Origins | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000–09 | 2010–2019 | 2020-2029
I could never figure out to what purpose the College existed if it wasn't for the production of alumni. I still hold to that conviction and I am conscious that in my commitment to that belief lies not only the motivation which led to the organization of this Council but to the policies which later dictated my administration as president. In my opinion the onus is upon a college in very considerable degree if not entirely for the kind of an alumni body which it has.
Ten years after his retirement, President Emeritus Ernest M. Hopkins, Class of 1901, gave this credo to the Alumni Council. One well deserved, as many alumni have served Dartmouth with distinction and with great benefit to its welfare. Hailing all the way back to the days of Tucker, Hopkins, and Dickey and still echoing today the words of Richard Hovey still hold true: "Though 'round the girdled earth they roam, Her spell on them remains."
For Dartmouth, this unswerving devotion of alumni/ae to its history, location, objectives, and achievements has helped create this everlasting connection. The Dartmouth Experience has built a coalition of tens of thousands whose desire to give back to Dartmouth has allowed the college to go above and beyond. Today, with over nine decades of service, the Alumni Council has been an invaluable asset to Dartmouth College . How did this come to be? It is important to publish a history of the Council's origins and shine light on its visionaries. This is an invaluable source for anyone who wishes to have a comprehensive coverage of the origins of Alumni Council from its inception.
Beginnings of Alumni Relations
The first graduating class of 1771 produced four alumni to represent Dartmouth College beyond the wilderness setting in New Hampshire. During its first century subsequent alumni would make the long journey north to weigh in on important events. These events included meetings with the Board of Trustees, participating in Commencement oratory, and attending class reunions. The famous defense of the institution before the Supreme Court, in the Dartmouth College Case, was a contribution by Daniel Webster, Class of 1801.
Alumni organization began when the General Association of Alumni was founded in 1854 as the umbrella for all alumni activity. Later in 1864 this would provide the proper climate for one of the first regional alumni associations in the nation, the Boston Alumni Association. The General Association gave expression to the deep interest of alumni to be involved in the College and their desire to advance its welfare.
An Accelerating Movement
Upon invitation in 1905 from President Tucker and Ernest Martin Hopkins '01, the first secretary of the College, the secretaries of each graduated class came back to Hanover for the purpose of forming an organization among themselves. This proved to be a major step that deepened the relationship between alumni and the College.
A first action of the Secretaries Association established the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. In 1957 the Association of Alumni Club Officers was formed so that presidents and secretaries of regional organizations could also meet annually in Hanover. This environment allowed for the alumni movement to accelerate as a number of regional organizations sprouted and increased in importance.
Today numerous other officers, including vice president, job development, enrollment liaison, student liaison, public information, continuing education, scholarship fund, treasurers, and officers of affiliated alumni organizations attend an annual Hanover meeting. These representatives come from over 150 clubs throughout the country and overseas. These clubs reflect the tightened bond between the College and alumni from its humble beginnings in 1864 of the very first regional club in Boston.
Origins of the Alumni Council
The General Association of Alumni functioned from its inception in 1854 along the lines of annual town meetings held in June. After the historic 1905 meeting, the Secretaries Association began to develop class and alumni club organization to better conduct alumni activities. These groups recognized their limitations and supported the new plan to provide broad class and geographical representation in a smaller group of alumni leaders. This smaller representative body was to become the Alumni Council.
The Alumni Council was founded at a meeting in Philadelphia on November 7, 1913. The decision was in response to a growing need among alumni for some representative group to guide and direct Dartmouth alumni affairs, and to serve as liaison with the College. The newly created council would do just that as it provided operation and coordination of existing activities and had the power to undertake future ones. The Council of the Alumni was invested with much hope and responsibility:
The purpose of this Council shall be to give organization and aid for the highest efficiency to all efforts of the alumni of Dartmouth College for the benefit of the College; and more particularly in the following respects:
- To act as a clearinghouse for alumni sentiment and the interchange of alumni ideas.
- To encourage and maintain a relationship with the Board of Trustees of the College which provides opportunity for regular input of alumni concerns and for assistance to the Board of Trustees in the development of programs and policies.
- To act as the official spokesman of alumni sentiment to the administration and as the avenue of approach by which the administration should have access to the alumni collectively.
- To approve or disapprove projects put forth in the alumni name and to be the seat of authority in all such matters.
- To initiate and carry on such undertakings, or to provide for their being carried on, as are reasonably within the province of alumni activity.
These original objectives have been successfully sustained throughout the years.
The alumnus most active in the formation of the Alumni Council, and truly its founder, was Ernest M. Hopkins '01. After leaving the administration upon Dr. Tucker's resignation in 1909, he filled business positions until his return to Hanover as President of the College in 1916. It was during this interim that he, with the enthusiastic support of others, made clear his vision of the great good that an Alumni Council would accomplish for the College. A valuable ally in the formation of a council was former president Dr. William Jewett Tucker, Class of 1861. Dr. Tucker, demonstrating as he did on other occasions his farsighted wisdom and continuing interest in alumni affairs, wrote on behalf of the movement from retirement to the founding meeting in Philadelphia. The Alumni Council represented very real and important requirements in the development of more participation by alumni in the work and affairs of the College. In a historic communication, he prophetically claimed the Council's importance in attracting a student body of highest quality, securing much-needed financial support, and in keeping its members in touch with the educational work and administrative plans of the College. In this way the Council could truly serve as a "clearing house for alumni sentiment," which carried weight, on the basis of an informed membership to make decisions and determine policies.
