Dean David Gardner joins Timothy Dwight College from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, where he served as Assistant Dean of Students and Instructor in English. While at Andover, he held a variety of residential leadership and advising roles, working closely with students, families, faculty, and staff to support student wellbeing, belonging, and growth. Dean Gardner led residential communities, mentored faculty, advised students, served as faculty adviser to the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, and contributed to school-wide work in residential education, academic integrity, gender inclusivity, restorative approaches to conduct, and student support. He also coached swimming for more than a decade. Earlier in his career, he worked in residential life at the University of Pennsylvania, including as Director of the Arts House Residential Program.
Teaching literature has been central to Dean Gardner’s work with students. He has taught a variety of English courses at Phillips Academy, including electives on Shakespeare, nineteenth-century American literature, African American literature, and queer literature, and he previously taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Rosemont College, and the Community College of Philadelphia. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in English from Duke University.
As an adviser, Dean Gardner believes in listening carefully to students’ stories, building relationships over time, celebrating their successes, and helping them feel seen and supported as they navigate moments of uncertainty, discovery, and growth. He is excited to become part of the Timothy Dwight community, to get to know students, and to learn the traditions, rhythms, and quirks that make TD distinctive.
Originally from Indiana, Dean Gardner grew up performing in show choir and school musicals, playing in band and orchestra, and, later, dancing with salsa troupes. In his free time today, he enjoys swimming, reading in coffee shops, browsing bookstores, discovering new poets, re-reading Moby-Dick, exploring new places, listening to original Broadway cast recordings, and attending live performances of nearly every kind.
