Proctor Selection Processes Compared Between Dorms

As the middle of spring term approaches, upperclassmen across campus have begun the application process for dorm proctor. While some dorms are finalizing the proctor selection for next year, the majority are still in the process of applications and will have the results released in the upcoming weeks.

Proctors play a vital role as the foundation of every dorm—they maintain the morale of the members, bridge the gap between students and faculty and organize dorm events.

“As an underclassman, my proctors were always the ones that checked in on me regularly and genuinely cared about how I was doing.”

“If dorm faculty are supposed to be surrogate parents, then proctors are, to me, supposed to be surrogate siblings,” Ewald proctor and senior Jad Seligman said.

These “brothers and sisters” of the dorm have to strike the balance between enforcing dorm faculty’s rules and creating a welcoming and comfortable atmosphere for the students.

Main Street dorm head and English instructor Johnny Griffith looks for upperclassmen who are “deeply-invested in the life and culture of the dorm” and able to strike a healthy balance of taking care of themselves and taking care of others.

“We look for someone who’s going to be a ‘stand-up guy’ and help everyone feel welcome, at-home and safe,” Griffith said.

This welcoming spirit is most important during September, when the dorm focuses on integrating new students into dorm life.

Wheelwright proctor and senior Liz Hoover said that she was deeply influenced by the behavior of the proctors her prep year. “As an underclassman, my proctors were always the ones that checked in on me regularly and genuinely cared about how I was doing,” she said. Hoover was inspired to apply for proctor three years later because of the patience and kindness she had seen in her own proctors when she was struggling to find her place at Exeter. 

To ensure cohesion between dorm members and proctors, the proctor team has to be “diverse enough so that every girl in the dorm has ‘a proctor’ that matches her personality and interests,” Langdell dorm head and science instructor Alison Hobbie said.

This cohesion is important so that students feel comfortable bringing issues to their proctor’s attention. In turn, if there is something serious going on, a proctor has to be ready to step in. “While the person is kind and welcoming, they have to be serious and know how to enforce the rules of the dorm,” Taylor Walshe, a prep in Cilley, said.

The proctors must be well-versed in Academy rules, and understand how to deal with the grey area on actions that may evolve into DC cases.

“Since faculty don’t live in the dorm in the same way that the proctors do, the proctors play the important role of having their fingers on the pulse of the dorm and helping faculty do so,” Griffith said.

While proctors guide students with their interactions, they also serve as role models in finding a balanced and healthy path at Exeter. “They’re not just reciting E Book rules, they’re showing how to balance work and friends and clubs,” Seligman said. Proctors lead by example: while getting their work done and meeting their responsibilities, they still find time to socialize and get enough sleep. 

To find the upperclassmen with these leadership qualities, dorms undergo a multi-layer selection process in the spring. Every member of the dorm participates in one stage or another of the selection process, as each opinion is vital to the success of the proctor team next year.

The brief application that filled out by the uppers asks them to answer a few direct questions and to list all the activities and any leadership positions they will take on next year. After they submit their applications, a current proctor and a dorm faculty member host an interview with the potential proctor. In addition to the interview and app, the dorm fills out a survey in which they comment on the strengths of each applicant and any possible problems of which the dorm faculty may not be aware.

Most dorms on campus choose at least one proctor per floor. For most mid-sized dorms, such as Langdell or Ewald, that amounts to a proctor team of 4-5 students.

Though the amount of spots is constant, the number of applications dorm faculty receive can vary vastly depending on the size of the rising senior class. Griffith has seen “anomalies”—years with 17 applicants instead of the average 10.

Although there are usually more applicants than positions, exceptions have occurred. This year, Wheelwright Hall, a dorm of 48 girls, saw only 5 applicants—roughly the same amount of proctors they take each year. This predicament also occurred this year in Kirtland House, a much smaller community. Kirtland House is looking at the prospect of having only two proctors because only two seniors will be returning next year.

The role of a proctor differs dorm to dorm due to the needs of the students in it. In Dunbar Hall, one of the largest dorms on campus, the proctors adapt to the demands of looking after so many people with a little creativity. They use “different strategies for dorm cohesion. We’ve been experimenting with small groups organized by floor,” English instructor and dorm head Todd Hearon said. “We’ll continue this next year,” he added.

The size and age of the student body in a dorm are the major dictators of the type of proctors for which faculty look. In smaller dorms, such as houses with little to no underclassmen, taking care of students isn’t as important of a factor when analyzing someone’s potential proctor skills. Faculty won’t take this normally fundamental quality of a proctor into account when making their decisions in these dorms.

Another way that dorm size plays a part in these smaller environments is by expanding possibilities for candidates. Sometimes proctor spots may be filled by rising uppers if an insufficient number of seniors are interested.

Besides adjustments due to the size and ages of the students, Dean of Residential Life Arthur Cosgrove said the qualities he wants to see in proctors don’t change often, and the gender of the dorm doesn’t change the role of a proctor.

As Cosgrove noted, “a diverse group of proctors whose varied strengths and talents provide the best team for the needs of the dorm.”

Contributions from Pedro Repsold De Sanson