The Role of the UGA
“Dartmouth embraces diversity with the knowledge that it significantly enhances the quality of a Dartmouth education.” —Dartmouth College Mission Statement
All residential life staff members are expected to be committed to meeting the needs of—and recognizing the advantages inherent in—a diverse group of residents. Your personal conduct must also be congruent with these goals.
Additionally, residential life staff members are an integral part of social justice work here at Dartmouth College. In partnership with their Assistant Director and other staff members, UGAs help build socially just communities through programming, role-modeling, and intentional conversations.
Social justice is both a process and a goal. It includes a vision of society in which the distribution of resources is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure. Social justice involves social actors who have a sense of their own agency as well as a sense of social responsibility toward and with others, their society, and the broader world in which we live. —Adams, M., Bell, L. A., & Griffin, P. (2007). Teaching for diversity and social justice (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
As noted in the College’s Mission Statement and in the Principle of Community, the diversity of our residential communities is one of the most valuable qualities of the residential experience and is an essential element of a liberal education. We expect staff members to recognize this and to strive to make the experience of living in a diverse community a central part of the learning and development process that each individual—including one’s self—experiences in college. In so doing, staff members will be implementing one of the core values of Dartmouth College. UGAs will be provided with in-depth training and on-going education to help realize these goals.
Prior to applying, all applicants for residential life positions should seriously consider their commitment to fulfilling these expectations in their job performance, knowing that all members are provided with ample support.