Camille Lizarríbar is named new dean of student affairs

Camille Lizarríbar, currently the residential college dean of Ezra Stiles College (ES), has been named the dean of student affairs and senior associate dean in Yale College, announced Jonathan Holloway, dean of Yale College, on Dec. 14.

Lizarríbar, who will assume her new post on Feb. 1, has served at ES since 2010. In that role she has been the primary adviser to Stilesians, supporting and guiding their academic progress, and counseling them on both academic and personal matters. Her service beyond Ezra Stiles includes important contributions to Yale College, noted Holloway. Since 2013, she has led the Freshman Scholars at Yale program as its dean, provided diversity training to freshman counselors, and conducted the close reading workshop for the Warrior Scholars program.

“Her contributions to shaping Yale College policy are just as extensive, and include service on committees on admissions and financial aid, alcohol and other drugs, racial and ethnic harassment, and privacy of student records,” said Holloway.

Lizarríbar earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in comparative literature and in French language and literature, with highest honors in both concentrations, from Brandeis University; her Ph.D. in comparative literature from Harvard University; and her J.D. from Harvard Law School. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Lizarríbar has studied in Paris and Siena, and has traveled throughout Africa and the Caribbean. She speaks four languages: Spanish, English, French, and Italian. Her teaching and research interests center on post-colonial literatures.

As an instructor, Lizarríbar has taught in the literature and the history and politics sections of the Directed Studies Program. Since 2013, she has taught the popular course “Boundaries of the Body in Law and Literature” during both the academic year and summer session. She previously taught and advised Harvard undergraduates for a decade as a teaching fellow, tutor and lecturer, and she led graduate-level literature seminars for Ph.D. candidates and directed doctoral theses at Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe in San Juan.

Outside of the academy, Lizarríbar has worked as an attorney in government and private practice, and has been admitted to the Bar in Massachusetts, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. As an editor and translator of a wide range of specialized texts, she has combined her legal and language skills as a court interpreter for the district and superior courts in the Boston metropolitan area.

“Translation of another kind has informed her extensive experience with students at all levels, as she has counseled them in their negotiations with the culture of undergraduate life, both academic and social,” noted Holloway.

“In her new role as the dean of student affairs, Lizarríbar will play a crucial role in promoting the values of our community,” added Holloway. Her work will focus on developing and implementing a vision for a broad range of student-centered services that include campus climate, alcohol policies, student well-being, counseling, discipline, student organizations, housing, orientation, freshman counselors, and student activities. She will also oversee the Office of Gender and Campus Culture, serve as liaison to the Women’s Center, and participate as a member of the Provost’s Title IX Steering Committee. More generally, she will support and help to guide efforts that establish a positive and safe campus climate.

This appointment is the result of a semester-long national search that attracted a pool of extraordinary candidates from colleges and universities across the country, noted the Yale College Dean. The search committee, led by Jeremiah Quinlan, dean of undergraduate admissions,included students, a residential college master and dean, and members of the Office of the Secretary and Vice President for Student Life.

“As the committee concluded its work, Dean Quinlan reported that finalists for the position brought tremendous experience, dedication, and vision with them,” said Holloway. “In the end, the committee found that Dean Lizarríbar stood out even among this exceptional list of candidates because of her long experience with Yale College, her outstanding record of collaborating with students and administrators alike, and her own vision for the position of Dean of Student Affairs.”

Quinlan said of Lizarríbar’s appointment, “I personally can not wait to work with such an accomplished and caring colleague in her new role.”

Holloway also expressed his gratitude to Quinlan all the members of the search committee: Dr. Richard Schottenfeld, master of Davenport College; April Ruiz, dean of Calhoun College; Maria Trumpler, director of the Office of LGBTQ Resources and senior lecturer of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Erin Johnson, assistant secretary; Lynnli Wang, TD ‘16; Grant Bronsdon ’16 ES; and Austin Jaspers ’16 of Trumbull College. “They have done outstanding work on behalf of Yale College,” said Holloway. “And for serving in the interim while the committee did its work, I would like to thank Hannah Peck, assistant dean of student affairs, and Joe Gordon, deputy dean of Yale College; for the past semester, students and faculty in Yale College have turned to them for guidance and support, and I thank them for their service, and their stewardship of the Office of Student Affairs.”