Kathy Geraghty opened the meeting  with the reading after the pledge to the flag. 

President Tom shared opening remarks. He noted that in the lieu of the regular luncheon meeting on August 29, plans are almost final for a social get together organized by Heather Drinan from the Provost's office.  The event will occur  at the Dartmouth Life Sciences building from 4 to 5:30 PM. 

He thanked the  20 Rotary members who participated in the July 4th celebration and  the 10 club members who had participated in the parking for the Prouty. 

President Tom asked for volunteers to serve on the Rotary board of directors since the terms of two members have expired.  

President Tom noted that Jesse's has agreed that for those who are not interested in a full lunch, drinks and cookies are now an option at a cost of seven dollars. 

He explained that Tom Cochran, a teacher at Hanover High School, had  contacted him about helping to organize a student exchange with high school students from a village in Poland. Mr. Cochran had taken 18 Hanover High students to Poland last year, and the students in Poland are now interested in visiting Hanover.  We are making a connection with the Rotary club in the Polish village to see if we can coordinate the effort together.  Dave Allen indicated that he had just heard from Mr. Cochran that there may be as many as 20 students who are going to try to come to Hanover.  Dave asked for volunteers to serve on a committee to follow up.

President Tom noted that our exchange student from Chile would be arriving in August and that after her first three or four months there will be need for a family or two to offer residence for her.

At Jed Williamson's request, Tom reported that there be a kickoff for the Upper Valley Alzheimer's fundraiser on July 31 at 6:30 PM at the Nighthawks baseball game.

President Tom introduced John Scherding, Vice President for Campus Planning and Design, Ellen Arnold, Associate General Counsel for Campus Services, and Dean Joe Helble of the Thayer School of Engineering to explain Dartmouth's plans for developing the West End of its campus.  John noted several key aspects of the planning, including opening up Old Tuck Drive, adding additional parking near French Hall, and work on the crew facility, all of which have been approved by the town.  He then explained the planned location of the future Irving Energy Institute facility, which will be located at the end of Tuck mall in the open area between Thayer School and Murdough Center facing towards Baker Library.  John then explained that the expansion of the Thayer School would include a three-story underground garage beneath the expansion.  The parking would be  accessed off of what is now called Thayer Drive, which will be closed  to through traffic.  The opening of the Old Tuck Drive is intended to handle traffic that previously crossed the West End of campus starting at Thayer Drive  to avoid Main Street in Hanover.   The plans are to complete the construction of the Irving Institute and Thayer expansion by 2021.  John noted that the intersection of Thayer Drive and Wheelock Street is a very dangerous intersection now, and the expansion will in all likelihood require that some kind of traffic light be installed.  In addition, the timing of the lights at the intersection of Main Street and Wheelock will need to be adjusted. Finally, John also indicated that the long-term plans include enhancements of the riverfront, as well as the creation of a walking/biking path from the Dartmouth Green all the way to the riverfront through the campus, including the town owned cemetery.

Dean Helble then explained the need for the expansion. He noted that the number of students majoring in engineering has doubled, Dartmouth is the first major engineering school to have more women graduate in a year than men, and the percentage of students at Dartmouth taking engineering and computer science classes is one of the highest in the country, at about 70%.  He noted that the expansion really is an effort to combine engineering with computer science because the boundaries between these two disciplines have disappeared.  It is the Dean's hope that the combination of innovation and entrepreneurial spirit will result in the growth of startup companies created through the efforts at Dartmouth, which he believes will benefit to both Dartmouth and the community.

John and the Dean responded to various questions and the meeting ended.