For evidence Dan Porterfield is not your typical college president, one need look no farther than the black ice-cream freezer in his wood-paneled office.

It houses an assortment of Italian ices, Good Humor bars and Chipwiches that Porterfield — who took over March 1 as president of Franklin & Marshall — is more than happy to share with visitors.

"I want my office to be a place where students feel welcome and wanted," he said.

And to Porterfield, it's all about the students.

In a recent interview in his Old Main office, the 49-year-old Baltimore native talked about his acclimation to life as a college president and the goals he'll pursue to enhance F&M's liberal arts educational experience.

He also looks forward to teaching a course as an English professor.

Porterfield, who succeeded John Fry as president, described his first 3 1/2 months on the job as a "total immersion in the F&M community."

From "the excellence I observe" at the college, he said, it's clear the students, faculty, staff and administration "take what they do seriously."

"There's a lot of friendship and shared values," Porterfield said. "They work hard at their commitments."

Because he started during the spring semester, he was able to see the college still in full swing. "It's like watching a race in its last legs," he said.

The student body, Porterfield said, inspires him with its "mindset to make a difference."

Also, there's "an ethos of engagement in the larger issues of the day" — whether it's environmental sustainability, international affairs or gender equity, he said.

F&M students understand the importance of integrating their academic pursuits "into their larger lives," Porterfield said.

The college's tradition of "learning while doing" is one of the things that attracted him to the institution, he said.

Senior vice president for strategic development at Georgetown University before coming to F&M, Porterfield also had high praise for the faculty's dedication to "transformational education and breakthrough scholarship."

There's more collaboration on research, with the barrier between professors and students dissolving, he said. Many of the projects faculty members undertake are designed with undergraduates in mind, Porterfield said.

He also credited F&M professors for their ability to evolve and learn. That's "being a reflective practitioner," he said, and is the key to success.

Porterfield himself plans to teach a course next academic year, possibly called "Needs of Newcomers."

"I can't wait," he said. "It's going to be fun."

A Rhodes Scholar, Porterfield is a graduate of Georgetown and holds a doctorate from The City University of New York Graduate Center.

Teaching, he said, "is part of my identity. It's the work of the college."

F&M spokeswoman Dulcey Antonucci said in an email that Fry's predecessor Richard Kneedler was the last president to also teach.

The obvious choice
Dr. Lawrence Bonchek, chairman of the Franklin & Marshall board of trustees and a member of the presidential search committee, said Porterfield "was so immediately appealing" as a candidate.

After the field of applicants was winnowed, he said, the consensus of the committee was, "Are we really going to select anyone other than Dan Porterfield?"

"It was so obvious he was the choice," Bonchek said.

In a conversation with Bonchek, Georgetown University's board chairman, former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, called Porterfield "the star of the Georgetown administration."

The only negative Tagliabue could come up with — and that was a stretch — is that Porterfield sometimes works too hard.

When Bonchek asked if Porterfield had made any recent mistakes, Tagliabue said that he did decline an hors d'oeuvre at a cocktail party.

While that last anecdote might be embellished just a bit, Porterfield's assets speak for themselves, Bonchek said.

"One of his great attributes is the strength and multiplicity of his talents," he said.

Practicality is one of them, Bonchek said. "He's not a starry-eyed idealist."

During the interview process, "he always had a pragmatic answer but tied it to an ideal that was setting the bar high," he said.

In his first months on the job, Porterfield "has fulfilled our expectations and more," said Bonchek, who's become a close friend.

"He's taken the bit in his teeth from the first day."

Everything revolves around the education of students and Porterfield "has made that absolutely clear," Bonchek said.

Porterfield said he's been occupying "parallel universes" as he got situated in Lancaster while his wife and three daughters remained in Washington, D.C.

The family lived in a college dorm on the Georgetown campus, so moving into the president's house in School Lane Hills will be an adjustment, he said with a smile.

But Porterfield said he looks forward to using the residence, with its comfortable atmosphere, as a gathering space. "It's a tremendous place to convene."

