Dean Rossi Wagner directly oversees the academic and residential life advising for all students affiliated with New College West, supervises the day-to-day operation of the college office and works closely with the head of college and New College West staff to offer cultural, intellectual and social programs for students.

Dean Rossi Wagner came to the residential colleges as the assistant dean for studies in First College and New College West. She also worked in the Office of International Programs as an adviser. Dean Rossi Wagner received her Ph.D. from Rutgers University in Italian, and her scholarly interests include migration narratives from North and East Africa, postcolonial literatures, and Italian-American cinema. For more than a decade, she taught undergraduate courses in literature, language and film at Rutgers, Penn State and Princeton.