Tom Csatari reminded members to sign up for the forthcoming Occum Pond party scheduled for February 8 and encouraged those who DON’T sign up to join in the fun or to just show up and be ready to be put to work.  

 

Rubi Simon and Julie Stevenson announced that Hanover’s current inbound student will be attending a future meeting and also reinforced the two messages given last week: our club will be sending three outbound students for 2020, which means that we are committed to hosting a like number. 

 

Liam McCarthy presented Carolyn Watson with a pin commemorating her designation as a Paul Harris Fellow. 

 

Jed Williamson offered a Happy Dollar in honor of his friend, Andy Harvard, who passed away a year ago. He reminded club members that he appreciated their support for the Alzheimer’s walk held in his honor in the Fall and hoped for continued support for this event. 

 

Wayne Gersen offered two Happy Dollars in appreciation for club members who stepped up to provide speakers for the coming weeks:one for Heather Drinan who lined up a February and April speaker and one for Deecie Denison who was in the process of lining up three March speakers. He encouraged club members to share their ideas for speakers via email. 

 

Jeremy Lambeth offered two Happy Dollars: one in appreciation of his wife Anastasia joining him at the meeting and another for his recent appointment to a position at University of Oklahoma… which explained why he attended a Rotary Club meeting in Norman, OK. Their gain is our loss, for Jeremy has supported the club (and yours truly) with many “behind-the-scenes” efforts. I wish him the best… and hopes he finds his way back to the Upper Valley at some point in the future. 

 

Bill Garfield won the raffle. 

 

 

Dartmouth College President Phil Hanlon appreciated the opportunity to offer his annual talk to our club, which he sees as emblematic of the symbiotic relationship between Dartmouth and the town of Hanover. He noted that last year was Dartmouth’s 250^th  anniversary and as part of the celebration they provided 280,000 hours of community service, most of which benefitted Upper Valley communities. He also noted that the college  conducted three re-enactments of the “Dartmouth case”, one of which took place in the Supreme Court and was overseen by Chief Justice Roberts. While Phil appreciated the Chief Justice’s interest in the case, he didn’t like Mr. Robert’s reference to Dartmouth as a “lesser light” in the Ivy League, especially in the context of the recent improvements at the college. Phil Hanlon used his address to the club to highlight those changes, which included increases in the number of applications, the “yield” in applicants, the rankings by research assessors, and the rankings of faculty compensation by US News and World Reports. All of these improvements have occurred at the same time as Dartmouth has contained costs and improved the quality of life on campus. 

 

President Hanlon outlined three broad issues the college faces in the future: student mental health; global strategy; and financial sustainability. He noted that these issues are challenges for all competitive colleges and offered specific steps the college will be taking to address each.

 

In response to questions from club members, President Hanlon did not sidestep any of the questions posed by club members. In doing so he described the college’s efforts to stem sexual harassment; outlined the advantages and disadvantages of Dartmouth’s relatively small enrollment (4200 undergraduates and 1900 graduate students, the smallest of the Ivies); noted the marked increase in the number of applicants, which has resulted in an 8% acceptance rate; acknowledged Dartmouth’s impact on town and his hope that the modest expansion at the Tuck School would help the businesses along Main Street; described the impact of need blind admissions for domestic students, noting that any student whose parent’s earn less than $100,000 can avoid debt completely; outlined the college’s energy sustainability goals; and described the challenges of recruiting a faculty that mirrors the undergraduates who are currently enrolled.

 

February 5 – Jarvis Green, the Artistic Director of JAG productions, an African American theater group operating out of White River Junction. 

 

February 12 – Noted local author David Allen will discuss his first novel, Dappled Psychiatric, and may even provide some signed copies! 

 

February 19 - Heather Drinan will introduce Ilana Grallert who will give us the history of the Dartmouth Cemetery

 

February 26 – Perry Allison, the Artistic Director of We The People Theater, will tell us about that group’s latest production: The Man of LaMancha

 

Wayne Gersen