Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Jarrett Young ’05 will leave the College at the end of the academic year to take a position at the Blake School in Minneapolis. Kim Pacelli, senior associate dean of student affairs, notified the campus of Young’s decision in an email sent Tuesday evening.
Young, who has worked at the College for four years, will fill the role of Upper School Grade Dean at the Blake School, where he will also teach history.
“This is a great opportunity to merge two things I really love, which are classroom teaching and also working in student support,” Young said.
The new job will bring Young, who grew up in St. Louis, much closer to his Midwest-based family, something he said was a factor in his decision.
Young returned to Bowdoin in 2010 after working at a number of other educational institutions. While living in Austin and trying to figure out the next step in his career, he says that Bowdoin kept coming up when he discussed job opportunities with his wife.
“Every conversation just kind of came back to this being the right stop and this being the right place,” he said. “We love this place. My wife and I both graduated from here. It definitely shaped who I am today, so leaving is hard.”
Young said he is most proud of the support he has given to students at the College—more specifically, the work he and other administrators have done on masculinity and his role in establishing the Black Men’s Forum last year.
Tommy Spurlock ’14, who has worked with Young as part of the Black Men’s Forum, said Young has had a positive impact on the group and will be missed.
“His presence is definitely felt,” said Spurlock. “He’s very good at listening. He doesn’t ever overpower a conversation, and he’s very receptive to what people have to say.”
Pacelli echoed Spurlock’s praise in the email she sent on Tuesday evening.
“Students and colleagues who have worked with him most closely know that he approaches his work thoughtfully and with the utmost of care and compassion,” she wrote. “He forges quick and lasting connections in large part due to his excellent, probing questions and direct approach.”
Young said the he enjoyed working alongside Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster, who encouraged him to consider a career in education during a conversation at Jack Magee’s Pub and Grill during Young’s senior year.
“To find myself sitting in this seat working with him as a peer is pretty special,” said Young.
Young first met Foster during his Pre-Orientation canoeing trip, in which Foster took part.
“I ended up dunking in the middle of the St. Croix River and being from Missouri in the inner city, the outdoors was something that was completely foreign to me, so I was angry and wet and cold, and ready to go back home,” Young said. “He definitely helped calm me down, and we just connected and stayed in touch.”
The College will begin the search for Young’s replacement in the coming weeks, according to Pacelli’s email.