The Dickinsonian sat down with President Nancy Roseman to reflect on her time at Dickinson College and discuss her plans for the future. The interview is below. 

The Dickinsonian: What influenced your decision to leave Dickinson?

Nancy Roseman: I think reflecting on the last three years, I come to think of it as two chapters; and the chapter I think we are about to close is one where we have made significant progress in terms of student life, [and] we’ve made significant progress in terms of the financial strength of the college. I think we are poised to do really great work in Advancement. We just finished our strategic planning process and I think the college is now ready to really step forward in terms of implementing that and finding the support for it through a comprehensive campaign. And to do that kind of work, it means the life of a president is consuming, 24/7. But to launch into a campaign, I really felt like it was time for me to step down and to have someone else take the college into that campaign.

TD: What is your [most] defining moment at Dickinson?

NR: Yes, I saw that on the list, I actually thought about that. That’s really tough. I don’t know if there’s a singular defining moment, I have so many memories, events and moments where I was just so proud of this college and the people that produce anything from Run For Steph, to going to the poster sessions that students do at the end of the year that show off their work, to hearing incredible concerts, to the football team winning the Wagon from F&M. I mean, all those things are really extraordinary moments. One of my favorite things to go to, actually, is graduation week when seniors who are not music majors perform… It’s just, you read the biographies of the students and [you see] they’re going to graduate school in forestry, and then they perform an extraordinary piece of music because that’s an important aspect of their lives that they continue doing as students. It’s a two-fold thing in that our faculty give to them and teach them even though they are not music majors and foster that artistic spirit. So it’s that science major who’s an incredible clarinetist, or singer or jazz musician. And to me that’s a quintessential moment of the liberal arts college from both the teaching side and learning side, where you are doing both those things and our faculty are not shirking teaching that young person who is not a major… so in some ways, that’s my quintessential Dickinson moment, in Rubendall every year, I love that.

TD: I think that’s the magic of the liberal arts education…

NR: Yeah, it feeds that part of your soul. We’re all complicated people and I think as a liberal arts student in particular you tend to have… so many interests. Part of the challenge is limiting yourself, because that’s part of progressing into adulthood is setting your own priorities, deciding, well, I can’t do everything so what do I do?

TD: From your perspective, what kind of impact do you want to leave for Dickinson?

NR: My legacy? Somebody asked me that actually in my first year. I did these “Dickinson Matters” events and someone in the audience… asked me “10 years from now, what do you want your legacy to be?” and I said I hope that my legacy isn’t that people are thinking about me, they’re thinking about Dickinson. That it’s about the institution and I hope my legacy is one where I have inspired the institution to think through the lens of “How do we make sure our students are successful? How do we support them in their journey through Dickinson and afterwards”?

TD: So it is focused on student’s experiences?

NR: Students first, that’s why we’re here. That’s what I say every convocation. We don’t exist without you, and you will never be anywhere again [where the] sole purpose [of that place] is to … foster your development and your success. That’s our only reason for existing. So I hope in terms of my legacy, I leave a strong philosophy that that’s what our strategic vision should be seen through, that purpose and that mission.

TD: How do you perceive the weakness and the strengths of Dickinson during your presidency?

NR: I think it’s no secret when I arrived that I thought our support of students wasn’t as good as it needed to be and should be, and that has changed. I think we still have work to do… outside the classroom and in terms of academic support for students… I think one of our main competitive advantages is our size and our intimacy. We’re a small place and we can touch everyone. So we have to figure out how to do that intentionally, and that [relates to] my previous answer about ensuring and facilitating students’ success.

TD: That’s something I definitely feel about having an education here. You have a real intimate relationship with the faculty members, with the staff around the campus.

NR: You don’t experience that on other kinds of campuses. So this is what we have to do with great intentionality and purpose in all that we do. And we have to give our staff and our faculty the tools to do that well.

TD: So what are the strengths of Dickinson?

NR: I think our faculty. We don’t think of ourselves as a small university and a lot of… prestigious liberal arts colleges… think of themselves that way. [Dickinson doesn’t], and I think that’s a great strength. I think we, as a college, have great strength in how we approach our curriculum and our teaching. Many institutions talk about interdisciplinarity but we do it. better than anybody else I can think of. We have a philosophy around what we do that’s really powerful.

TD: So you think Dickinson [has a unique] philosophy?

NR: I think it is unique because, by and large, people embrace the notion that this is a residential liberal arts college and people aren’t here doing a 9 to 5 job, it’s kind of 24/7. And I think that’s the difference between a residential liberal arts college and liberal arts colleges that think of themselves as small universities. [Here], you can find faculty in their offices, you find faculty at the basketball game, you find faculty going to a theatre event, and that isn’t necessarily the norm at other institutions.

TD: What is your plan after you resign, after Dickinson?

NR: I’m going to take some time and think what I want to do… What I choose to throw myself into is going to take really careful thought.

TD: So you’re still in the process of [planning]?

NR: Yeah, still, it’s hard to take room right now and to do that because I’m working. But… I’m really looking for something that at this point in my life makes me really happy.

TD: Okay, so you’re kind of enjoying this?

NR: Yeah… You know, life’s short, and I need to do something very different than what I’ve been doing for the last thirty years.

TD: So, you don’t want to focus yourself on administration or academics?

NR: I mean, I may look at a completely different educational paradigm. I honestly don’t know, so it’s a question of opening myself to look outside the box and different possibilities for myself.

TD: So for the next president, do you have any words that you want to leave for him or her?

NR: That’s a real tough one. I think… enjoy the ride. I don’t think anyone but another college president can really understand what is to be a college president, and so I hesitate to give advice to someone. I think… I would offer [my advice] after they’ve been on the job for six to 12 months and really got a sense of it. But the demands that are placed on you, you can say them out loud, but no one can truly understand them unless they’re actually also doing the job.

TD: So [finally,] do you have any last parting words you want to tell the students at Dickinson?

NR: I think it’s really, the students here are so inspiring, and what I’ve always been struck by is the fearlessness with which you engage the world, the choices that Dickinsonians make for themselves and the degree to which they give back. They care about what they do, their community… This is a community, and I’m not just talking about the community here, but the alumni community, the 20,000 plus Dickinsonians that are out there are people who just are…  it’s hard to articulate. They are good people. People with a good internal compass about who they are and what they want to do and how they want to have an impact on people. I’ve never met a Dickinsonian where I just thought, “I’m not sure that’s a good person.” I’ve never had an experience where I’ve met someone and I really wonder about them in terms of their personal character.

TD: So you see that Dickinsonians can make impacts on the world?

NR: They make a huge impact on the world.

TD: And you value every individual?

NR: Yes, every individual I have met, even when… I was told that someone was a difficult person, I actually never found that to be true. I always found them to be generous, curious about the college, curious about how they could help and contribute to the life of the college. Even people who would sometimes feign disinterest in the college… What I would often find in the course of the conversation is they knew exactly what was happening on campus, they read the Dickinson Magazine… They read the email that we send out to the alumni regularly, they knew what was going on. They were curious, they were keeping tabs and they were very proud of what was going on campus. That’s really what I find when I’m talking to alums from coast to coast. They stay incredibly informed about what happens here and they care about it deeply.

TD: So it’s a caring community from students all the way to alumni.

NR: People who’ve been graduated 50, 60 years ago, they are really proud of their college, very curious about it, very interested in what’s happening and how the college is moving forward, always.

TD: That’s all my questions, thank you so much for accepting the interview and thank you so much for your past three years at Dickinson. I can feel that you really put yourself in the position and you have put in a lot of effort.

NR: That is the labor of love, as they say.