Bob Boehm '35 and his wife Fran are in their mid-80s but do not let their age slow them down. When they visited the College last week, they insisted on walking from the Hanover Inn to the Rockefeller Center, and their smiles were constant and energetic.
And they have a lot to smile about -- they have seen their lives' work contribute to humanitarian causes and fund public policy programs.
One such program aids several Dartmouth students each year -- the Nancy Boehm Coster Public Policy Career Encouragement Program, which is designed to support student interest in public service careers.
The Boehms funded this program with an annual commitment of $25,000 grants. Their donation provides up to $1,700 to selected students who plan to explore public policy and public services careers through 10-week internships in public policy and not-for-profit organizations.
A life of activism
Bob Boehm's activism and willingness to speak out began when he was a student at Dartmouth during an era when the College's student body was "almost exclusively white."
While he was an undergraduate, Bob Boehm was openly critical of Dartmouth's lack of diversity.
An English and Sociology major, Boehm was also involved in many campus organizations. He was a member of the American Student Union, The Dartmouth, the Dartmouth Outing Club, the Forensic Union and the Non-Fraternity Organization.
Boehm worked at his father's law firm for a few years after he graduated from Dartmouth and then enlisted in the Navy. He next became the Director of Boehm Enterprises, a real-estate management firm.
Boehm was a practicing attorney for over 20 years, but he spent most of his time doing not-for-profit work.
Boehm was the chairman for the Fund for New Priorities, an organization that worked toward cutting military budgets. He was also the director of the National Scholarship Fund for Black Students.
In 1981, Bob Boehm helped found the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, a group determined to help people understand nuclear weapons issues.
In 1987, the committee's members called an international conference that was so successful it launched the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms -- a movement that has spread to more than 10 countries.
"The organization has made outstanding accomplishments, influencing the General Assembly of the United Nations to request a conference on the legality of nuclear arms," Boehm said.
The organization declared the use or threat of use of nuclear arms illegal under international law. Previously, international law did not ban nuclear weapons. The World Court issued a similar statement.
Boehm organized the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York in 1966, which initially dealt with litigation in the South in support of integration and civil rights. It now also involves an educational organization.
Fran Boehm also was active in the Civil Rights Movement. She and a friend supported a famous garbage collectors' strike in 1968.
Fran Boehm said she was not politically conscious until she met Bob Boehm who developed his taste for public policy issues through reading The New York Times every day.
Both Boehms went to Washington, D.C. to protest the Vietnam War.
Fran Boehm was a member of the Women's Strike for Peace, and Bob Boehm was active in the Lawyers Committee on American policy towards Vietnam. The committee wrote legal briefs labeling the war in Vietnam as contrary to international law.
Fran Boehm said she and her husband "have spent most of our adult life trying to combat injustice and inequality" and are interested in others carrying out similar projects.
The Boehms' concern for public policy issues is always apparent. On a recent family vacation in Cuba, Fran Boehm noted that Havana was impoverished because of the U.S. embargo.
Some of the Boehms' children are also involved with public policy issues. Their youngest daughter participated in a march for poverty and their granddaughter is one of the leaders of Yale's branch of Habitat for Humanity.
Activism "must be in the genes," Fran Boehm said.
The Boehm Coster program
The Nancy Boehm Coster Public Policy Career Encouragement Program was set up to memorialize the Boehms' late daughter, Nancy, who recognized the need for women to become public policy leaders.
Nancy Boehm was interested in women's freedom of choice, equity and equality, music, the campaign against illiteracy and environmental issues.
The public policy program provides funding for a stipend for student work in not-for-profit organizations or unpaid internships, an on-campus administrative intern in Career Services who fosters awareness of the Boehm Coster program and a public policy symposium.
Bob Boehm said he and his family funded this internship program because they felt it would "be helpful to students for making career choices because it makes others aware of what their choices are."
This program is administered through Career Services. Students who apply for the grant must identify issues, including those relating to women, they might address during an internship.
Director of Student Employment Mary Oronte, the Career Resource Center Manager when the Boehms began the program, said students can find a public policy concern in almost every area of work.
Brad Evans '98 worked in the Bureau of Democracy and Human Rights and Labor in the State Department during his public policy internship. Evans said he focused on issues related to Bosnia, war crimes and sexual assault.
Students have also interned at such diverse places as Trees Forever in Iowa, the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and the Tribeca Film Center in New York.
Amie Harper '98, the current Boehm Coster administrative intern in Career Services, said she is "not a gopher" and attends meetings as a co-organizer. Last week, she administered a symposium that brought in Stephanie Coontz, a famous author on family issues.
"The Boehm-Coster program is not like other funding programs," Harper said. "I like that interns are able to communicate with people who are funding them -- it's neat."
Harper said the Boehms "make the process more personal" by meeting the interns at an annual symposium.
"The intern is given a lot of independence and responsibility to shape and organize the program," Director of Career Services Skip said.
The Boehms' program also provides money to build a resource collection in Career Services to better introduce students to public policy opportunities.
The Boehms sponsored similar programs for graduate students, but they said they thought it was important for undergraduates to think about "more interesting careers with not-for-profit organizations."
Bob Boehm "believes strongly in giving back to the College and that those who have benefited financially from society need to give something back to improve society," Sturman said.
Bob Boehm is a "very intelligent, sincere and caring person who wants the program to succeed and students to benefit from this money. He has always questioned interns about what they gained," Oronte said. "He's still going at his age -- that says a lot about him."
