Thomas Dingman ’67, Ed.M. ’73 built a career supporting Harvard undergraduates for 45 years. Now, he’s leaving retirement to return to a job he knows well—dean of freshmen.
Last week, David Deming, Danoff dean of Harvard College, announced the launch of an expanded Freshman Dean’s Office (FDO) to “provide a more cohesive experience for [Harvard’s] newest students” with Dingman at the helm.
Deming asked Dingman, who served as dean of freshmen for 13 years before his retirement in 2018, to return to lead the new office until a permanent successor could be hired, noting that Dingman has “consistently championed the centrality of the first-year experience at Harvard College.”
Harvard had eliminated the FDO at the time of Dingman’s retirement in 2018, formally merging it into the Dean of Students Office (DSO).
Dingman launched several initiatives during his previous tenure as freshman dean that have become core parts of first year life—including Convocation, the ceremony marking the official start to first-year students’ Harvard careers.
“Tom is also renowned for his wise counsel, his institutional vision, and his deep commitment to developing others,” Deming wrote, adding that he could “think of no one better suited to lead the FDO.”
Prior to leading the FDO, Dingman worked to support residential life for upperclassmen. He was a resident dean of both Leverett House and the Dudley Community and also served as the associate dean of residential life. With experience supporting students of all ages, Dingman said he was excited “to come back to [the FDO] and to be working with the current exceptional team.”
Since retiring, Dingman has continued to act as a special adviser to the dean of Harvard College. In an interview, he said the reimagined FDO gives an opportunity “for the first years to be more the center of attention of the dean of the College;” House renewal projects have drawn much of administrators’ attention in recent years.
While a focus on House renewal will be maintained until the projects are completed, Deming attributed the launch of the new FDO to the need “to renew and reassess the first year with the same care and ambition.”
For the last several years, Dingman has been an adviser for the renewal of Eliot House, where he lived as an undergraduate, and has seen firsthand how much attention the project has received from University leadership. Now, he said the reinstituted FDO will give College administrators an opportunity to “make sure that the start that people get at Harvard is as strong and vibrant as possible.”
The FDO will now work with offices across the University to “provide cohesion” across the programming, spaces, and resources available to first-year students, Dingman said. Senior assistant dean Nekesa Straker and assistant dean Katherine Veach—who formerly worked in the First Year Experience Office and Office of Undergraduate Education, respectively—will join Dingman on the FDO leadership team, according to Deming’s announcement.
A nationwide search for a permanent dean of freshmen is expected to launch in the fall, as College administrators conduct a review of the support and resources currently available to first-year students, according to Deming.
Dingman said it will be important for his successor to “be a highly visible presence” among students and be able to thoroughly articulate the goals of the first-year experience. In his previous tenure, Dingman was known for eating with students in Annenberg Hall and donning a bright red jacket as he walked through the Yard.
“The permanent team will be focused on all aspects of that support, from what’s available in terms of programming, facilities, and all the support structures,” Dingman said.
But as the University embarks on the search, Dingman said he is excited to return to the office to “pull together all aspects of the first year and elevate the attention that the first year is getting.”
