O’Brien comes into the office of deputy dean after many years of management experience as dean of the Simmons School of Management, an institution which, according to its website, is a business school that is “dedicated to educating women for power and leadership.”

According to O’Brien, she hopes to bring this experience with her into her new position.

Simmons Associate Dean Deborah Merrill-Sands, currently acting dean, said that during O’Brien’s seven years as dean, she has significantly built up the faculty and strengthened the school’s MBA program.

“[O’Brien] helped bring in several new Fortune 100 companies to do executive training of women leaders,” Merrill-Sands said. “She increased both enrollment and revenue, and increased the visibility and reputation of the School of Management.”

She added that although O’Brien will be leaving Simmons, she has given the School of Management “a very solid foundation,” and “we are on a solid trajectory for growth.”

“She’s leaving us in a very good position,” Merrill-Sands said.

It is precisely this capability to lead and manage which made O’Brien a successful candidate for her new job.

“I was very impressed with Patricia O’Brien’s skills, both as a leader of the program in Management at Simmons and as a House Master,” said Gross. “She is able to communicate well with students and faculty, and her work on the Hilles committee will continue through next year.”

As co-Master of Currier House, O’Brien led the committee charged with producing the Hilles report, a recommendation to the College on the allocation of the Hilles Library space which was expected to be released about a month ago.

But an extensive interview process for the position delayed the report. O’Brien was up against deans from several major schools for the deputy dean position, which was advertised this spring in the Chronicle of Higher Education and other media sources.

She said she intends to complete all of her previous responsibilities before beginning her work as deputy dean, and the Hilles report should be out in the near future.

Gross said that he “was very impressed with the way she’s handled her work with the Hilles committee.”

Though O’Brien said she believes that she will still play some role in the Hilles project, she said she will most likely not chair the implementation committee.

“I doubt I will chair the next committee—I believe that it will mostly be made up of engineers and architects,” said O’Brien.

Many students who have worked with O’Brien welcome her appointment, praising her as a leader who is willing to listen to students and represent them to the College administration.