Seven Faculty Members Named as Society of Fellows Mentors

Seven Dartmouth faculty who will serve as mentors to postdoctoral scholars as Dartmouth expands its intellectual community have been appointed by President Phil Hanlon ’77.

Bill Lotko, the Sue and John Ballard ’55, TT ’56 Professor of Engineering, is one of seven chosen to serve in the Dartmouth Society of Fellows

These veteran faculty members will serve as the first faculty fellows in the Dartmouth Society of Fellows, an interdisciplinary community that will support the integration of research and teaching excellence. The faculty fellows will mentor a cohort of newly minted postdocs, who will arrive on campus a year from now.

“The appointment of these faculty fellows allows us to use our greatest resource—our faculty—to guide new scholars as they begin their academic careers. They will benefit from the mentorship of distinguished faculty leaders from each of Dartmouth’s four schools, and from great breadth of disciplinary and institutional perspective,” says Provost Carolyn Dever, who along with Dean of the Faculty Michael Mastanduno announced the appointments ...

... “Successful postdoc experiences are always a two-way street,” says Lotko. “The host institution and the postdoc are both recognized for the accompanying scholarship. The postdoc and participating Dartmouth faculty usually continue to advance the line of inquiry even after the postdoc leaves, very probably continuing the Dartmouth collaboration.”

Lotko said departing fellows also leave a lasting mark on the College’s curriculum. “And wouldn’t it be great if Society postdocs look back on the experience as enabling in their professional and career development, with kudos for how Dartmouth did it?”