Ava Fleisher ’28
Staff Writer
Assistant Dean and Director of Academic Resources and Services (ARS) Dr. Danny Hernandez departed from Scripps College this fall, a decision that hit the community’s inboxes on Thursday, Sept. 5.
The email from the Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Dr. DeMethra LaSha “Sha” Bradley informed students of his resignation without further explanation. The email asked the community to thank Hernandez for his work over half a decade at the college and wish him the best for the future.
“I’ve used Danny for ARS and he’s super sweet,” Charlotte Sheridan ’28 said. When asked if she was given any notice of his resignation in addition to the email sent to the community at large she said, “No, not at all.”
It was less than a month before his leaving when he addressed the Scripps class of 2028 to explain the ways ARS could help them. Several of these students had met with him or were scheduled to meet with him soon.
Olivia Peck ’28 who had met with Hernandez to discuss accommodations, had a positive experience with him and was surprised to find out he would be leaving. “It confused me because he was talking as if he’d be there this year,” she said.
Liyenna Khaderi ’28 individually met with Hernandez as well. “He was a super nice guy and eager to accommodate me,” she said. “There was no notice; he seemed totally fine.”
Scripps is not the only Claremont College Hernandez has history with, however. In 2017, he resigned from his position of Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Case Management at Pitzer to work at the University of Southern California as the Senior Director of Student Life and Assistant Professor in the Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.
In a Q&A with The Student Life following this decision, Hernandez commended Pitzer and the 5Cs, stating they “will always play a significant role in my life,” and that he would always appreciate his colleagues.
Hernandez nor ARS has given any indication of where his next place of employment may be.
When asked about Hernandez’s resignation, ARS declined to comment on personal matters. According to Bradley, ARS will continue to offer its services to students in full and Hernandez’s previous responsibilities have now been given to other staff in ARS and the Dean of Students Office for the time being.
“We are committed to ensuring responsive continuity of care for our students and supporting our community partners during this transition period,” Bradley said via email. “Students are encouraged to send any questions or concerns to the ARS office at ars@scrippscollege.edu.”
A specific replacement to fill Hernandez’s position has not been identified at this time, but Bradley said that ARS will look for “candidates who are student-centered, knowledgeable about disability-related laws and their application in a higher education setting, work effectively with diverse internal and external stakeholders, and possess skillsets that support leading the ARS office.”
Searching for new staff is no rarity at Scripps. In recent years, the College has seen significant turnover in presidents, with four different people holding the same position in the past decade.
As for other leadership roles serving students like the Director and Assistant Director of Scripps Communities of Resources and Empowerment (SCORE), the College has not yet found replacements since the former staff’s resignations last March. Former Director and Assistant Dean of Students Dr. Marissiko Wheaton-Greer, who had worked at Scripps since the beginning of the 2020-2021 academic year, and former Assistant Director Elba Mandujano, who had worked at Scripps since Jan. 2022, resigned within just 10 days of each another. As covered in an article published by The Scripps Voice last spring, these resignations left SCORE particularly “disoriented” and were due to “incompatible visions.”
Only time will tell who will fill Hernandez’s, among others’, former position, how long this search might take, and what this additional departure will mean for students.
