Administrators effusively praise Hammonds’ leadership abilities, which they say have earned her respect across the College staff.

Dean of Student Life Suzy M. Nelson lauded Hammonds for her “egalitarian” and “collaborative” leadership style.

“She always has time for individuals and individual concerns,” Nelson says.

Secretary of the Administrative Board John “Jay” L. Ellison says that Hammonds has endeared herself to her subordinates in the College administration.

“Evelynn is one of those people that people would do anything for,” he says. “She instills that kind of loyalty—people give it back in return.”

Aside from developing relationships with senior administrators, Hammonds has also made an effort to reach out to lower-level House personnel, such as resident deans and tutors, McLoughlin says.

Though some tutors say they have not interacted with Hammonds enough to formulate an opinion, Lowell House senior staff tutor Van C. Tran says that he would give Hammonds an ‘A’ for her performance as dean.

Tran says that some of the dissatisfaction with Hammonds among House staff last year may have resulted from inadequate communication, citing an incident where information was released to the student body before tutors were notified.

“She’s doing a much better job than before,” Tran says. “[Talking] to people at the Houses...is extremely important, and I think she came to know [that].”

‘A RESEARCHER AT HEART’

As Hammonds has had the opportunity to define her own agenda, her decision-making process has evolved to reflect her scientific background in physics and engineering as well as her academic research on the history and science of race.

“She likes empirical data,” says McLoughlin, who notes that Hammonds commissioned the undergraduate J-Term survey at the end of January this year in an effort to collect more information about students’ opinions. “I feel like in some ways last year she was a student and this year she’s like a researcher—back to her scientific inquiry mode.”

Nelson agrees with McLoughlin, calling Hammonds “a researcher at heart.”

In keeping with her background, Hammonds says that the undergraduate research experience is a priority for her administration.

“It is important for students in the the College to work with faculty on the research that [faculty] are passionate about,” Hammonds says. “Working with faculty on their research is one of the benefits of attending a liberal arts college that is embedded in a world-class research university.”