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Albert Cook '62: Dartmouth Alumni Award Recipient, 2011-12

AlTCook

Albert Cook '62 (right) was presented a 2011-12
Dartmouth Alumni Award by John Walters '62 during Reunions 2012.


As the first graduate of Mayfield High School in suburban Cleveland to attend an Ivy League institution, you had your sights set on the College on the Hill. We are grateful that your "Oh, wow!" reaction upon arrival to the Hanover Plain still rings true today.

Your Dartmouth experience was a gratifying one, and included participation in the Russian Club, Delta Upsilon, the Dartmouth Outing Club and Dartmouth Project Asia. In the classroom, you were an honors student and a religion/philosophy major. Far beyond the classroom, one of your most cherished memories is when you were selected to join the "Operation Crossroads Africa" work-study program your junior summer--serving as Hanover's Community Ambassador in Mali and Senegal, and working on service projects that strengthened community and understanding in these regions of West Africa. You often credit your strong liberal arts education and Dartmouth's charge to better understand the world and its people for many of the core values you have held throughout your life.

Following graduation, it was off to New York where you spent one year at the Union Theology Seminary, but more importantly, where you met your wife, Mary Jane. After receiving a master of arts degree from the School of Social Services Administration at the University of Chicago, your early profession in the non-profit sector brought you to Houston doing social work and serving in the Office of the Mayor; to Cape Kennedy with the federal impact planning program during the initial Apollo/Saturn launches; and best of all, back to Hanover where you spent five magnificent years in Dartmouth's Office of the Secretary, coordinating the job placement program and working with the College's wonderfully diverse alumni body. After a stint as Executive Director of Big Brothers in New York, you and Mary Jane were ready for a change of scenery, and Colorado fit the bill. It was during this time you also changed your career path to the world of finance, and in 1984 established your own investment advising firm, Albert T. T. Cook Company, where you remain president.

As demonstrated by your extraordinary history of service to the College, you continue to be a loyal son of Dartmouth. You have been class newsletter editor and have served in a variety of roles for the Dartmouth College Fund. We are extremely thankful for your service on the Association of Alumni Executive Committee, and on the Alumni Council as chair of the Nominating and Alumni Trustee Search Committee. You have also been invaluable to the Dartmouth Association of the Rocky Mountains, of which you have served as two-time president, secretary, job development/career adviser, Webmaster and perpetual board member.

No less impactful on your community, your involvement has included the Willows Water District for over 13 years including president, your local Lions Club chapter for over 30 years including president, and membership on the Board of Trustees of the Iliff School of Theology and Humanities Institute at the University of Denver.

Undeniably, your most precious time is spent with your wife of 49 years, Mary Jane. You have three wonderful children, Lara, Thomas and Timothy--all of whom, like you, share a love of the outdoors and appreciate the importance of contributing to the international community.

In your application to Dartmouth College you wrote, "Dartmouth, Mr. Chamberlain, is my first choice of a school and to be accepted would mean a great and happy accomplishment in my life." For all you have accomplished in your life thereafter and in recognition of your dedication to your career, community, family and alma mater, it is our great honor to present you with the Dartmouth Alumni Award.