Office of thePresident

The Dean’s Office & Student Life sponsors initiatives through the IEEL that focus on expanding the Customs Program through first-year residential dialogues and ethical leadership development, supporting opportunities to build community with the College’s neighbors and civic organizations, and partnering with the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship to pilot new activities as the College envisions a new gateway for its living and learning communities.

Ethical Leadership Training: Beyond the Customary

Beginning in the fall semester of 2023, the ethical leadership program will support the development of students as facilitators in the Customs Program, while also preparing them for postgraduate leadership roles as well. Customs, our year-long model for orienting new students as they join the Haverford community, boasts a rich tradition of peers leading peers through community-building activities, discussions, and learning exercises around Haverford’s unique student-led culture. The student leader role has recently shifted from voluntary to paid positions, creating the possibility for a much more robust training program led by on- and off-campus expert professionals.

Student Life will share further information about these opportunities with Customs student leaders in Fall 2023.

Residential Dialogues for First-Year Students

In 2023-24, the Customs program will launch new opportunities for students to practice participation in dialogue with hallmates and peers. The IEEL will support the facilitation of structured conversations throughout the course of the first year and as part of a four-year residential co-curriculum. Each residential community will receive funds to support the logistical planning of dialogue sessions within their halls, drawing upon a body of theoretical knowledge about conflict resolution, social justice awareness, and personal identity development.

Student Life will share more information on these opportunities with Customs information for Fall 2023.

Haverford College Apartments (HCA) & Community in Reciprocal Relationship

The Dean’s Office & Student Life in coordination with the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship (CPGC) has launched a program designed, planned, and executed jointly by students living in the Haverford College Apartments (HCA) and nearby Ardmore residents. With an eye to Strategic Plans for an Ethical Inquiry Institute located in a new gateway to our local communities, this initiative will organize community-led events ranging from low-stakes social gatherings to opportunities for scholarly and creative exchanges around sustainability and community.

Information about the program will be shared with students in Fall 2023. We also welcome questions and suggestions.

Contact: jmcknight [at] haverford.edu (John McKnight), Dean of the College