Rochelle Calhoun named dean of student affairs

Rochelle Calhoun

Rochelle Calhoun, executive director of the Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association, will be the next dean of student affairs at Skidmore College, President Philip A. Glotzbach has announced. The appointment is effective July 1.

Prior to moving into her current role at Mount Holyoke, Calhoun held a series of positions in student affairs. These include four years as associate dean of the college and acting dean and vice president for student affairs between 1999 and 2003.

As dean at Skidmore, Calhoun will be a principal advocate for student learning in partnership with key campus constituencies, said Glotzbach. Responsible for all cocurricular dimensions of Skidmore?s educational mission, she will be asked to provide leadership particularly in meeting the College?s strategic objectives in intercultural and global understanding and responsible citizenship, "areas in which she has shown particular interest and creativity in her 20-year career at Mount Holyoke," he noted.

"Rochelle Calhoun is an extraordinary person who has made many significant contributions during her time here," said Joanne Creighton, Mount Holyoke?s president. "We have valued her thoughtfulness, her wisdom, and her consistent attention to the ethical dimension of decisions."

Beverly Daniel Tatum, president of Spelman College and previously dean of the college and acting president at Mount Holyoke, added that Calhoun "is a multitalented individual who will connect easily with students, the faculty, and the staff in ways that will enrich the entire community."

Calhoun is the only non-faculty member ever to serve in the role of dean of the college at Mount Holyoke, a position in which she had oversight of 72 staff members in the areas of residential life, student programs, multicultural affairs, disability services, judicial affairs, career development, health and counseling services, and religious and spiritual life.

A 1983 Mount Holyoke graduate who also holds an M.F.A. in theater from Columbia University, Calhoun began her career in college administration as an assistant dean of students responsible for working with students of color and cultural organizations. In subsequent student affairs positions, including ombudsperson and director of diversity and inclusion, she continued this work with a broader institutional focus, always emphasizing the benefits of a multicultural education for all students.

Respected for her strong leadership and organizational vision and honored by the Alumnae Association in 1995 with its highest award for young alumnae achievers, Calhoun was named executive director of the association in 2003.

Calhoun will replace Pat Oles who, said Glotzbach, "has led the College?s Student Affairs area for 10 years with great distinction, humor, and above all, with a deep and abiding concern for the development of our students both inside and outside the classroom." Oles will return to the Social Work faculty after a one-year sabbatical that Glotzbach called "richly deserved."

Calhoun, a resident of South Hadley, Mass., is married to Robert Lussier, a landscape designer. They have two children: a son, Cameron, a junior at Vassar, and a daughter, Kiana, a junior in high school.