Brent Bell Climbs to Top of FOP

The Freshman Outdoor Program (FOP) steering committee interviewed 20 candidates in its search for the rare administrator-fisherman-rock climber to lead the ADJ organization.

The committee found a match in Brent J. Bell, who had directed outdoor programs at New England College and has most recently served as accreditation coordinator for the Association for Experiential Education.

As director, Bell will oversee the week-long expeditions of 400 first-years and 40 leaders into the New England wilderness. His experience at the Association for Experiential Education will come in handy as the FOP program begins its own accreditation process, said Dean of Freshman Elizabeth Studley Nathans.

Bell's appointment also comes at the end of a mini-crisis for the program.

In the middle of last spring's hectic reading period and exams, FOP director Beth Bellman left Harvard for Iowa to pursue a Ph.D. in social psychology. The FOP student steering committee and the Freshman's Dean Office scrambled to locate a replacement.

"We were [thinking] very seriously about canceling the program for fall," Nathans said.

In July, James Rea Garrett was appointed as a temporary director, and the first-years were able to strap on their backpacks in August.

The steering committee started searching for a permanent director this October--a "tough spot to fill," according to FOP steering committee member Oliver M. Lewis '00, because one must love rivers and stars, but also agree to sit at a desk and draw out a budget.

"Most people who are qualified to run outdoor programs have little experience in University administration," Nathans said.

According to Nathans, the steering committee "committed extraordinary amounts of time" to the search process. Each candidate visited with the committee for an entire day in Cambridge, eating lunch and surveying the FOP office. According to FOP policy, each of the eight members on the steering committee must agree on their new leader.

Because of Bell's expertise in outdoor education, the committee felt he would adeptly oversee every aspect of this leadership training, where young backpackers released into the woods for 10 days learn to read maps, perform CPR on trail beds and emerge as the new generation of rugged FOP leaders.

Bell has also taught courses in wilderness medicine, where he instructed backpackers how to heal wounds far away from highways and hospitals.

Bell's passion for biking and skiing also appealed to the committee.

"You name it, he's done it," Lewis says.