Inaugural Dartmouth Trustee Professor of Mathematics and President Emeritus & First Lady Emerita of Dartmouth College
Philip J. Hanlon ’77 and Gail M. Gentes ‘77a served as President and First Lady of Dartmouth for just over ten years starting on June 10, 2013. During their tenure, Dartmouth experienced a decade of extraordinary achievements that included historic expansions in financial aid, Dartmouth’s invitation to join the AAU and a more than 20% growth in undergraduate admission yield.
As president, Hanlon championed academic excellence in service to the world and encouraged innovation in scholarship and teaching. He launched initiatives to build interdisciplinary strength around global challenges, expanded opportunities for experiential learning, and initiated new seed funding programs to support cutting-edge research and creative endeavors. He led the creation of the Guarini School for Graduate and Advanced Studies – the first new school at Dartmouth in over a century. Under his leadership, Dartmouth launched the Irving Institute for Energy and Society, established the DEN Innovation and New Venture Incubator (now known as the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship) and led the expansion of the Thayer School of Engineering. He also created the Society of Fellows, an interdisciplinary community of post-doctoral scholars dedicated to the integration of research and teaching.
Committed to reining in the costs of higher education, Hanlon maintained fiscal rigor throughout his presidency, establishing an annual institution-wide reallocation process while holding tuition increases to the lowest levels since the 1970s. At the same time, he oversaw record levels of giving, raising more than $3.7 billion with 60% alumni participation in the Call to Lead campaign, the most successful in Dartmouth's history.
Under Hanlon's leadership, Dartmouth also launched a comprehensive set of initiatives designed to combat high-risk behaviors while building a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable environment for students, faculty, and staff. Among them were Moving Dartmouth Forward (2015), Inclusive Excellence (2016) and, most recently, the Campus Climate and Culture Initiative (2019) aimed specifically at creating a learning environment free from sexual harassment and the abuse of power. These three interlocking initiatives formed a broad-based program to ensure that behaviors and relationships in all contexts on campus are consistent with Dartmouth's values.
Since stepping down from the presidency, Hanlon has returned to his roots as a member of the faculty at Dartmouth and currently teaches courses in both the Mathematics Department and the Program in Quantitative Social Sciences. In addition, he has been called upon as an advisor to several of our peer universities including as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of the University of Denver.
As a mathematician, Hanlon's academic research is focused on probability and combinatorics, the study of finite structures and their significance as they relate to bioinformatics, computer science, and other areas if mathematics.
Hanlon has earned numerous honors and awards for his mathematical research, including a Sloan Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Henry Russel Award, and the National Science Foundation's Presidential Young Investigator Award. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and held an Arthur F. Thurnau Professorship, the University of Michigan's
highest recognition of faculty whose commitment to undergraduate teaching has had a demonstrable impact on the intellectual development and lives of their students.
Prior to coming to Dartmouth, Hanlon served as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan, where he was also the Donald J. Lewis Collegiate Professor of Mathematics. Hanlon was a member of the Michigan faculty for over 25 years and held a variety of administrative posts during his tenure. He began his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1981-1983) and was a Bantrell Fellow in Mathematics at the California Institute of Technology (1983-1986).
Phil earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth, from which he graduated Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1977, and earned his PhD from the California Institute of Technology in 1981.
Gail received her Bachelor’s degree from Wells College. Following a stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in Afghanistan, she earned an MBA from Boston University. Gail served many years in academic administration at the University of Michigan, including stints as key administrator for two the institution’s schools. At Dartmouth, she worked in alumni relations to secure alumni-sponsored internship opportunities for Dartmouth students.
As outdoor enthusiasts, Gail and Phil love life in the Upper Valley and are involved with a number of mission-based organizations in the Hanover area. Gail is on the Board of Directors of WISE, an organization that combats gender-based violence, and is also a member of the Hanover Sustainability Committee. Phil is a member of Board of Directors of the Upper Valley Educational Institute. The couple has three children, two grandchildren and a one year old Chocolate Lab named “Tess”.
