Glanzer, who currently serves as assistant director of advising services and academic support at the University of Pennsylvania, will replace Michael Martinez, who is moving into the role of dean of student life.
When the Class of 2021 arrives on campus in late August, these newest Fords will be guided by another new face—albeit one with lots of experience at the College. Starting July 1, Katrina Glanzer '02 will return to Haverford to serve as first-year dean, replacing Michael Martinez who will become dean of student life following Steve Watter's retirement at the end of June.
"I am thrilled and humbled," said Glanzer of her new appointment. "I was impressed by the palpable commitment of the staff and faculty I met to fostering both a rigorous liberal arts education and a meaningfully engaged community. It's clear that students, staff, and faculty believe deeply in Haverford's mission and work hard to embody it."
Since her own Haverford graduation, Glanzer has been working at the University of Pennsylvania, where she will earn her M.S.Ed. in higher education later this month. She initially began her career at Penn in the Department of Romance Languages, but, for the last 13 years, she has worked in the College of Arts and Sciences, first as assistant director of freshman services and, most recently, as assistant director of advising services and academic support. In that most recent role, she coordinated a peer-advising program, oriented pre-major advisors, and was a founding member of CaseNet, the College Academic Support Network, a specialized advising team built to support and empower students encountering personal, health, familial, or financial concerns that intersect with their academic life.
"Katrina has earned high praise from a diverse array of senior colleagues for her contributions to advising and assessment and for her leadership in helping to develop more effective support for underrepresented, first-generation, and LGBT students, as well as those contending with acute personal challenges," said Associate Dean of the College and Dean of Academic Affairs Phil Bean, who chaired her search committee. "Indeed, the general consensus is that Katrina has been enviably successful in her work with and on behalf of students at Penn and that she has had a transformative impact on efforts to make advising and academic support more inclusive."
At Haverford, Glanzer will be tasked with coordinating outreach to first-year students both during the summer before matriculation and during the academic year, providing academic and personal guidance to first-year students, assigning and training pre-major advisors, supervising Upper Class Advisors, and managing several multi-day pre-matriculation programs. (Dean Martinez, who, as first-year dean, had also been managing Haverford's orientation program, known as Customs, will continue to oversee it in his new role in the Dean's Office.)
"My own first year at Haverford was complex, challenging, and quite formative, so helping to shape advising and mentoring for first-year students speaks to me personally as well as professionally," said Glanzer. "There seems to be an inherent dynamism between uncertainty and surety in the first year, and it is a gift to witness students both integrating into and transforming the campus community. I am looking forward to rediscovering Haverford and learning alongside first-year students."
"Although much has changed at Haverford since she graduated 15 years ago, she's familiar with the College's distinctive culture and knows why she wants to bring her well-earned expertise back here for the benefit of our students," said Bean. "We are very confident she will be well received by Haverford students, and we very much look forward to having her come fully on board as a member of the team in the Dean's Office."
Returning to her own alma mater means not only that Glanzer will get to influence and aid the next generation of Fords, but also that she'll get to pay forward some of the advice and support she received during her time as a student.
"Dean Steve Watter was a critical mentor during my time at Haverford, one whose practice as an advisor has deeply influenced my own," she said, "and I hope to carry forward his compassion, wisdom, and attuned listening as I return to Haverford."
