Beth Bellman will step down from her post as director of the First-Year Outdoor Program (FOP) this summer, ending a five-year tenure that saw the program climb out of debt.

"She's brought the program along the path to financial stability," said Dean of Freshmen Elizabeth Studley Nathans. "She's leaving the program in a very good, strong place."

Since much of the planning for the FOP trips occurs over the summer, Bellman's departure--to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Iowa--leaves the program without a leader during a crucial time, Nathans said.

"It's been devastating for us," Nathans said. "It's awfully late to be beginning a search."

The Freshman Dean's Office (FDO) plans to press on with the search during reading and exam periods in order to find a director who can coordinate the program during the important summer planning stages.

"The logistics of planning routes, negotiating satellite base camps in New Hampshire...all these things take connections and experience and a lot of time," Nathans said.

The FOP director is responsible for arranging the details of the trips over the summer, from ordering food and equipment to scheduling buses, according to Abigail A. Donaldson '00, a member of the FOP steering committee.

The new FOP director will probably begin work on July 1, and though Bellman is currently scheduled to leave June 30, the FDO is seeking funding to keep her on for an additional month to train her replacement.

Five Years of First-Years

Student steering committee members credited Bellman with making governing FOP a cooperative effort.

"She's done a great job of letting us help with the program," Donaldson said. "It's a joint effort, and that's one of the most valuable things she's brought to the program."

Bellman said she would advise her successor to incorporate student feed-back into her decisions.

"I feel like the students are the most valuable resource we have, so [be] sure to listen and learn from them," said Bellman, who serves as a proctor in Straus Hall.

In addition to pulling the program out of debt, Bellman has begun the process of gaining national accreditation for FOP through the Association of Experiential Education, which certifies wilderness training programs.

"It's a real learning opportunity for us to network with other programs and seriously evaluate our own programs," Bellman said.

She has also revamped the training process for trip leaders.

"We've done a lot with curriculum development focused on teaching...leadership skills as well as outdoor skills and rescue skills to the leaders," Bellman said.

"Those have been the areas we've put a lot more emphasis and time into," Bellman added.

Donaldson also credits Bellman with improving the "switch" FOP trips, which include canoeing as well as hiking.

"She's helped keep that in the FOP program and make it a lot safer and more professional," Donaldson said.