It’s set to be another record-breaking year at Dartmouth Reunions. While individual class registrations are still being tallied, the total number of guests is up more than 10 percent, with more than 4,500 alumni, guests, and family members expected on campus from June 11 to June 21.
“There’s nothing better than bringing alumni back to campus to celebrate their Dartmouth experience and to share in President Hanlon’s vision for what we can be,” says Martha Beattie ’76, vice president for alumni relations. “Reunions are one of our most memorable moments for alumni to stay engaged with Dartmouth past, present and future.”
Alumni have the opportunity to hear directly from President Phil Hanlon ’77 during two Presidential Reunion Addresses on June 16 (Moore Theater) and June 20 (Spaulding Auditorium), both at 10:30 a.m. There will also be a variety of fascinating presentations by Dartmouth professors on topics including American literature, the Arctic, engineering, entrepreneurship, and women’s and gender studies.
As is tradition, members of the 50-year Reunion Class of 1965 will be the first to celebrate their Reunion, as they march in Commencement along with this year’s graduating Class of 2015 on June 14. The ’65s will also join the ’15s for the annual Class Connections barbeque at Collis.
The following weekend, for the fourth-consecutive year, there will be two celebratory “On the Green” events for all alumni in the afternoon and evening. The nighttime experience on the Green, with the live music and pyrotechnics, has become a new Reunion tradition.
Dedicated class volunteers organize much of the Reunion programming, and they have tapped the expertise in their own class to offer a variety of discussions on sports, writing, education, theater, film, and career transitions.
For example, Dawn Hudson Beach ’79, chief marketing officer of the NFL, will be part of the panel, “The Changing Culture of Sports in the 21st Century;” Pulitzer-Prize recipient Dan Fagin ’85, author of Toms River: A Story of Science and Salvation, will deliver a lecture on literature; and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Dan Gilroy ’81 will participate in the panel, “A Life in the Arts.”
Traditional Reunion events, such as campus tours, self-guided trips up Baker and Bartlett Towers, and outdoor activities including rowing, tennis, golf, sailing, biking, and hiking are also offered this year.
Learn more about 2015 Reunions, and see a list of future Reunion dates.