Vanderbilt University, with three distinct goals:
- To expand the pool from which top colleges and universities can recruit outstanding young leaders from diverse backgrounds.
- To help these institutions build more interactive campus environments so that they can be more welcoming for people from all backgrounds.
- To ensure that Posse Scholars persist in their academic studies and graduate so they can take on leadership positions in the workforce.
Posse Scholars undergo a careful selection process, culminating in their being matched with a college or university, and earning a full-tuition scholarship. Posse is life-changing for students, and one factor that makes the Dickinson experience special for these leaders-in-development is the commitment of faculty and staff who have served as Posse Mentors. Dickinson has had Posses from New York City and Los Angeles – the incoming first year class will be our second Posse from Chicago.
More Information
The Posse Mentor is responsible for helping members of their Posse thrive at Dickinson, by meeting with the scholars individually and as a group during their first two years on campus, connecting them with resources and key support services on campus, and engaging in college-long (and potentially life-long) mentorship of these students. Posse Mentors help the group establish connections at Dickinson, play a role in helping them talk with their academic advisors about their pursuit of educational opportunities, and help the group navigate life at the College – both as a group, and as individuals.
Mentor Responsibilities
Posse mentors serve in the position for two years and are required to attend three intensive training seminars prior to the arrival of the scholars in the fall, including a week-long mentor training in July. In the spring of each year, the Posse Mentor attends, with the group, the annual Posse Plus Retreat, on campus, a 2 ½ day commitment. Expenses for trainings and retreats are covered by the college and constitute a significant opportunity for professional and personal development.
Once the scholars arrive on campus, the Posse Mentor is responsible for facilitating meetings of the Posse, weekly, for 1 – 2 hours at a time. The Posse program provides some curriculum materials, but the mentor also needs to be responsive to the needs of the group and adjust the plan throughout the semester and year. The Mentor also meets with each scholar individually every-other-week, with a commitment to also taking notes on those interactions. Mentors have weekly check-in meetings with a member of the Posse Chicago staff. Posse Mentors are responsible for providing the Posse national and Chicago staff with regular updates on the academic and social progress of each Posse scholar. At core, the Posse Mentor is responsible for providing support and encouragement as needed, to members of their Posse.
Compensation
Serving as a Posse Mentor is a life-changing and powerful professional experience; it is also an awesome responsibility that requires a significant amount of time and attention. To account for the additional service to the campus community, the mentor chosen to serve in the role will be offered the following as compensation for their commitment to the program:
· One funded course release per semester for the first year, with one additional funded course release in the second year, or a stipend of $4600/year for two years
· A summer stipend of $1500 in the first year of Mentorship, to prepare meeting facilitation plans and engage in self-guided personal and professional development
Selection Process
Those who are interested in serving as the Posse Mentor for the group of Chicago Posse Scholars set to attend Dickinson beginning fall ’26 should email an application to stroudg@dickinson.edu and cramerre@dickinson.edu, with the subject line: Posse Mentor Application, by Friday December 12. We will convene a small group of student affairs professionals and past Posse Mentors (faculty and staff) to evaluate these applications and will take a recommendation to FPC before a formal appointment is offered.
Your application should consist of a letter detailing your interest, and answering the following four sets of questions:
What work have you done to foster a sense of belonging among Dickinson students?
Please offer specific examples and reflect on whether these approaches had the desired effect.
Tell us about a mentoring relationship that you have had (whether as a mentor, or someone being mentored) that has been meaningful to you. What would you take from that experience, to build relationships with the Posse Scholars?
How would you work to build a sense of community with your Posse students? What aspects of their Dickinson experiences would you be most attentive to?
What experience do you have in helping to foster healthy group dynamics among young adults? Please offer some specific examples and ideas of how you would engage with the Dickinson Chicago Posse.
We look forward to reading your application.
Renée Ann Cramer George Stroud
Provost & Dean of the Faculty Vice President for Student Life & Dean of Students
Alternatives to Canceling Class
When life happens, you don’t cancel class, call in a partner. Whether you have advance notice due to a conference presentation or an unexpected personal matter arises, there are colleagues on campus eager to engage with your students in meaningful ways. Campus partners are offering pre-designed workshops on a range of topics. Simply select a workshop and once submitted, the request will be sent to the appropriate facilitator, who will follow up via email to confirm details and coordinate the session.
