Dean of First-Year Studies

Leah Blatt Glasser (on leave Fall 2009)

300 Mary Lyon Hall

The first year of college is a time of transition, transformation, and exploration. I have the pleasure of working closely with first-year students as their most central resource for academic guidance. In addition to offering individual academic advice to first-year students, I coordinate faculty advising and encourage students to access the broad network of support that is available at Mount Holyoke. One of my roles is to encourage students to explore new modes of critical thinking and independent inquiry.

I see my role in advising as an extension of my role as a teacher in the English department. Along with faculty advisors, I am interested in listening well to students' discoveries through their first year. Advising is an opportunity to help students voice and pursue their evolving goals.

I have been teaching at Mount Holyoke since 1980, and have been an academic dean since 1986. Students sometimes ask about the source of my never-ending enthusiasm for my work as teacher, dean, and scholar. My first response is that I am never bored! My work allows me to connect with students at one of the most interesting and challenging times in their lives. Because I continue to research and write, I am a learner as well as a teacher; this combination greatly enriches my conversation with students as they launch into their new opportunities for research and writing at Mount Holyoke College.

Lena Zuckerwise, Acting Dean of First-Year Studies (Fall 2009)

As Acting Dean of First-Year Studies, I am committed to the work and well-being of every first-year student.  As a Mount Holyoke alumna, I remember firsthand the excitement and trepidation that define the first few months of college and look forward to the opportunity to offer support as students navigate the challeges an possibilities of their experiences here.

I work individually with students and faculty advisors, offer academic support, and encourage students to pursue the many resources available at Mount Holyoke College.  Just as a teacher assists a student in finding her own individual voice, advising is a wonderful opportunity to enable a student to explore new academic interests and set goals for the future.

I have been teaching political theory in the Department of Politics for the past two years and never cease to be amazed at how much I learn from my students day by day.  At Mount Holyoke College there is no dividing line between campus life and intellectual engagement, for the student experience is a truly integrated one.  New opportunities for thinking and learning abound at every level of the College and the first year is the earliest occasion to discover them.

Drop-In Hours: Wednesday: 2:30-3:30 pm,  Friday: 1:00-2:30 pm

Leah Glasser on Teaching Students to Succeed

Memory, The Mother of All Wisdom First Year - Insight
A gift of the Class of 1988 for the Class of 2013 as you enter your first year at Mount Holyoke College