The Growth of a Perfect Union
Dr. Tucker's convictions on the importance of nourishing the interest and encouraging the services of those who attended the College have been shared fully by each president who followed him. His dream of an active body of graduates became realized as the tie between President of the College and Alumni Council grew stronger.
President Ernest M. Hopkins, Class of 1901, clearly recognized the necessity of strengthening relationships between the alumni and the College. This relationship has been mutually beneficial, as the College has enriched the lives of its graduates and alumni have found that their undergraduate years were just the beginning of an enduring association with Dartmouth and its vision.
President John Sloan Dickey '29 gave himself unswervingly to this tightening bond. Despite the increased operating complexities and demanding requirements of his position, he furthered the strengthening and integration of the alumni body with faculty and undergraduates. To keep pace with the growing number of alumni, and to provide assistance for their activities, more staff and facilities were provided in Hanover during the Dickey administration.
President John G. Kemeny followed the presidential tradition of meeting with alumni frequently throughout the country and added additional programs of his own to increase these opportunities in Hanover . His frequent reports in The Bulletin and his 5-year Report were examples of his desire to keep in close touch with a growing alumni constituency.
President McLaughlin met frequently with Councilors to discuss his vision for Dartmouth. He once told a Council gathering, "alumni have made Dartmouth what she is, and in return she has given you heart." He exhorted Councilors to "celebrate the warm and sustaining bond that exists between you and your College."
President Freedman met with Councilors at all their meetings, and focused on sharing with them his plans for Dartmouth as it approached the 21st century. Paramount in his concerns were the maintenance of quality teaching and a diverse student body in the face of rising tuition costs.
President James Wright has continued the tradition of meeting with Councilors at every meeting, and has sought their input on major changes in campus social and residential life.
The Founding Members of the Alumni Council
No history would be complete without listing the first members of the Alumni Council. The council first consisted of 25 members. The founding fathers (the last of whom, J. Frank Drake '02, survived until 1976), are recorded below along with constituencies these members represented and the Council's original functions:
New England States
Fred A. Howland (1887), Montpelier, VT Webster Thayer (1880), Worcester, MA
J. Frank Drake '02, Springfield, MA
Middle and Southern States
Luther B. Little (1882), New York City
Clarke W. Tobin '10, New York City
Henry P. Blair (1889), Washington, D.C.
Central States
Walter E. McCornack (1897), Chicago
William T. Abbott (1890), Evanston, IL
Willard G. Aborn (1893), Cleveland, OH
Western States
Henry L. Moore (1877) Minneapolis, MN
Charles W. Pollard (1895), Omaha, NE
Edgar A. DeWitt (1882), Dallas , TX
Rocky Mountain and Pacific States
Richard C. Campbell (1886), Denver, CO
Paul G. Redington '00, Norfork, CA
Selden C. Smith (1897), San Francisco, CA
For the Faculty
Professor Charles D. Adams (1877), Hanover, NH
Representing Class Secretaries
Ernest Martin Hopkins '01, Boston, MA
John R. McLane '07, Milford, NH
Morton C. Tuttle (1897), Boston, MA
Members by Virtue of Official Relation to the Alumni
Horace G. Pender (1897), Boston, MA (Chairman, Executive Committee of the General Association of Alumni)
Homer Eaton Keyes '00, Hanover, NH (Secretary, General Association of Alumni)
Irving J. French '01, Boston, MA (Senior alumni member of the Athletic Council)
Members at Large
James P. Richardson (1899), Boston, MA
Arthur L. Livermore (1888), New York City
Clarence B. Little (1881), Bismarck, ND
First Officers
Ernest M. Hopkins '01, president
Henry P. Blair (1889), vice president
Homer E. Keyes '00, secretary-treasurer
Earliest Functions of the Council
With the immediate naming of committees, the Council started operating in several major areas, including enrollment and admissions ("Committee on Preparatory Schools"); organization of the Alumni Fund; undergraduate affairs, projects advanced in the name of the alumni; and publicity. The Council in 1915 took over the nomination of trustees at the request of the General Association. A constitutional provision requires publicizing the name of the Council's nominee to the entire alumni body in advance of election by the Board itself. Of special note is that prior to 1990, a mail ballot of alumni was held whenever alumni petitioned for another nomination. Since 1990, alumni participate in balloting for all alumni trustee positions, whether or not a petition candidate exists.
Class Representatives
29
Post-55th Reunion Classes
1
Class Officers Association
6
At-Large (Club) Representatives
10
Metropolitan Club Representatives
10
At-Large Representatives
21
Undergraduates Representatives
4
Professional Schools(DMS, Thayer, Tuck)
3
Arts and Sciences Graduate Program
1
Club Officers Association
3
Affiliated Alumni Organizations
4
Athletic Council
1
Alumni Fund Chair
1
District Enrollment Directors
1
Faculty Representative
1
Chair: Alumni Awards, CRG, Nominating and Trustee Search, Young Alumni Awards Committees
4