A new deanship under an old name — Dean of the College — now oversees the creation of the house system.¹Priya Ramaiah, “Rebecca Biron Appointed Dean of the College,” The Dartmouth (26 June 2015), available at http://thedartmouth.com/2015/06/26/rebecca-biron-appointed-dean-of-the-college/ (viewed 1 July 2015).

One of the new House Professors, Ryan Hickox, said recently:

In addition to the House Professors, House members will also include faculty, postdocs, graduate students, staff, alumni, and other associates of Dartmouth, so that the Houses become a true cross-section of Dartmouth in which we all take part in activities and traditions together.²Ryan Hickox, interviewed by Kush S. Desai in “Inside the Mind of a House Professor,” The Dartmouth Review (12 June 2015), at http://www.dartreview.com/in-the-mind-of-a-housing-professor/ (viewed 1 July 2015).

All kinds of interesting questions for the new Dean are popping up:

• What will the Houses be named? (See some suggestions posted here in June.)

• Will graduates march according to House affiliation at Commencement?

• Which of Houses will put its House Professor in a modular dwelling, and how soon does the college plan to replace these structures? (See the May post here.)

• Will a knowledgeable designer create a coat of arms for each House, as at Yale?³Richard Hand Parke, “Yale Keeps Alive Art of Heraldry,” New York Times (31 May 1964), available at http://www.nytimes.com/1964/05/31/yale-keeps-alive-art-of-heraldry.html?_r=0 (viewed 1 July 2015). If students are invited to come up with their own heraldry, they must obey High School Heraldry Rule No. 1: The shield shall feature a clip-art lamp as the symbol of knowledge.

• Will any landscape changes accompany the building alterations? A few territorial walls could have a large effect on identity.

• Will pre-2016 graduates be assigned to Houses after the fact? This question was prompted by Professor Hickox’s statement. Once the House identities are set, the college would seem to have a great opportunity to invite every alum to formally affiliate with a particular house. The Houses with the newest buildings, such as East Wheelock and especially McLaughlin, would have comparably youthful Old Members — another way in which the Houses would become differentiated notwithstanding the random assignment of New Members.

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