The primary responsibility of the residential college Dean is to supervise the academic progress of students and advise them throughout the process of selecting courses, picking a major, and completing graduation requirements. Because academic success is often closely connected to non academic concerns, however, the Dean is also a great resource for a wide range of other matters, including everything from personal crises to post-graduation plans. In cases of incapacitating illness or family emergency, the Dean is authorized to postpone deadlines for academic work or final exams, so it is important and wise to be in close touch with her as soon as possible when these things arise. The Dean also oversees room draw and student housing.
Ksenia Sidorenko, Residential College Dean, Berkeley College
Dean Sidorenko holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature with a certificate in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Yale. She earned her B.A in Modern Languages and Literature from Oxford University. In her scholarly work, she studies the relationship between the highbrow work of art and mass culture, thinking about how societies ascribe meaning and value to different forms of cultural production, including literature, film, painting, and music. Her current book project, In the Shadow of High Art, focuses on the formal interdependence between the newspaper comic strip and modernism in the early twentieth century. Dean Sidorenko plans to teach in the Humanities Program.
Before joining the Berkeley College community, Dean Sidorenko served as Assistant Dean for Access and Engagement at Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where she oversaw recruitment and retention initiatives, led school-wide orientation and first-year programming, supervised Graduate Student Fellows, and worked closely with faculty and campus partners to support students. Across her career at Yale and previously at the University of California, Berkeley, Dean Sidorenko’s professional experience includes advising on academic integrity and misconduct, leading training and prevention efforts related to community values and professional conduct, and supporting students through moments of crisis and conflict. In each of her roles, Dean Sidorenko brings a strong commitment to care, fairness, and equity.
Outside of work, she enjoys sitting in on philosophy lectures, taking weekly watercolor classes, and creating ikebana arrangements—often with materials gathered in East Rock Park. She also likes to unwind with a long novel or a David Attenborough documentary. She looks forward to getting to know the wonderful community of Berkleyites.
To make an appointment with Dean Sidorenko, please contact Allison Van Rhee at allison.vanrhee@yale.edu or at (203) 432-0502.
Allison Van Rhee, Senior Administrative Assistant II, Berkeley College
Allison Van Rhee is the Senior Administrative Assistant II, Berkeley College Dean’s Office. Allison has a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and spent 8 years in the Yale Library system before coming to Berkeley. She is a voracious reader across genres and facilitates the Queer Lit Book Club through the New Haven Pride Center. She has served on several DEI committees and is devoted to making BK an inclusive place to live, work, and study. In her free time Allison can be found reading on cross campus, frolicking on the kickball field, or teasing her orange tabby cat, Daggett. Stop by the BKDO to chat with Allison for a book recommendation, library research tips, or to help yourself to the never-ending candy supply.
Allison is in F13 and can be reached by e-mail at allison.vanrhee@yale.edu or at (203) 432-0502 on weekdays. Allison is away for lunch from 12-1pm.