Interim President Dillon is Keeping the Door Open
Walking into Mendenhall can be intimidating. The double door opens into a building with a vast legacy attached to it. Over a century of history permeates the walls, including the leaders who have helped create Whittier College. Conversations between faculty members in the business and enrollment office float up into the vaulted wooden ceilings adorned with faded hues of red and blue, mingling with the voices heard decades prior. Up above is also the brass chandelier, and while the candles are now fake, the lights still flicker brightly, like they did when the chandelier was originally installed. Purple and gold furniture lines the hall, screaming school spirit to all who walk in. The fireplace, which has been here since the beginning, has a new facade to it. New and old, past and present, blend seamlessly together, creating the idea of Whittier College. And this carries on up a small set of carpeted stairs, and tucked away is a door that is wide open. A conversation can be heard about the long weekend ahead. The voice comes from Interim President Kristine E. Dillon, ready to be next in the long legacy here at Whittier College.
Dr. Kristine E. Dillon was named Whittier College’s Interim President on July 1, 2023. But before that, Dillon had a long history with the College. She is an alumna of the College– class of 1973, a student-athlete who played volleyball and softball, was a Thalian society member, and a choir singer. She has served many years in the community as well.
She is also no novice when it comes to helping steer the direction of the College.
“You may or may not know, I served on the Board for 18 years. I was actually on the search committee that recruited [former Whittier College President] Sharon Hertzburger, and I was the person who identified her,” says Dillon, smiling at the memory.
Dillon split her time with the Board and worked as a leader of a think-tank consortium of some of the most well-known, private higher education institutions in the country. It was called the “Consortium on Financing Higher Education”, and she was based out of MIT. However, she felt like she was not giving her all to Whittier College, so she left the Board in 2014, but “reengaged a bit after Sharon [Hertzburger] retired and Linda Oubré came on,” working on Oubré’s President Executive Advisory Council (also known as P.E.A.C) during the pandemic. Dillon served on the Consortium until 2018 before deciding that splitting her time between the President’s Council and her day job was too difficult. She then worked at a higher education consulting firm called Huron Consulting Group during the pandemic. But the Interim President says that as time went on, she “became more and more concerned about what was happening at the College; just seeing what was [happening] in the media,” and being “in touch with some of my former Board colleagues.”
This past spring, Dillon regained her seat at the Board. The Board of Trustees soon asked her if she would like to be the Interim President. “It isn’t something I would’ve said yes to, to be very clear with you,” Dillon says. “I’ve been asked before to be a college president and I just didn’t see that as something I really wanted to do.” But she says she felt worried about the state of the College, and wanted to help.
Dillon currently resides in Garrett House where she likes to exercise on her rowing machine. She uncrosses her legs and pushes her hand as if she was rowing herself, smiling and laughing. The sun peeks out of the clouds shining down as she does this, like the joy of exercise can resolve any gloomy day. She also has a house in Tucson, Ariz., where she likes to garden, and a condo in downtown Los Angeles, where her three Siamese cats — Spook, Spy, and Spike — live with her husband and son.
Among Dillon’s primary preoccupations is how the College will bounce back from the pandemic, cuts to its athletic programs and declining enrollment. “I just hope [the students are] finding things [that] give them a little more sense on how to join things, how [to] participate in things.” Recognizes that the Athletic Department in particular took a “blow” with the cancellation of three sports last year, and that the enrollment numbers at the College are “very small.” Dillon and her team are trying to return Whittier’s reputation as a “valuable option for new students,” starting with the issues in internal communications. Dillon says that the College is at the “ground floor.” “We’re not going deeper!” she exclaims, lightly bending over from laughing.
Interim President Dillon’s main goals for the College is to boost enrollment and finances, using the traditions Whittier is known for (specifically the individualized student experience). “I think there was a lack of understanding of where Whittier College was headed [previously],” Dillon states. “So I’ve tried to make that really clear. We’re going to build on our strengths.”
Dillon has gathered up a new team to help with the vision, including Ken Woods ’84. Having worked with the College Board, Woods knows about “The Search.” This is a process where colleges and universities look for certain requirements and characteristics of prospective students in a given area. The enrollment team is new, but “very enthusiastic.” They are working on plans to reach out to local high schools in the area to spread the word about Whittier. Specifically, Interim President Dillon talks about a system she is trying to create with alumni that are now high school teachers. Called a “pocket scholarship,” it would have an alumni of the College see a current student of theirs that might work well with Whittier, and give them a small scholarship to go here. This is funded “by the College from the financial aid budget.” She says that while the student may get the scholarship one way or another, they may “think more about Whittier College.” “It’s not cheesy, it’s actually building on the sense that I think faculty members in high school know which students benefit from which kinds of attention,” she continues. Along with this, the team is also making sure to tap into the transfer student market as well, so that prospective students know that “we are affordable, that we’re nearby, [and] that we’re a great school,” states Dillon. The enrollment team will be reaching out to prospective transfer students and their counselors as early as their sophomore year. Dillon wants all students to be able to experience the campus before coming here, so they understand that Whittier might be the right fit for them. She says that the UC and CalState system have a tighter hold on transfers, she wants to make sure the College is getting the right students needed. “We don’t need that many students. We need the students that will get the most out of going to Whittier.”
All of this directly works with the financial aspects of the school. “Enrollment is our most steady source of revenue,” says the Interim President. “With a decline in enrollment that we are currently experiencing, it is important that we have an offset during the period that we are building as I was describing. We can’t just flip a switch and suddenly go back to the level of applications.” Dillon’s team has put an emphasis on ways in which to increase funds– specifically with fundraising. She asks for alumni specifically to open their wallets, and help the school as much as they can. She states that they are seeing people say they are “at the point of making decisions about [putting Whittier in their] will, “ that they have “done well with [their] retirement investments,” and ask if they “can donate some of those in a tax advantageous way?”
Building connections with alumni and the surrounding community are priorities for Dillon as well. “We really were off the map in terms of visibility,” said Dillon. But she has already started talking with the community, namely the mayor, the Chamber of Commerce, principals of local high schools, and more. Dillon (along with new Vice President and Dean of Students Henry Gee) are also working internally to make sure there is consistent communication about the College with current and past students. To help, Dillon and her team are making Homecoming an even bigger event than in year’s past by coupling it with Campus Preview Day with the local high schools. She wants to show off the school. “The campus looks better than when I went here. It’s in beautiful shape,” Dillon expresses, a smile plastered across her face.
Ultimately, Interim President Dillon wants to rebuild the trust that people once had with the College. She emphasizes that there will be no surprise cuts in the future, stating that she hopes the College can “use the resources we are already planning to spend.” “When I got here,” Dillon continues, “I felt like everybody was very used to things being cut. I’m trying to say ‘How do we stay steady? And [how do] we bring in more revenue?’”
Dillon looks at the next five years of Whittier as a time of growth for the College, having “regained its position as a really valuable option for students; and probably have established some– not lots, but some– ‘new venture’ programs.” She says that none of this will happen tomorrow, but by creating the stepping stones here at Whittier, one day it will. “To me, if Whittier [College] can be part of the economic engine that is this region, it needs to be more visible doing that,” Dillon concluded.
The door of Mendenhall swings open and closed all day long. Thousands of students, faculty, and staff have traversed through the doors to create the history of the College, no matter how big or small. And this year, that history gets a little longer, with Interim President Kristine E. Dillon.
Photo Courtesy of Whittier College
