Although Scott Halvorson has recently been appointed as the School of General Studies’ acting dean of students, he still considers himself a teacher through and through.
Halvorson first joined GS in 1997 as director of the Learning Support Center and assistant director of the Higher Education Opportunity Program. He held the position of assistant dean of students from 1998 to 2003, when he was promoted to associate dean. Through a recent staff restructuring in the office of the GS dean of studies, Halvorson was appointed acting dean of students.
In his new position, Halvorson added some new responsibilities to those he was charged with as Associate Dean. Those include heading two active opportunity programs: the Program for Academic Leadership and Service and the Global Scholars Program. PALS is a GS scholarship program that allows exceptional, service-oriented students who might not otherwise be able to attend an Ivy League university to enjoy a rigorous undergraduate education. The Global Scholars Program partners with Hostos Community College to provide students from diverse ethnic backgrounds with the educational and professional experience required for leadership roles in national defense.
“Global Scholars are prepared for a masters program at SIPA and ... a career in international affairs and foreign service,” Halvorson said.
Halvorson holds master’s degrees from Rutgers, Harvard, and Columbia and a bachelor’s degree in English from Jamestown College. He co-teaches the University Studies course and is currently teaching his fourth semester of University Writing at GS. “Writing has always been an important part of my life,” Halvorson said.
“It’s also a chance for me to work closely with our students and get to know them much better.” In his capacity as a full-time advisor, Halvorson gets to know his students outside of class. He looks at his advising role as another aspect of teaching, referring to his explanations of how the school’s bureaucracy functions. Halvorson’s advisor position allows him to give students the confidence to take control of their educations early on.
“No one is an expert in the Columbia system as soon as they arrive,” he said. “Every system has its complexities, and it’s important to teach students how to deal with them.”
Halvorson previously taught screenwriting in the School of the Arts, where he received a Master of Fine Arts in 2001. This experience gave him a window into the University at large. “Screenwriting is not just a free-for-all,” Halvorson said. “It has specific techniques you must teach to students, but there is still plenty of room for creativity.” Halvorson won the Zaki Gordon Award for Excellence in Screenwriting for Dakota, his screenplay about a U.S. army colonel who leads a massacre of Native Americans in Dakota territory.
While Halvorson is far from his Jamestown, N.D. roots—this is his 12th year at Columbia—he has created a home for himself, and enjoys the dedication of the alumni he has worked with. “It’s thrilling to see ... [the PALS students’] transformation based on their own hard work and determination,” he said.
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