Welcome back! We're excited to roll out our next season of the admission podcast "Meet Princeton!" In celebration of the new school year, we invite two very special guests to the show. Jill Dolan, dean of the college, and W. Rochelle Calhoun, vice president for campus life, are responsible for shaping the academic and social experiences at Princeton. They sit down in conversation to discuss the challenges—and opportunities—in the year ahead.
Jill Dolan is the senior officer responsible for Princeton's undergraduate academic program. All matters relating to the curriculum, academic advising, academic regulations and scholastic standing fall under her aegis. Dean Dolan also oversees the Offices of Admission and Undergraduate Financial Aid, the Registrar, the Office of International Programs, the Program in Teacher Preparation, the Princeton Writing Program, the Princeton University Preparatory Program, the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, the Freshman Scholars Institute, the Program of Freshman Seminars, the Scholars Institute Fellows Program, Health Professions Advising, the Program in Community Engaged Scholarship, the Office of Undergraduate Research, and the residential colleges.
Dean Dolan is the Annan Professor in English, and a professor of theatre studies in the Lewis Center for the Arts. She served for six years as the director of Princeton's Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, and is a faculty affiliate of the Program in American Studies. She holds a PhD in performance studies from New York University.
W. Rochelle Calhoun has administrative oversight for matters that help to shape the student experience at Princeton, including athletics and campus recreation, career services, health services, religious life, diversity and inclusion, residential life, service and student activities.
She began her career in college administration while still a graduate student at Columbia University working with Playwrights Horizon Theatre to coordinate curricular and co-curricular programs for their NYU students. She joined her alma mater, Mount Holyoke College, as an assistant dean of students responsible for working with students of color and cultural organizations. She held several other student affairs positions at Mount Holyoke, including director of diversity and inclusion, associate dean of the college and acting dean of the college, before joining Skidmore College, where she served as dean of students and vice president for student affairs. She came to Princeton in 2015.
Currently, Rochelle serves on the McCarter Theatre Center Board of Trustees and The Paul Robeson House Advisory Committee in Princeton, New Jersey. She also serves on the Corporation Visiting Committee for the Division of Student Life at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Previously, Rochelle's community volunteer services included membership on the board of directors for Home Made Theater, Saratoga Springs New York; Saratoga Springs Sponsor a Scholar; and Planned Parenthood, Saratoga Springs, New York. Rochelle served a two year appointment as the president of the board of directors for Girls, Inc. of Holyoke, Massachusetts. She has served as a parent member of her children's School Councils; Community Trustee of the local United Way; on the board of directors for the National Conference for Community and Justice Western Massachusetts, and the University of Massachusetts/Amherst Fine Arts Center. Rochelle was elected to the South Hadley, MA School Committee where she served two years.
Calhoun received a bachelor's degree in theater arts and politics from Mount Holyoke and a master of fine arts degree in theater from Columbia.
Have a question for the Admission Office? Submit one to our mailbag. We will answer a few on air. (We'll only mention your first name and hometown!)
About "Meet Princeton!"
Co-Hosts: Vivian Slee, senior assistant dean of admission, and Bryant Blount '08, assistant dean of undergraduate students and manager of strategic communications Producers: Vivian Slee and Mary Buckley, associate dean, strategic communications, Office of Admission Editor/Sound Engineer: Nick Donnoli, Orangebox Productions Sound Engineer: Molly Trueman '24 Logo Design: Esteban Aguas '19, admission officer
The theme music to our podcast was created by Molly Trueman '24. Molly plans on majoring in music with a potential certificate in Applications of Computing. Outside of class, she is part of Glee Club, Chamber Choir, and the Tigressions, a contemporary all-female a cappella group. While she has been practicing voice and piano since age six, within the past year—especially during quarantine—she has become more passionate about songwriting and music production, leading her to create music for this podcast.