Now that the school year's over, Porterfield's wife, Karen Herrling, an attorney who advocates for low-income immigrants, and their children, Elizabeth, 14, Caroline, 13, and Sarah, 8, will soon be arriving in Lancaster.

In his spare time, he said he likes to hang out with his family and play basketball.

Porterfield's a "passionate" Hoyas fan who got to know Georgetown players Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert, now in the NBA. "They're great young men," he said.

With his family not around the past several months, Porterfield said he's been working virtually nonstop.

The president's office already bears his imprint. In addition to the ice-cream freezer, he placed a large bookcase against one wall and brought in his own desk.

A serious bibliophile, Porterfield said only about 5 percent of his book collection has made it to Lancaster so far.

"I love coming to work in a historic building," he said of stately Old Main, a Gothic Revival edifice dating from the 1850s.

Porterfield praised his predecessor, Fry, for the work he and the college did to improve the campus, making it even more welcoming. "There are a lot of places to gather," he said.

He's also a big supporter of the college house system, one of Fry's major innovations in his eight years as president.

"It challenges students to be responsible for self-governance while involving the faculty" in residential life, Porterfield said.

Social-media savvy
He said he doesn't really have a management style, but described his approach as "definitely inclusive, collaborative.

"I like interacting with people."

And he said he wants to see them use their talents in areas they're passionate about.

"I have a lot of regard for the student perspective," Porterfield said.

In the middle of the interview, he got a text message from a rising senior who had just finished her Medical College Admission Test. "All done," she wrote. "Thanks for the support, Dr. P."

Another way he likes to communicate with students is through Facebook.

Porterfield said he resisted the urge to create a profile on the social networking site till last summer.

And although his page lists some of his favorites — including movies like "The Godfather" and musical groups like The Black Eyed Peas — he doesn't view Facebook as a place for superfluous conversation.

"I use it as an educator," Porterfield said. "It lets me take [the] pulse" of students and alumni.

The personal information "is enough to let them see I'm a human being," he said.

Facebook also "shows me the creative work people are doing and gives me the ability to foster community on campus."

Porterfield has become a Twitter user as well, although he's still learning. And he started his own F&M blog.

Robert Diggs, a junior-to-be from Brooklyn, N.Y., met Porterfield when he came to campus the day after his appointment was announced.

Since then, Diggs has gotten to know Porterfield, and he'll be working in the president's office this summer.

He "connects with people so well — and it's genuine," Diggs said. "He's very personable."

Porterfield seems like the kind of leader "you can go and talk to, no matter what."

Looking ahead
The new president also outlined several priorities he'll focus on in the coming years.

First, Porterfield said he'll "work with the entire [college] community to make the educational experience even more impactful."

Second, he wants to "recruit and attract great students who will truly benefit from F&M's individualized style of learning."

Third, Porterfield said he'll continue to strengthen the physical infrastructure of the college and its financial position, so that "cost is not a barrier for any qualified student."

That includes overseeing completion of the Northwest Gateway Project at the site of the old Armstrong World Industries' Liberty Street flooring plant. F&M has erected sports fields there and will eventually build a football stadium, too.

Fourth, Porterfield said it's vital to support the college's ability to make "a positive social impact."

That can be accomplished in a number of ways, he said.

There's the hands-on work students do in the Lancaster community, such as through the Ware Institute of Civic Engagement, and the scholarship faculty members pursue that illuminates problems and possible solutions, he said.

Porterfield said he's especially impressed with F&M's involvement in the Clinic for Special Children, which treats genetic disorders in the Plain community. "It's so inspiring on so many levels."

The college also has the ability to set an example by limiting its carbon footprint and employing a fair wage structure, he said.

Plus, the courses F&M teaches and the "way we convene thinkers" can make a difference, Porterfield said.

A fundamental role of the college is to foster "unimpeded inquiry and true discourse," even if that brings forth controversial and unpopular views, he said.

The underlying goal is to prepare students with the skills and mindset to "think broadly," Porterfield said.

"If we don't, who will?"

Contact Sunday News staff writer Paula Wolf at pwolf@lnpnews.com.