The 2024–2025 academic year brings new faces and administrative changes to the Office of the Dean of Students. The office has welcomed Associate Dean for Community Standards Jimmy Riley, Interim Assistant Class Dean Doug Dieuveuil and Senior Vice President and Dean for Student Affairs Jim Hoppe.

Students will now be assigned to their class dean based on the first letter of their last name with the exception of first years, who will have Associate Dean of Students Khoa Khuong as their class dean. Sophomores, juniors and seniors with letters A through G will be assigned to Assistant Class Dean Michael Wood, students with letters H through R will be assigned to Dieuveuil and letters S through Z—in addition to F-1 Visa holders—will be assigned to Associate Class Dean Danielle Hussey.

Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Michael Pulju noted the office previously had a model similar to this year’s. Pulju believes that this system, where students remain with the same dean for their sophomore through senior years, is better for building relationships and connecting with students.

“Will some students navigate the College without ever engaging with their dean? Absolutely. Or maybe they meet as a sophomore and then again as a senior, or maybe there’s a lot of connection,” Pulju said. “Deans tend to also build relationships that transcend the reason for the initial interaction, so it just makes sense to have that continuity.”

Dieuveuil, who will serve as the interim class dean while Assistant Class Dean Roosevelt Boone is on leave, hopes to become a visible figure on campus by attending events and making the Office of the Dean of Students a less daunting resource for students.

“From my perspective, [the work is] really just building off of some of the things that the [Office of the Dean of Students] has already done, and that’s really focused on shifting the mentality of the [office] from a ‘scary place’ to a place that is welcoming, a place that has individuals who care, a place that even if you make a mistake, it’s okay.… We can try and support you,” Dieuveuil said.