Maria del Carmen Flores-Mills, J.D., the senior associate dean of the college at Franklin & Marshall College and former associate dean at Princeton University, has been named as the dean of students at Colgate University, effective June 4, 2018.
Flores-Mills has served at Franklin & Marshall since 2014, overseeing fraternity and sorority life, student accessibility services, student housing, new student orientation, student conduct, social programming, and crisis management. Flores-Mills participates in numerous campuswide committees including the Alcohol Task Force, the Committee on Student Conduct, and others related to F&M’s college house system. She also works with the Office of the Provost to facilitate academic advising for first-year students.
“Throughout her career, Maria has demonstrated a deep commitment to students and the important work related to inclusion and equity, community standards, student leadership development, and co-curricular learning,” said Vice President and Dean of the College Paul J. McLoughlin II. “Her success to date is a result of strategic thinking, a collaborative style, and a genuine connection with students. She will be an integral member of the dean of the college division, an advocate for our students, and I look forward to working with her.”
Prior to her decanal role at Franklin & Marshall, Flores-Mills spent 13 years at Princeton University, where she rose from assistant to associate dean of undergraduate students, coordinating the implementation of the university’s orientation program, supervising the Outdoor Action program, and serving as liaison with the Prospect Street eating clubs.
Flores-Mills sat on a wide variety of committees at Princeton, including NCAA rules and compliance, Alcohol Coalition, the National College Health Improvement Project, Office of Disability Services Advisory Committee, and the Pedestrian Safety Committee. She joined the Princetonians of Color Network as a staff member, served as president of the Latino Princetonians, and was an academic-athletic fellow for the football and men’s varsity hockey teams. Flores-Mills was presidentially appointed to serve on Task Force on Relationships between the University and the Eating Clubs, whereby she worked to create safer and more inclusive communities. In 2009, Flores-Mills received the Donald Griffin ’23 Management Award.
During her tenure at Princeton and Franklin & Marshall, Flores-Mills capitalized on opportunities to create meaningful connections across different student populations. She engaged successfully with students of color, LGBTQIA+ populations, student athletes, members of eating clubs/fraternity and sorority-affiliated students, and others to break down barriers to success and inclusion.
Flores-Mills is already anticipating her new appointment.
“Colgate University is a special place,” she said. “I am honored and eager to join Dean McLoughlin’s talented and dedicated team in the Office of the Dean of the College in creating an extraordinary co-curricular experience. I look forward to immersing myself in Colgate’s campus culture, connecting with students, and working collaboratively with them.”
Flores-Mills earned her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and education with distinction from Iowa State University before earning her juris doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law.