Our day with the Dean of Dartmouth!

Fran and I arrive on the campus of Dartmouth College at 9:00 a.m. on a perfect Friday morning. Across from the Hanover Inn, the enormous Dartmouth Green, around which many of the college buildings are situated, appears to be four or five times the size of a football field. It is a beautiful day in early April and the campus is alive with students. The symmetrical elegance of the Georgian style architecture is reminiscent of a bygone era in American history (Dartmouth was founded in 1769!). We ascend the venerable exterior steps of McNutt Hall and ask to be directed to the Office of Admissions.

We opt for the “old school” elevator rather than tackling another imposing staircase. We are, after all, in our seventies. The Office of Admissions is set off in glass, a modern touch in a building that was completed in 1902. 

Four or five students and their parents sit in little clusters, ostensibly waiting to take a campus tour. Their anticipation and nervousness is palpable. After explaining to the student receptionist that we have an appointment to see Lee Coffin, she invites us to take a seat while we wait for him. 

Fran and I shake our heads in wonderment as we await Lee. Within minutes, he greets us. Wearing a pullover sweater, colored jeans, and sneakers, Lee is slim and trim. It’s hard to believe this handsome and distinguished man with silver hair and beard was once a kid in our shows. 

After warm embraces, Lee leads us to his office. On the way, he remarks, “As I contemplated your arrival, it occurred to me that we’ve known each other for forty-eight years.” (Lee attended Shelton High School from 1977 – 1981.) It seems unbelievable.

Lee’s minimalist office decor is warm and inviting. I imagine him meeting with parents and students and the decor putting them at ease. I imagine Lee’s genuine manner doing so as well.

During the forty-five minutes before the podcast, we relax and catch up, trading stories about Lee’s days acting in our shows.

We talk about Lee’s mother, his late father, and his siblings, all of whom we knew well. When Lee was a college student and appeared as Chino in our production of West Side Story, his father and three of his siblings also appeared in the show. Lee led the way, and the others followed.

“It’s hard to believe that a kid from little Shelton, Connecticut would become the Dean of Admissions at an Ivy League school,” he muses.

I think to myself that, in a way, it is hard to believe because Lee’s parents were good people who made a great life for their five children, but they themselves weren’t college grads. In another way, it’s not hard to believe at all…because we knew Lee was a remarkable person when he was only fourteen – and also because a “lesson from the stage” is that participating in theater helps kids grow in countless ways, all of them leading toward success. So, more than professional actors, the students in our shows grew up to be successful in business, law, medicine, education, and a multitude of other fields, not the least of which is, on this spring day, college admissions.

Lee smiles warmly. “I remember when I was a freshman back in 1978 and you two sat the cast of Fiddler on the Roof down and told us that Fran was pregnant.” Fran and I remember too. At twenty-six and twenty-four, we were still kids ourselves. The cast knew before our families did because, after leaving Fran’s obstetrician, we grabbed a quick bite and then we were off to rehearsal. Such was our life in the theater.

At ten before the hour, we head over to the Baker-Berry Library where the sound studio is located and where we will be Lee’s guests on his weekly podcast, Admissions Beat. Lee will use the title of my upcoming book, Lessons from the Stage, as the title of what will be his ninety-eighth episode. 

We are introduced to Lee’s producer, Charlotte, who comments, “You’re right on time.” Charlotte is a delightful lady of our vintage who will balance and edit the program. 

After a sound check, Lee begins. “From Hanover, New Hampshire, I am Lee Coffin, Vice-President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Dartmouth College, and this is – Admissions Beat!”

And we are off. From his first remarks and questions, Lee draws Fran and me into an experience of being in the present moment with his warmth and authenticity. As he fondly relates his early theater experiences at Shelton High School, his face washes red, time suddenly stands still, and Fran and I need to hold back the tears. 

The focus of the program is on high school students finding activities that really mean something to them, instead of trying to choose activities that will “look good” on their resumes and help with acceptance to competitive colleges, which Lee explains is a fallacy. Lee waxes nostalgic about his own high school days, remembering his two favorite activities: theater and journalism.

Lee had sent us questions to think about, but the podcast immediately becomes a conversation, one that started in McNutt Hall, continued during lunch at the Hanover Inn, and ended when Lee walked us to our car to say goodbye that afternoon. 

CLICK TO LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

As we leave the library and walk across Dartmouth Green on our way to lunch, I think to myself that there is nothing like a college campus on a beautiful spring day. It reminds me of visiting colleges with my daughter when she was a high school junior. 

The Dartmouth campus is brimming with activity – students heading to class, picnicking or studying in the grass, and sending multi-colored frisbees soaring through the air. Buddhist monks in brown robes, visiting Dartmouth to teach lessons in mindfulness and meditation, play volleyball with students. What the monks lack in athleticism they make up for in effort and enthusiasm.

Observing the hundreds of college students, I find myself thinking how beautiful they are. Can they all really be this good looking, I ask myself, or does it just seem so because I am old? I wonder if the students realize how fortunate they are to live and learn for four years in this beautiful, nurturing environment. Probably not. As humans, do we ever fully appreciate what we have while it’s happening?

We enjoy a delicious lunch (on Lee) at PINE in the Hanover Inn. The conversation continues as we remember theatrical successes, funny stories about things going wrong, and contemporaries of Lee’s with whom he shared the stage. 

After lunch it’s back to McNutt Hall where Lee introduces us to Jaclyn, one of his staff members, who will take us on a campus tour. Like Lee, Jaclyn was a theater kid – in fact, a graduate of Dartmouth where she majored in theater. As charmingly authentic as her boss, Jaclyn shows us Dartmouth, up close and personal. 

Finally, we spend another half hour chatting with Lee before saying goodbye. What a day, and what a treasure trove of memories.

As we depart, I am reminded of my own college days — an idyllic time when I grew in innumerable ways and fell in love with an art form, theater, and a girl named Fran. Oh, to have those days back!

Before leaving Hanover, we swing by a college store where I purchase a Dartmouth t-shirt as a souvenir of our visit. I choose it because it is a cross country t-shirt, which feels right since I was a distance runner in high school and college. I also choose it because it is on sale. I’m afraid, in my old age, more than anything, I am a bargain shopper. It was the right price, and I will wear it proudly!

CLICK TO VISIT DARTMOUTH