During this past spring, the Dickinson Magazine welcomed a new head editor who has been working with the alumni magazine for 12 years.

Lauren Davidson started out as a staff writer in 2005 and worked her way up to assistant editor and eventually received the title of editor when the previous editor left the college.

Dickinson Magazine is comprised of a magazine designer, a college photographer and writers. In addition, a student writer is selected each year to work with the magazine.

“We hire a student writer each year as well and have the fantastic opportunity to work with them, mentor them, share with them the inner workings of the magazine process and help them build a portfolio of work that will serve them after graduation,” said Davidson.

An editorial board also meets several times throughout the year in order to discuss the magazine and brainstorm. The board includes Dickinson alumni, faculty members and administrators.

Although Dickinson Magazine already has a wide array of accolades including a MarCom Gold Award for the Red Devil Guide for accepted students and a MarCom Platinum Award for the magazine’s summer 2017 issue, Davidson also envisions a few smaller changes that may make the magazine more accessible to current students, as well as alumni and parents.

“We send copies to students who are featured, and copies are certainly available by request and have long been on display in admissions and 50 Mooreland, as well as in offices and departments around campus,” Davidson said. She has also worked with Dottie Warner, head of event planning and Holland Union Building (HUB), “to establish two locations in the HUB where copies of the magazine will be available specifically for students to pick up—at the information desk and in a wall display outside the bookstore.”

Due to its large readership of over 30,000 people, as well as being one of the primary means of Dickinson-related information, Davidson maintains that the publication requires a lot of leadership skills and cooperation.

“While I know that every issue won’t please every reader, I strive to strike a balance, to be responsive to feedback, to be open and inclusive,” she said. In order to help create a better reading experience for all Dickinson students, parents, faculty, staff and alumni, Davidson spent the summer working with the magazine’s institutional research team creating a survey for readers of the Dickinson Magazine to help guide the team in making decisions about content, design.

Despite taking on larger role at the magazine, Davidson feels hopeful that her new position of editor of the Dickinson Magazine will be worthwhile. “Being editor of Dickinson Magazine is an incredible opportunity, and I’m looking forward to continuing to tell the Dickinson story in its pages by sharing the fantastic work of our alumni, students, faculty and programs, and by ensuring that this publication remains as relevant and respected as it has been over its long history,” she said.

You can view the current issue, learn more about the magazine and view past issues at dickinson.edu/magazine. Anyone with story ideas, feedback or suggestions should email Davidson directly [email protected] or the magazine team at [email protected].