The Academic Affairs Committee spring meeting featured an overview of 2019 Alumni Relations Lifelong Learning programming and information on program history and trends for Dartmouth on Location and Alumni Travel events. Information presented to committee members also included statistics on Lifelong Learning faculty participation. The meeting also included a discussion about featuring prominent alumni in Lifelong Learning programming as well as a discussion of non-Lifelong Learning educational opportunities for alumni. The committee transitioned to a discussion of the Rassias Award nomination process, concluding that the nomination process should begin in the fall to give the committee sufficient time to choose a candidate by the spring. The Director of Alumni Engagement for Tuck, Renee Hirschberg, presented on Tuck Lifelong Learning, noting successful engagement in the virtual learning program and opportunities to work more closely with Lifelong Learning on programming with undergraduate students and alumni. The committee discussed opportunities for future Lifelong Learning initiatives and the role of the committee, including recognition of alumni publications and faculty-recommended works. Jonathan Lazarow ’05 will serve as chair, and Omar Rashid ’00 will serve as vice chair.
The Alumni Service Committee met to debrief on the 5th annual Alumni Day of Service and discuss the work the committee will do throughout the 250th year and beyond. This year, there were 54 Day of Service projects. A total of 39 clubs registered a Day of Service project, and 12 individuals registered projects. There were two international projects, in Toronto and London. The committee discussed outreach to club and class leadership to encourage projects for the next Day of Service and discussed highlighting service in the class notes section of the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. If a class hosted a Day of Service project, they should mention it in their class notes. The committee also set a goal of doubling the number of international projects next year, to have four international Day of Service projects. The 2020 Day of Service will take place on May 2, 2020.
Nadine Parris ’06 was named vice chair of the committee. David Dietze ’78 will serve as chair.
At its May meeting the Alumni and Student Engagement Committee reviewed the progress made since November toward its goal of engaging recent graduates and students and better connecting them with alumni through the work of the Alumni Relations Office. The committee has two working groups this year that have focused on: 1) one-on-one connections and developing a case study around the Class Connections program between the classes of 1969 and 2019; and 2) place-based connections providing opportunities for alumni-study connections around FSPs, LSAs, and study abroad programs. Each group provided a status update on their work so far this year; however, the rest of the meeting delved into the work of the second group with the committee welcoming guest speakers including faculty directors of FSPs and LSAs and students recently returning to Hanover from programs abroad. The committee had the chance to learn more about their programs and ask questions about study abroad today and the available opportunities for alumni to engage with and assist what is already underway. At the close of the meeting, the group reviewed next steps for the next six weeks to conclude the group’s work by the end of June, and thanked councilors and committee leaders ending their terms. Amanda Rosenblum ’07 was confirmed as vice chair, and Karyn Calcano ’87 Tu’91 will serve as chair.
The Alumni Council Athletics Committee spring meeting featured a welcome from chair Mike Vidmar ’03, who introduced our guest speakers: Harry Sheehy ’55a, director of athletics, Bob Ceplikas ’78, deputy director of athletics, and Sam Hopkins, senior associate athletic director for external relations. Harry and Cep opened by highlighting the success of many varsity and club teams, individual athletes, and coaches; facility updates and renovation projects; and the current state of athletics fundraising. The Committee heard about how athletics has formalized many processes already in place to ensure that the College continues to prevent a college admissions bribery scandal, such as ‘Operation Varsity Blues.’ The Dartmouth Teams on the Road website is nearing completion; the Committee brainstormed how athletics can communicate and promote the new site to all Dartmouth alumni, parents, and friends. The meeting concluded with a student-athlete panel in which two varsity athletes shared how Dartmouth Peak Performance (DP2) has profoundly shaped their experience as student-athletes.
Ernie Babcock ’70 will serve as vice chair. Cherie Comeau ’02 will serve as chair.
Committee Chair Carrie Fraser ’86 Th’87 welcomed the committee, reintroduced members, and reminded the committee of its mission. Liz Nunez, director of alumni leadership, presented metrics on councilor participation in sending post-meeting communications and sharing feedback from constituents with the College. Committee members discussed best practices for constituent communications and shared ideas about how to pass those on to other councilors.
Vice Chair Spenser Mestel ’11 led a small-group breakout session focused on key challenges around councilor-constituent communications. Members discussed how to better help fellow councilors communicate with their constituents and ensure they are equipped to handle difficult conversations.
Committee members thanked Fraser for her leadership as chair. Spenser Mestel ’11 assumed responsibility as chair of the election, and Luke Antal ’07 was elected the new vice chair of the committee.
Eric C. Taylor ’84 P’19, chair of the Enrollment and Admissions Committee, and Nicole Moser ’89, vice chair, opened the session by welcoming all members. The spring meeting featured a series of updates from the admissions office and the admissions ambassador program, including from Lee Coffin ’89a, dean of admissions and financial aid, and Meg Lysy ’99, director of the Admissions Ambassador Program (AAP). The meeting included a feedback session on member experiences with the AAP this past year. A standout of the discussion is how effective the Admitted Student Events (ASE) are for recruiting students to Dartmouth. Two District Enrollment Directors (DEDs) who live in CA stated the importance of these events, especially when yielding students and parents who live across the country from NH. The yield on students who attend an ASE is 87.6 percent. Lee Coffin provided an overview of the admissions season and the effectiveness of the “sense of place” branding. Admissions is incorporating faculty into as many programs and events as they can, and students are responsive. Prospective students also seek authentic content from their peers, so the admissions social media is largely curated by current students.
The committee unanimously elected Colleen Haskell ’94 to the role of Vice Chair of the committee. Colleen has been an admissions volunteer since graduation and has also served as the president of the Long Island club for 7 years and has organized the Long Island admitted student event. Nicole Moser ’89 will serve as chair.
The meeting opened with a greeting from outgoing chair Todd Donovan ’92, who welcomed the group to Hanover. Vice-chair Walter Foster ’83 was unable to attend due to the graduation of his child. Walter Palmer ’90, Director of Dartmouth for Life and secretary of the committee, gave an update on the unit’s activities over the course of the year and detailed the contributions that members of the committee made to various events including the Designing Your Life workshop and the Future of Work in Sustainability symposium. Jay Davis ’90, First Year Student Enrichment Program (FYSEP) director, was the guest speaker. He presented the work of FYSEP and discussed the unique set of issues faced by low-income and first-generation college students as it relates to professional development issues. Roger Woolsey, director of the Center for Professional Development, updated the committee on the center’s activities and key data points.
The chairs of each of the three working groups also gave updates and held brief brainstorming sessions: Jen Bordeau ’06 for Alumni Engagement; Kyle Gore ’84 for Internships; and Mary Brown ’79 for Student Engagement. Pablo Stern ’01 Th’01 was elected vice chair for 2019–2020, and Walter Foster ’83 will serve as chair.
The Young Alumni Committee, led by Rebecca Gollub ’14, vice chair, discussed a wide variety of ways to communicate effectively with young alumni classes. During the meeting, the entire group brainstormed platforms and audiences to consider. This information was gathered so that all members could create a communication plan for their constituent group. They also discussed the Dartmouth College Fund 45 percent challenge and how to support this opportunity for all their classes. A current student discussed his experience on campus and the group brainstormed ways for Alumni Council to be supportive of current students. Taylor Cathcart ’15 addressed the group about his candidacy for the Young Alumni Committee vice chair role and was voted into the position to support Rebecca Gollub ’14, who will step into the chair role.