Alternatives to Canceling Class (ACC) provides flexible, content-rich, and customizable options for faculty in all disciplines and course levels to use when they’re away from class—throughout the academic year in partnership with centers, offices, or initiatives across Dickinson College. Explore the options HERE!
Dish with the Dean
This is an invitation to gather 2 – 5 of your colleagues for concerted and purposeful conversation with me. Maybe you’re a junior faculty member who wants to bring members of your incoming cohort together to talk about what you’ve noticed about the college so far; maybe you’re a department that wants to think out loud with me about ways to reshape your curriculum; maybe you’re a mentoring cohort and you just want to hear another perspective on service and leadership at the college; maybe you’re a staff member in academic affairs who wants to know more about areas of the college you don’t routinely see, and so you find your peers in those areas and invite them along. Or, maybe you want to talk about shared governance, or a common research project, or an idea you have. If this describes you, and you have some colleagues who want to join in, please sign up below on a first-come-first-scheduled basis.
The only requirements are: use this link (
Dish with the Dean.xlsx) to sign up with a complete group of between 3 and 6 people (you + 2 – 5 more), and let me know the topic/question/theme for our time together. I’ll provide the location in advance, refreshments the day of; I’ll welcome the chance to connect.
Hartman House Hosts
A collaborative initiative with the VP of OEI and Chief Diversity Officer, Tony Boston, to provide a midday space for faculty and staff to gather informally. I’ve asked members of my team, including department and program chairs, to consider ‘hosting’ times each week in Hartman House. Regardless of who is hosting, we simply want faculty and staff to feel free to use this as a space to have informal conversation, to grade, to eat a packed lunch – to sit on the front porch or out back in the sun, and to connect with colleagues you don’t usually see – Hartman House will be open for this use every weekday M-F, from 10 – 2 pm. Sign up here to host this year.
Dickinson Dean’s Fellowships for Public and Engaged Scholarship
Through this program, my office will provide funding to establish:
3 Summer’26 Dean’s Fellows who will earn a small stipend or professional development funds ($1,500) for the creation and placement of at least one piece of public scholarship;
3 Semester Long Dean’s Fellows (fall ’26 or spring ’27) who will earn either a small stipend or professional development funds ($1,500) or an unfunded course reassignment, for the creation and placement of at least one piece of public scholarship (this choice should be made in consultation with the department and the dean);
1 Year Long Dean’s Fellow (AY 26/27) who will earn either one funded course-reassignment to be taken in consultation with their department and the dean, or a stipend or professional development fund of $4,500, for the creation and placement of at least two pieces of public scholarship during AY 26/27, and the development of a half-day workshop on public facing scholarship.
A half-day workshop on public facing scholarship, facilitated by the year long dean’s fellow with hospitality and material support provided through my office, in spring ’27, to germinate additional public facing work on campus.
More Information
To apply, by January 16, please send a cover letter following to cramerre@dickinson.edu and ritchiem@dickinson.edu with the subject line Faculty Fellowship Application, and including the following:
An indication of the experience you already have in producing public-facing scholarship;
An explanation of your desire to do more public facing work, and a vision for that work in the time period you hope to hold the fellowship;
A clear indication of what length and time frame you hope to hold this fellowship (you can apply for both summer and semester, or summer and academic year in the same application), and the way you intend to access the support (stipend, professional development, or course reassignment);
A statement explaining the value of this work to your discipline, to the College, and to the public;
Links to samples of this work, where possible.
Those applying for the academic year fellowship should also provide a brief paragraph or two prospectus or outline of a vision for a workshop on the topic of public scholarly engagement.
All applicants should also include a cv with their emailed application.
A small committee of provost office staff will consult with FPC in the awarding of these fellowships, using the following criteria:
Potential and promise for placement of important scholarly work in the public realm;
Ability of this work to translate well to the public;
Clarity of purpose;
Diversity of perspectives, disciplines, and ranks represented by the cohort of fellows.