Hanna: What activities do you engage in related to your community? What is your role in the organization?
Dean Hart: I have been involved with three organizations since coming back to Amherst in 1996. I have spent the bulk of my community involvement with the Amherst A Better Chance (ABC) Program in town. In addition, my wife, Meg, and I began donating blood when we lived in Iowa City and we still try to do this every couple of months. Finally, I am also involved with the Amherst Leisure Services which organizes athletic programs for children. I have coached girls' soccer and basketball teams for the past five years.
H: How did you find out about these organizations and how often do you participate?
DH: I was aware of the ABC Program before I came to Amherst because a program exists in Williamstown, where I grew up.
I joined the Board of Directors when I first came to town. Initially, I was coordinator of the Fall Foliage Walk (the major fundraising event for the ABC program) for three years. After that, I served as president of the board for five years and stepped down when the responsibilities became too much to juggle when I became the Dean of New Students.
During my tenure as president we undertook and completed a $300,000 capital campaign to finance new construction and the renovation of the [ABC] House, which was originally built in the 1870s. I left the presidency but my heart is still there. Currently, my wife is the Treasurer and we are a host family for one of the ABC scholars-Zakh Willetts (pictured above) who spends one weekend each month with us.
H: Can you tell us more about the program? How long has it been around?
DH: The ABC Program in Amherst started in 1969. Amherst College has a tight history with this program. Amherst students, faculty and staff have been a part of the organization since its inception. In fact, the senior class of 1969 donated the money that was earmarked for their yearbook to help start it. A Better Chance is a national organization whose mission is to recruit academically strong students from underserved educational districts around the country.
There are more than 210 programs nationally and Amherst is one of only about 20 public school programs. Amherst ABC is a residential program. There are eight students who come from around the country, attend Amherst Regional High School during the academic year and live in the House with the resident directors until they graduate.
H: Are you working with any other faculty members or students in this organization?
DH: Michael Hawkins of the Admissions Office is currently the president. Professor Dale Peterson from the Russian and English departments was the president prior to him and is currently serving as vice president. Jayne Lovett from the Computer Center is heavily involved with ABC, and Scott Laidlaw from the Outreach Office is on the Board of Directors.
There are about 30 Amherst College students who make up the ABC tutorial staff; between two and five students go to the House during the scheduled study hours five days a week. Nan Thomas '06 has organized the ABC tutors for the past year.
H: Is there an organization you would like to be part of in the future?
DH: I would like to be involved with Habitat for Humanity. My father was a building contractor and I would like to find time in my schedule for something that is a bit more hands on.
H: What advice would you give students who are interested in getting involved in this work?
DH: I think being a student at Amherst for four years is reason enough to be involved in the community. Moreover, a well-rounded education involves more than education within the classroom. I hope that Amherst students come to view community involvement as a way of life-not extracurricular but co-curricular.