FAP, FIP Hire New Pre-Orientation Program Directors

UPDATED: April 11, 2017 at 1:37 p.m.

Two of the College’s pre-orientation programs, the First-Year Arts Program and the First-Year International Program, will have new directors when incoming students arrive to campus in the fall.

FIP will be led by Dwight Fee, a preceptor in Expository Writing who teaches Expository Writing 20: “Social World of Friendship at Harvard.” Fee received his Ph.D. in sociology from University of California, Santa Barbara and previously taught at Vassar and Middlebury Colleges.

Fee will succeed FIP’s current staff director, Jonah M. Johnson, who is also a preceptor in Expository Writing. Fee said his decision to take on the role was inspired by hearing about Johnson’s experience in the position.

“I think that this is a chance to affect a large number of people when they first step foot not only in the country, but on Harvard’s campus to really influence their experience in being part of a community when they arrive,” Fee said. “I can’t think of another position where I can be able to do something like this.”

American Repertory Theater administrator Julia Smeliansky will take over FAP from Dana E. Knox, a production coordinator at the Office for the Arts, who led the pre-orientation program for seven years.

Smeliansky says she is excited to lead the program—geared toward introducing freshmen to the arts at Harvard through master classes and workshops across the artistic disciplines—and sees the new opportunity as a way to showcase the arts to students who may not have had much prior experience in the field.

“With the establishment of the TDM concentration, I’ve been doing a lot of work with undergraduates and when this opportunity came up I thought it would be another chance to hopefully get to meet freshmen when they come in and have this opportunity to spread the love for arts,” Smeliansky said.

In addition to her position as the A.R.T.’s administrative director of the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training, Smeliansky is a lecturer on Theatre, Dance, and Media and has previously worked at the Moscow Art Theater at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The A.R.T. Institute drew attention in January when it received a “failing grade” from the U.S. Department of Education for the high amount of debt that graduates of the program left with, leading the A.R.T. to freeze admissions for fall 2017.

Katie W. Steele, director of College initiatives and student development, said both program directors will be responsible for coordinating between the Freshman Dean’s Office, student leaders who run the programs, and guests who provide programming workshops to participants. Steele oversees FDO pre-orientation programs and orientation week known as Opening Days.

The FAP and FIP directors will also oversee the financial affordability, physical accessibility, and budget of the programs, according to Steele.

“We hire folks who—because of either of already their responsibilities at Harvard, because of who they are, because of their past experiences—have a strong interest in the arts or the experience of international students,” Steele said.

—Staff writer Junina Furigay can be reached at junina.furigay@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @junina_furigay.

—Staff writer Kenton K. Shimozaki can be reached at kenton.shimozaki@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @KentonShimozaki.