People

David M. Gardner, Ph.D.
Dean of Pre-Health Programs
Phone: 413-538-2819

Dr. David Gardner is the Dean of Pre-Health Programs at Mount Holyoke, and works with both the undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students preparing for entrance into graduate schools in the health professions. He has also worked extensively with students applying to Ph.D. programs in the sciences, and to fellowships such as Fulbright, Churchill, Goldwater, and National Science Foundation.

David received his bachelor's degree in biology from Trinity College in Hartford and his Ph.D. from Duke University, where he held a predoctoral fellowship from the National Institutes of Health. He has also studied at Cornell University's Shoals Marine Lab, MIT's Whitehead Institute, and the National Defense University in Washington, DC. Prior to coming to Mount Holyoke, David was a biology professor for ten years at Roanoke College in Virginia, where he taught cell biology, developmental biology, immunology, and a field course on the marine biology of the Chesapeake Bay.

David is also a Captain in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, and has over 30 years of experience in shipboard operations, search and rescue, and designing international training exercises. He is currently the Director of Reserve Training for the Coast Guard's Seventh District in Miami. In his “free time,” he loves to sail, cook, garden, and work on the family's 130-year-old farmhouse, but his favorite thing to do is hang out with his wife Bridget (MHC '81) and their two kids, Nathan and Benjamin.

Jacqueline Collette
Senior Administrative Assistant
Phone: 413-538-3389

Jackie Collette is the senior administrative assistant of Pre-Health Programs at Mount Holyoke College and works closely with David Gardner on all aspects of the College’s preprofessional programs in health-related disciplines. She provides support to advising for students at all stages of their preparation for health professions; plans and hosts on-campus visits by alumnae and recruiters; coordinates marketing, advertising and admissions representation; and performs administrative functions for the undergraduate and postbaccalaureate programs.

Prior to joining Mount Holyoke, Jackie was a marketing manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers, responsible for coordinating thought leadership publications, keynote speakers, and roundtable panelists for conferences, and firm-wide communications. She has held positions as a publishing manager with a communications consulting firm and as a publishing/editorial office manager for Harvard Business School Publishing—Harvard Business Review.  She has also worked as an executive assistant for the chairman of the business division of Mount Wachusett Community College, which she attended.

She enjoys all that the academic environment at Mount Holyoke College has to offer, as well as outdoor adventures in all seasons.  When she’s not busy working with students, Jackie can be found walking the campus, touring the greenhouse or art museum, or visiting the horses at the equestrian center.