Hamilton College Receives New “Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life” After Two Years

Photo Provided Courtesy of Hamilton College News

In the summer of 2023,  at Hamilton College, Hamilton administration made the controversial decision to fire former chaplain Rev. Jeff McArn, a beloved figure at the school, after 27 years at the college. The college reported their reason for this decision was to move the chaplaincy in a “new direction”. This direction ended up with Hamilton reframing the chaplaincy as the “Spiritual and Religious Life” department, and led to the search for a “Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life” rather than a new chaplain. This role encompasses not only the chaplaincy duties of a faith leader but also the administrative duties that provide student access to religious and spiritual programming.

After two years of restructuring and searching, Hamilton College decided to hire Dr. Colleen Hallagan Preuninger, a Hamilton graduate of the class of 2006. As Preuninger described, “[McCarn] was my mentor when I was here twenty years ago.” Before returning to Hamilton, Preuninger was working at Stanford University as Associate Dean and Director of Student Engagement.

As for the hiring process, Preuninger explained that “there were several interviews with Isaacson Miller [a firm specializing in higher education leadership searches], before I was passed on to the search committee for a few interviews by Zoom, and then they brought the last few candidates to campus. I signed my offer on July 3rd.”

With only about a month and a half to prepare for students to arrive, Preuninger described meeting with various individuals around campus to orient herself with the Hamilton system. As students returned, she met with religious group leaders and hired spiritual life assistants, the student workers that help guide spiritual and religious programs. But as the year started, Preuninger had a lot of work ahead of her: “In terms of programming [The Spiritual and Religious Life Department] is clearing the board.”

One initiative that the department has piloted since Preuninger’s arrival is monthly multi-faith dinners, which invite people of all religious and non religious affiliations to meet and engage in discussions with fellow Hamilton students. So far, each dinner has welcomed 20-25 students, according to Preuninger.

Preuninger has also reintroduced some programs to the Hamilton community, including Soul Food, a casual Protestant Christian service and meal which began again just a few weeks ago, and Recoup and Soup, a weekly meditation space which should start up again soon. Both programs halted after McCarn's exit from Hamilton.

When asked whether the Spiritual and Religious Life Department offered any services that more students should know about, Preuninger explained, “I am credited as a clergy person, but I am also a privileged and confidential resource. If you’ve experienced something, and you want help talking through it in a confidential way regardless of religious affiliation, you can come to me for one-on-one spiritual counseling.”

Despite the hunt for a Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life being over, Hamilton College administration’s work is not yet done. None of the religious groups on campus have a full-time dedicated chaplain, and only the Newman Council has access to a part-time chaplain. Two employees of the Spiritual and Religious Life Department chose to leave following the college’s decision to fire McCarn over two years ago. Hamilton College’s Hillel and the Muslim Student Association still remain without a chaplain, and are mainly organized by student leaders.