<p>Arador:</p>
<p>My Swattie came up for air during paper writing today and called. She said that, although none of the four Dean candidates measured up to Dean Gross’ lofty standard, Jim Larimore was her favorite. She said that he was laid back and seemed like a straight shooter in discussions with students.</p>
<p>She also got the strong impression that he would be very happy to trade Dartmouth’s campus culture for Swarthmore’s. She got that impression from his responses to questions about alcohol issues.</p>
<p>She fessed up that, while the pizza was a bonus, she enjoyed the process of interacting with the four potential new deans and having a voice in the process. I’ve got to think it is very beneficial to Larimore to have had the opportunity to interact with a cross-section of students, too. That will surely shape his thinking as arrives on campus.</p>