Ten Questions with Leslie Hammond

Leslie Hammond 

Your friendly neighborhood dean. If you have an LBCC email you have seen Leslie Hammond’s reminder emails about withdrawal deadlines, important upcoming information and so much more.

Hammond has worked at LBCC for 13 years and started at the college as a theater technical director before transitioning to administration. Prior to coming to LBCC, Hammond worked at a boarding school and Yale University before finding her passion in community colleges due to the opportunities and access to education.

How did you begin working as a technical director for the theater?

I was a theater major in college. I mostly focused on technical theater and directing because I wasn’t particularly interested in performance or trying to become an actor or anything like that. But I really liked creating in a collaborative way in an environment to tell stories about people.

After working at a boarding school in Connecticut running the theater program and working at Yale as a technical director for their undergraduate theater program, I became pretty interested in these elite high schools and universities, due to the fact that people from where I grew up and my town I didn’t feel like ever stood a chance at getting to go there. There is a long line of folks who want to work at Yale or a private boarding school so if I wasn’t that interested I should probably find out what I really was interested in. I became interested in community colleges and access to education for people who don’t have the same opportunities others have because of money.

How long have you worked here?

For 13 years; when I got the job I was in my early 30’s and I came here as the technical director for the theater. At that point in time I hadn’t worked for a community college before. I was interested in what community colleges are all about. It didn’t take long working here to get really committed and to realize that this is what I want to focus on and do.

What was the transition like for you going from technical director to being dean?

When I first started my role as associate dean it was an interesting transition. I think any time you move into a position where you have more responsibility or you might be looked at for leadership and you’re 34 you are naturally going to have a huge imposter syndrome and feel like you don’t know what you're doing. So I found that my best option was listening to people around me and ask a lot of questions.

Just recognizing that because you're in a leadership role doesn’t mean you know what you’re doing, it just means that somebody has trusted you to take this on and you just need to keep deserving and earning that trust.

This is silly but I didn’t know what to wear. I spent my entire adult career in a wood shop so all my clothes had wood glue on them so I was like, what do I wear to work? One of the things I’m known for around here is that I wear a bow tie and it’s very conscious like I have a uniform. It helps me feel like I know what I’m doing. When I found my uniform it was such a strange confidence boost. I identify as non-binary and it’s hard to find work clothes that you feel natural in and you want to feel comfortable at work so I had to find an outfit that felt like me.

What do you feel set you apart from other applicants for this job?

I have a hard time making assumptions like that because I don’t know what the people who hired me were thinking. I do think it's helpful to be authentic. It helps people trust you. At the end of the day, you can only do your best and what you think is right. I have good guiding principles that align with the mission of the college.

What is the most rewarding part of this job?

My favorite day of the year is commencement. I love watching the students graduate. It’s really rewarding to feel like you helped somebody figure something out and they feel better because of it. Oftentimes when I see students it’s because they are having a problem and they might be flustered and upset so it's really rewarding to figure out what their problem is and find a solution and steps they can take to help. I also love watching the people I work with show off and do their thing because sometimes leadership is finding really good people and just getting out of their way.

What is the hardest part of this job?

The hardest part is when I’m powerless to solve someone's problem. It breaks my heart when students have to leave college for something that wasn’t their fault or put off their education because of financial reasons. We have so little ability to help and impact that. When we have to cut budgets or reduce the workforce it makes me sick to my stomach. It's very stressful not only for the people directly impacted but everybody else as well.

What does a day at work look like for you?

It can look very different but these days it’s a lot of checking in on people, having meetings, checking up on projects, seeing if there are any barriers they are facing and if I can help with that. So a typical day is doing emails and meeting with other people. I like to walk around and see people.

What is your greatest life achievement?

My kids! I’ve got two awesome boys, they are 14 and 9 years old. I think they are hilarious and fun. They aren't without challenges because they are people and human but they are the best thing I’ve ever been involved with.

What do you do outside of work as hobbies and to de-stress?

I love hiking and I’m a runner … which I don’t really enjoy but I like how I feel after a run. But while I’m running I’m basically just mad at myself. I enjoy movies. It's lore around here my love of the “Fast and the Furious” franchise. My son and I are going to Emerald City Comicon, so we are full-fledged nerds because we go to Comicon each year. I don't dress up but I love seeing the panels and the comics. I enjoy woodworking and fixing things, so when anything breaks in my house it’s my mission to fix it.

If you were advising someone to become a dean what advice would you give them?

I don’t think I would give advice, I would ask more questions. I would ask them what they are hoping to contribute and accomplish. Being a dean you need to be very collaborative, open, and thoughtful to what other people have to tell you. It’s really important to know your blind spots so you can put people around you who are good at that.

If someone wants to be a dean because they think it’s like some power position where they can make things happen, I would tell them that that’s not true whatsoever. You can’t make people do anything and you can’t make people care so you have to find what they do care about and focus on that to help the mission succeed.

Photo courtesy of LBCC

At a Glance: 

Who: Leslie Hammond

Occupation: Dean of Academic Foundations

Years at LBCC: 13 years 

Majored in: Theater

Previous employment: Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, CT, Yale University

Email: hammonl@linnbenton.edu