This year, Hammonds created the Office for Undergraduate Research Initiatives, which will be responsible for managing the summer Program for Research in Science and Engineering (PRISE). She also developed a similar social sciences summer research program—entitled Behavioral Laboratory in the Social Sciences (BLISS)—which is scheduled to be offered in summer 2011.

She says she ultimately hopes to develop summer programs for students in the arts and humanities as well.

Hammonds’ teaching background has also motivated her to push the College to reexamine its teaching style and incorporate “21st century” techniques and technologies into the classroom.

“We have a lot of classrooms that are frankly 19th century classrooms—chairs are bolted down and professors stand in front of the classroom and lecture,” she says.

Kenen says that college students today learn differently than how faculty members learned. “Our students are often referred to as digital natives—learn visually, learn using multimedia tools, learn using web,” she says.

Hammonds says that the College is currently conducting a review of the Derek Bok Center for Learning and Teaching, which provides pedagogical resources for faculty and teaching staff. She and Dean of the Faculty Michael D. Smith have also discussed the possibility of renovating some teaching facilities.

Hammonds’ colleagues say her range of experiences and education will likely define her tenure as dean of the College.

“She’s got a really interesting and unique trajectory that got her into this job, and I think she brings all of that to the table at all times,” Kenen says. “Those are the lenses through which she sees things.”

—Danielle J. Kolin and Naveen N. Srivatsa contributed to the reporting of this article.

—Staff writer Melody Y. Hu can be reached at melodyhu@fas.harvard.edu.

—Staff writer Eric P. Newcomer can be reached at newcomer@fas.harvard.edu.